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It provides that while a seafarer is aggrieved by the refusal of a medical practitioner to issue him with a certificate, he may apply to the Superintendent to have his case reviewed by a medical review panel.
It is stipulated that a Hong Kong ship will be detained if, due to the failure of any seafarer to produce a valid medical fitness certificate, it cannot sail without serious risk to the safety or health of those on board, and the medical and visual standards to be met by a serving seafarer applying for a medical fitness certificate are set out in Schedule 1.
The Merchant Shipping (Seafarers) (Official Log Books) Regulation specifies the entries to be made in official log books kept on Hong Kong ships, the person or persons who are to make, sign and witness such entries, the time when such entries may be amended or cancelled, and provides that the master of a ship shall, on demand by certain persons, produce the ship's official log book.
The Merchant Shipping (Seafarers) (Repatriation) Regulation provides that the employer is obliged to make provision for the seafarer's relief and maintenance, including reasonable legal costs for the defence of the seafarer in certain criminal proceedings.
It specifies how the wages of a seafarer left behind are to be dealt with, and how the property of a seafarer left behind or shipwrecked is to be dealt with.
The Merchant Shipping (Seafarers) (Safety Officials and Reporting of Accidents and Dangerous Occurrences) Regulation requires the employer to appoint a safety officer on a ship, and enables the officers and ratings of such a ship to elect safety representatives. If safety representatives are elected the employer is also required to appoint a safety committee.
It stipulates that safety officers are required to use their best endeavours to ensure that the provisions of the "Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seamen' are complied with, to investigate accidents, to make recommendations to prevent a recurrence and to carry out inspections.
It prescribes the power of safety representatives and the duties of safety committees, and the duties in respect of access to information and other matters are placed on the employer and the master.