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QUESTION 1
REPLIES OF THE GOVERNMENTS
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detailed rules on the subject of the minimum age of watch- keeping officers, professional experience and the passing of public examinations. In these circumstances they doubt whether the subject of minimum requirements of professional capacity is one in which international agreement can best be expressed by means of a Draft Convention. They feel, however, agreement might well be reached on the principle that each Government should establish a national system providing for compulsory minimum requirements of professional capacity on the part of masters, navigating officers and engineer officers on merchant ships (with such exceptions as national conditions require). An agreement on these lines might well be embodied in a Recommendation or, if such was the general desire of the Conference, in a Draft Convention.
His Majesty's Government think it is unnecessary and undesirable to require that fully certificated officers should invariably be in charge of a watch on deck or the engine room on all vessels without exception and they consider that in any case the fishing industry should be excluded from the scope of any proposed Recommendation, the conditions of that industry being in many respects entirely different from those of the Mercantile Marine.
Since His Majesty's Government do not think it desirable that any Recommendation or Draft Convention which is adopted should specify the application of any detailed rules, no reply has been made to the specific points raised in the Questionnaire.
1.
INDIA
The reply is in the affirmative.
IRISH FREE STATE
1. The reply is in the affirmative.
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ITALY
The Italian Government agrees that it is desirable that the Conference should adopt a Draft Convention specifying that national laws are to require a minimum of professional capacity for the engagement of masters or skippers, navigating officers in charge of a watch, chief engineers, and engineer officers in charge of a watch.
1.
JAPAN
The reply is in the affirmative.
LATVIA
1. The Latvian Government considers that the Interna- tional Labour Conference should adopt a Draft Convention specifying that certificates of professional capacity are to be required by national laws or regulations for employment as :- (a) master or skipper, i.e. any person having command
or charge of a vessel;
(b) navigating officer in charge of a watch, i.e. any person,
not being a pilot, who is navigating a ship :
(c) chief engineer, i,e, any person permanently responsible
for the engine room staff;
(d) engineer officer in charge of a watch, i e. any person
who is running a ship's engines.
1.
NETHERLANDS
The reply is in the affirmative.
NORWAY
The Norwegian Government has had some doubt as to how far this question should be dealt with by the International Labour Conference, being of the opinion that it is chiefly a question of safety of life at sea, and that it has been solved in article 48 of the international Convention for the safety of life at sea, London May 31st 1929.
However, the Norwegian Government will not oppose the adoption by the Labour Conference of a draft international Convention generally specifying that possession of a certificate of professional capacity is to be required by national legislation for employment as master and officers.
Subject to these general observations the Government gives the following replies to the Questionnaire :
1.
The reply is in the affirmative.
POLAND
The minimum of professional capacity required in Poland in the case of masters and officers of the mercantile marine is laid down by the Act of 6 July 1923 on officers in the mercantile marine (Dziennik Ustaw R. P. 1923, No. 75 pos. 588) and by Legislative Decree of 24 February 1928 amending the above Act (Dziennik Ustaw R. P. 1928, No. 22 pos. 200).