Guidance

MGN 556 (M+F) Amendment 2: the merchant shipping and fishing vessels (safety signs and signals) regulations 2001

Published 12 September 2024

Summary

The purpose of this guidance is to specify the requirements for health and safety signs and signals at work within the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 2001.1 (S.I. 2001/34440) “the regulations”, which came into force on 15 February 2002.

This notice reflects the Classification, Labelling and Packaging of Chemicals (Amendments to secondary legislation) Regulations 2015 (S.I. 2015/21).

This notice also reflects the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Health and Safety)(Amendment) Regulations 2014 (S.I. 2014/1616) (the “MLC Health and Safety Amendments”) and the Merchant Shipping (Work in Fishing Convention) (Consequential and Minor Amendments) Regulations (S.I. 2018/1109) the (“Work in Fishing Consequential Amendments”).

The 2 sets of amendments extend the duties to protect “workers” in health and safety legislation so that they protect all seafarers and fishermen, regardless of their employment status, and duties on employers also apply to shipowners and fishing vessel owners. References in this notice are therefore “shipowners and employers” and “seafarers and other workers.” In this notice, “shipowner” includes “fishing vessel owner”, and “seafarer” includes “fishers”.

The regulations implemented EC Directive 92/58/EEC, which was in effect within the UK prior to 1 January 2021 and is now retained in UK law, after the end of the EU Exit implementation period.

Amendment 2 updates reference information only.

1. Introduction

1.1 The Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 2001 (“the regulations”) came into force on 15 February 2002 and implement Directive 92/58 EEC, on the minimum requirements for the provision of safety and health signs at work. The regulations require that where risk assessment shows risks to seafarers and workers which cannot be adequately reduced by other measures, appropriate safety signs are provided and maintained to provide warnings or instructions on protection measures, or both.

1.2 The signs and signals provided for in the Directive do not have to be provided automatically on every vessel. They are a “last resort” measure to alert seafarers and workers to residual risks that cannot be controlled by other measures taken following a health and safety risk assessment. In such circumstances shipowners and employers are required to install and maintain safety signs and or signals appropriate to the risk identified.

1.3 “Appropriate signs” must comply with standards laid down in the annexes to the Directive, which lay down standards of design etc. for safety signs and signals so that they are easily understood throughout Europe, and in many cases (for example, emergency signs) internationally.

To avoid shipowners incurring unnecessary expense, signs required by international standards (SOLAS, IMDG etc.) will be considered as meeting the requirements of the regulations. Seafarers and workers must be trained or instructed to understand what the signs/signals mean and the hazards which they are warning against. For ease of reference the text of the annexes to the Directive are reproduced in Appendix 1 but full signage and signal information can be found within COSWP Chapter 9, annex 9.1.

1.4 Except in certain circumstances the regulations apply to all activities of seafarers and workers on UK ships wherever they may be and additionally certain provisions will apply to ships other than UK ships which are in United Kingdom waters. These regulations do not apply:

• (a) to signs used in connection with the supply of any article or hazardous substance (unless legislation explicitly states that they shall.)
• (b) to dangerous goods during the course of their transport by sea, including loading and unloading of such goods from the ship; or
• (c) signs used for regulating traffic (whether road, rail, inland waterway, sea or air traffic)

The regulations do not apply in respect of the activities of workers on public service vessels or vessels engaged in search and rescue operations where such activity conflicts with the provisions of the regulations.

2. Person on whom duties are imposed (regulation 4)

2.1 Any duty owned by an employer under the regulations is also owned by a shipowner and this notice should be read accordingly.

2.2 Although the regulations impose duties on certain persons, they recognise that the person on whom such duties are imposed may not have control of the matter to which the duty relates e.g. because they do not have responsibility for the operation of the ship. In such circumstances any duty imposed by the regulations is extended to any person who has control of the matter.

3. Provision and maintenance of safety signs (regulation 5)

3.1 Where a risk assessment made under regulation 7(1) of the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) Regulations 1997 or other health and safety legislation indicates that the shipowner or employer concerned cannot avoid or adequately reduce the risks to seafarers and workers except by the provision of appropriate safety signs, they shall:

• (a) ensure that there is in place an appropriate safety sign in accordance with the requirements set out in annexes I to VII of the Directive
• (b) subject to paragraph 3.5 in accordance with the requirements of annexes 1, 8 and 9 of the Directive, ensure so far as reasonably practicable, that any appropriate hand signal or verbal communication described in those annexes is used; and
• (c) maintain any safety sign which is required to be in place. In this context “maintained” includes keeping the signs clean and free of obstruction so that they can easily be seen

3.2 The annexes to the Directive are reproduced in the annexes to this notice.

3.3 For the purposes of paragraph 3.1, the risks shall only be treated as having been adequately reduced if, having adopted the appropriate techniques, measures, methods or procedures referred to in that paragraph there is no longer a significant risk of harm having regard to the magnitude and nature of the risks arising from the work concerned.

3.4 Sub paragraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph 3.1 also apply in relation to fire safety signs where they are required to comply with the provisions of the enactment.

3.5 For the purposes of sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph 3.1, the appropriate hand signals described in British Standards Institute standard number BS 7121-1:2016 Code of Practice for Safe Use of Cranes or in annex 19.1 Part 3 of the Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers, is acceptable as an alternative to the corresponding hand signals described in paragraph 3 of annex 9 of the Directive.

3.6 Where there is a risk to the health and safety of personnel at the workplace from the presence or movement of motor vehicles, the appropriate safety sign required under paragraph 3.1 should be in accordance with the requirements prescribed in the Traffic Signs Regulations and General Directions 1994 (S.I. 1994/1519) whether or not directions apply to that place of work.

4. Information, instruction and training (regulation 6)

4.1 The shipowner and employer must ensure:

• (a) that relevant information that the seafarer or worker can understand is provided to each seafarer and worker on the measures to be taken in connection with safety signs
• (b) that each seafarer and worker receives suitable and sufficient instruction on the meaning of safety signs and the measures to be taken in connection with safety signs

5. Further reading

5.1 More information on safety signs, including useful additional prohibition, warning, mandatory, emergency escape/first aid and firefighting signs is published in Chapter 9 of the Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers.

More information

Seafarer Safety and Health Branch
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
Bay 2/17
Spring Place
105 Commercial Road
Southampton
SO15 1EG

Telephone: +44 (0)203 81 72250

Email: seafarersafety@mcga.gov.uk

Website: www.gov.uk/mca

Please note that all addresses and telephone numbers are correct at time of publishing.