Textbook of Maritime Medicine

5.9.1        R 106 Medical Advice at Sea Recommendation 1958

This Recommendation from ILO was the first ILO document discussing radio medical advice for seafarers. It is a rather short document, but very important. At this time several shipping nations had already realized the need and established radio medical services based on a risk assessment and a professional evaluation, with the CIRM in Rome as the oldest and best known of them all.

5.9.2     C 164 – Health Protection and Medical Care (Seafarers) Convention, 1987 (ILO)

This was a great step forward for the health protection and medical care for sefararers. It deals with ship medicine, ship medical facilities, working and living environment, in on a broad basis, and also mentioned the radio medical advice. The description of the radio medical advice, is much alike the description from R 106. The convention is the most important international convention regulating radio medical advice.

5.9.3        Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC 2006)

This is actually the ILO Convention No. 186, but is never mentioned like that. The numbering continues after the MLC 2006 with C187 and C188.

The “Maritime Labour Certificate” (MLC) and the “Declaration of Maritime Labour Compliance” (DMLC) are new instruments introduced by this convention. They apply to all ships above 500 tons in international trade, probably increasing the awareness of and compliance with the requirements of the MLC 2006 Convention.

The content of the convention is much alike the content of the conventions it is based upon. Several ILO Conventions will be replaced when MLC 2006 has entered into force.

The convention has not yet entered into force (September 2009). The requirements of a minimum of 30 countries with a minimum of 33 % of the world’s tonnage are not yet met, i.e. only the tonnage requirement is met, but only 5 nations have ratified at present.