C3.1.a. Do the accommodation requirements of Title 3 apply to existing ships?
Regulation 3.1, paragraph 2 of the MLC, 2006 provides that the requirements in the Code that relate to ship construction and equipment apply only to ships constructed on or after the date when the MLC, 2006 comes into force for the flag State. For ships constructed before the entry into force for the flag State, the requirements relating to ship construction and equipment that are set out the Accommodation of Crews Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 92) 54 , and the Accomodation of Crews (Supplementary Provisions) Convention, 1970 (No. 133) 55 , apply to the extent that they were already applicable, under the law or practice of the Member concerned.
One or both of those Conventions may have become applicable through ratification by the country concerned. Or their substance may have become applicable through the country’s ratification of the Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 147) 56 , and/or the 1996 Protocol to Convention No. 147 57 , there may also be cases where Conventions Nos 92 and 133 have not been ratified but have been made applicable under the country’s national law. Even if a country has not ratified any of these Conventions all ships must comply with the basic requirement in Regulation 3.1, paragraph 1, that they “provide and maintain decent accommodations and recreational facilities for seafarers working or living on board, or both, consistent with promoting the seafarers’ health and well-being” in accordance with the ships’ national legislation. All other requirements in the MLC, 2006 as implemented nationally, including those in Standard A3.1 that are not related to construction and equipment, will apply to ships constructed before the MLC, 2006 entered into force for the flag State.
Accommodation and recreational facilities