Section 18 in The Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour) Rules, 2016
18. Medical care on board ship and ashore.
(1)The ship owner shall adopt such measures for providing protection of health and medical care, including essential dental care, at no cost to the seafarers, for seafarers working on board a ship which -(a)ensure the application to seafarers, of any general provisions on occupational protection of health and medical care relevant to their duties, and of special provisions specific to work on board ship whilst working on board;(b)ensure that seafarers are given protection of health and medical care including prompt access to the necessary medicines, medical equipment in accordance with the provisions of the Merchant Shipping (Medicine, Medical stores appliances and First Aid Equipment) Rules, 1994, and facilities for diagnosis and treatment and to medical information and expertise;(c)give seafarers the right to visit a qualified medical practitioner or dentist without delay in ports of call, where practicable, at no cost to the seafarer;(d)ensure that medical care and protection of health services while a seafarer is on board ship or landed in a foreign port are provided free of charge to seafarers; and are not limited to treatment of sick or injured seafarers but include measures of a preventive character such as health promotion and health education programmes.(2)The ship owner shall adopt a standard medical report form for use by the masters of the ship and relevant onshore and on-board medical personnel as specified by the Director General of Shipping and the form when completed, its contents shall be kept confidential and shall only be used to facilitate the treatment of seafarers.(3)The Ship to which Merchant Shipping (Carriage of Medical Officers) Rules, 1961 apply shall carry medical practitioner on board.(4)(a)The ship which does not carry a medical practitioner shall be required to have either at least one seafarer on board who is in charge of medical care and administering medicine as part of their regular duties or at least one seafarer on board competent to provide medical first aid.(b)Persons in charge of medical care on board who are not medical practitioner shall have satisfactorily completed training in medical care that meets the requirements of Standard of Training Certification and Watch Keeping Convention.(c)Seafarers designated to provide medical first aid shall have satisfactorily completed training in medical first aid that meets the requirements of Standard of Training Certification and Watch keeping.(5)(a)The ship owner shall ensure by a prearranged system that medical advice by radio or satellite communication to ships at sea, including specialist advice is available on all twenty four hours of a day.(b)Such medical advice, including the onward transmission of medical messages by radio or satellite communication between a ship and those ashore giving the advice, shall be available free of charge to all ships irrespective of the flag that they fly.
