S.L. 425.14 Art. 13Minors’ night work.

(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of this regulation and notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, no fisherman under the age of eighteen (18) years shall work at night.

(2) If authorised to work according to regulation 12, and notwithstanding sub-regulation (1), the Director may allow work at night by a fisherman under the age of eighteen (18) years if:

(a) the effective training of the fishermen concerned, in accordance with established programmes and schedules, would be impaired; or

(b) the specific nature of the duty or a recognized training programme requires that the fishermen concerned perform duties at night and the Director determines, after consultation, that the work will not have a detrimental impact on their health or well-being: Provided that any such night work shall be performed at all times under the supervision of a person competent for the occupational health and safety of all those present on board the fishing vessel.

(3) Prior to performing any night work as may be allowed according to sub-regulation (1), and at regular intervals thereafter, the fisherman concerned shall undergo a free assessment of their health and capacities to be submitted to the Director, unless the night work they perform is of an exceptional nature.

Medical Certificate and Examination

14. 1) Subject to the provisions of this regulation, no person shall act as a fisherman on any Maltese vessel, unless there has been delivered to the master of the vessel a certificate granted by a duly qualified medical practitioner certifying that the person is fit to be employed in that capacity:

Provided that the medical practitioner issuing the medical certificate shall explicitly declare that the same has been issued in accordance with regulation 15.

(2) The Director may, after consultation, dispense with the requirement under sub-regulation (1), after taking into account the safety and health of the fishermen, size of the vessel, availability of medical assistance and evacuation, duration of the voyage, area of operation and type of fishing operation.

(3) The exemption under sub-regulation (2) shall not apply to a fisherman working on a fishing vessel of twenty-four metres in length and over or which normally remains at sea for more than three days;

Provided that in urgent cases, the Director may authorise a fisherman to work on such a vessel for a period of a limited and specified duration until a medical certificate can be obtained, provided that the fisherman is in possession of an expired medical certificate with a recent date.