C1.2.a. Will a medical examination under the IMO’s STCW Convention meet the MLC, 2006 requirements?

Yes. Standard A1.2, paragraph 3 of the MLC, 2006 states that it is without prejudice to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Convention, the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended (“STCW”). It also states that a medical certificate issued in accordance with the requirements of the STCW shall be accepted by the competent authority, for the purpose of Regulation 1.2. A medical certificate meeting the substance of those requirements, in the case of seafarers not covered by the STCW, shall similarly be accepted. Like the ILO, the IMO is a United Nations specialized agency. It often cooperates with the ILO on issues of shared concern in the maritime sector. In 2010, amendments known as the “Manila Amendments” to the STCW were adopted by the IMO. These amendments, which entered into force in 2012, contain wording intended to align the MLC, 2006 requirements and the IMO requirements for medical examinations and certificates for seafarers covered by the STCW Convention. This means that countries that are bound by the STCW Manila Amendments and implemented them in their laws, will already to some extent have implemented the MLC, 2006 requirements.

In 2011, a Joint ILO/IMO Meeting on Medical Fitness Examinations of Seafarers and Ships’ Medicine Chests revised the existing ILO/WHO Guidelines on the medical examinations of seafarers. The ILO/IMO Guidelines on the medical examinations of seafarers can be viewed or downloaded on the ILO MLC, 2006 website.

Medical certificate