Posted on February 4, 2021
The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has issued a General Exemption to remedy an ‘administrative irregularity’ concerning certification of workboats.
Marine Information Note 619 (M) relates to MCA Codes of Practice published in 1998 and 2018 where the Workboat Code Edition 2 and the Technical Annex incorrectly purported to expand the scope of the definition of a small vessel to also include ‘a vessel the keel of which was laid or was at a similar stage of construction before 21 July 1968, less than 150 tons’.
The specific codes are ‘The Safety of Small Workboats and Pilot Boats – A Code of Practice’, also known as the Brown Code and now referred to as Workboat Code Edition 1 dated 1998 and the updated standard known as Edition 2 issued in 2018, this later version including the equivalent standard published in the Technical Annex to Marine Guidance Note MGN 280 (M) as far as that document applies to small workboats and pilot boats.
A small number of vessels built before that date and 24m or more in length, but less than 150 tons have been incorrectly issued with workboat certificates; these vessels fall outside the scope of the 1998 regulations and the MCA has issued the General Exemption to remedy the position and facilitate regulatory compliance for the affected vessels. Detailed conditions to be met for the exemptions are contained in an annex to the note (MIN 619 (M).
The document notes that the General Exemption is granted on the basis that the affected vessels fall outside of the 1966 International Load Line Convention (as amended) implemented by the associated 2018 Merchant Shipping Regulations. The MCA presently considers the General Exemption a temporary solution while work is undertaken to bring the affected vessels within the scope of the statutory certification scheme.
Notwithstanding that the exemption is down to an administrative irregularity, the topic recalls the development of workboats around 1968. Modern shallow draught Multi Cat type workboats are particularly common nowadays, sophisticated vessels with notable towing capabilities along with heavylift deck cranes. Prior to this period however such vessels were often derived from conventionally shaped hull designs, perhaps retired tugs where the relationship between vessel length and gross tonnage was somewhat different to today’s workboats.
By Peter Barker
