the general conference of the international labour organization，
having been convened at seattle by the governing body of theinternational labour office， and having met in its twenty-eighth sessionon 6 june 1946， and
having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard tothe medical examination of seafarers， which is included in the fifth itemon the agenda of the session， and
having determined that these proposals shall take the form of aninternational convention，
adopts this twenty-ninth day of june of the year one thousand ninehundred and forty-six the following convention， which may be cited as themedical examination （seafarers） convention， 1946：
article 1
1. this convention applies to every sea-going vessel， whether publiclyor privately owned， which is engaged in the transport of cargo orpassengers for the purpose of trade and is registered in a territory forwhich this convention is in force.
2. national laws or regulations shall determine when vessels are to beregarded as seagoing.
3. this convention does not apply to——
（a） vessels of less than 200 tons gross register tonnage；
（b） wooden vessels of primitive build such as dhows and junks；
（c） fishing vessels；
（d） estuarial craft.
article 2
without prejudice to the steps which should be taken to ensure thatthe persons mentioned below are in good health and not likely to endangerthe health of other persons on board， this convention applies to everyperson who is engaged in any capacity on board a vessel except——
（a） a pilot （not a member of the crew）；
（b） persons employed on board by an employer other than theshipowner， except radio officers or operators in the service of a wirelesstelegraphy company；
（c） travelling dockers （longshoremen） not members of the crew；
（d） persons employed in ports who are not ordinarily employed atsea.
article 3
1. no person to whom this convention applies shall be engaged foremployment in a vessel to which this convention applies unless he producesa certificate attesting to his fitness for the work for which he is to beemployed at sea signed by a medical practitioner or， in the case of acertificate solely concerning his sight， by a person authorised by thecompetent authority to issue such a certificate.
2. provided that， for a period of two years from the date of the entryinto force of this convention for the territory concerned， a person may beso engaged if he produces evidence that he has been employed in asea-going vessel to which this convention applies for a substantial periodduring the previous two years.
article 4
1. the competent authority shall， after consultation with theshipowners' and seafarers' organizations concerned， prescribe the natureof the medical examination to be made and the particulars to be includedin the medical certificate.
2. when prescribing the nature of the examination， due regard shall behad to the age of the person to be examined and the nature of the dutiesto be performed.
3. in particular， the medical certificate shall attest——
（a） that the hearing and sight of the person and， in the case of aperson to be employed in the deck department （except for certainspecialist personnel， whose fitness for the work which they are to performis not liable to be affected by defective colour vision）， his colourvision， are all satisfactory； and
（b） that he is not suffering from any disease likely to beaggravated by， or to render him unfit for， service at sea or likely toendanger the health of other persons on board.
article 5
1. the medical certificate shall remain in force for a period notexceeding two years from the date on which it was granted.
2. in so far as a medical certificate relates to colour vision itshall remain in force for a period not exceeding six years from the dateon which it was granted.
3. if the period of validity of a certificate expires in the course ofa voyage the certificate shall continue in force until the end of thatvoyage.
article 6
1. in urgent cases the competent authority may allow a person to beemployed for a single voyage without having satisfied the requirements ofthe preceding articles.
2. in such cases the terms and conditions of employment shall be thesame as those of seafarers in the same category holding a medicalcertificate.
3. employment in virtue of this article shall not be deemed on anysubsequent occasion to be previous employment for the purpose of article3.
article 7
the competent authority may provide for the acceptance in substitutionfor a medical certificate of evidence in a prescribed form that therequired certificate has been given.
article 8
arrangements shall be made to enable a person who， after examination，has been refused a certificate to apply for a further examination by amedical referee or referees who shall be independent of any shipowner orof any organization of shipowners or seafarers.
article 9
any of the functions of the competent authority under this conventionmay， after consultation with the organizations of shipowners andseafarers， be discharged by delegating the work， or part of it， to anorganization or authority exercising similar functions in respect ofseafarers generally.
article 10
the formal ratifications of this convention shall be communicated tothe director-general of the international labour office for registration.
having been convened at seattle by the governing body of theinternational labour office， and having met in its twenty-eighth sessionon 6 june 1946， and
having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard tothe medical examination of seafarers， which is included in the fifth itemon the agenda of the session， and
having determined that these proposals shall take the form of aninternational convention，
adopts this twenty-ninth day of june of the year one thousand ninehundred and forty-six the following convention， which may be cited as themedical examination （seafarers） convention， 1946：
article 1
1. this convention applies to every sea-going vessel， whether publiclyor privately owned， which is engaged in the transport of cargo orpassengers for the purpose of trade and is registered in a territory forwhich this convention is in force.
2. national laws or regulations shall determine when vessels are to beregarded as seagoing.
3. this convention does not apply to——
（a） vessels of less than 200 tons gross register tonnage；
（b） wooden vessels of primitive build such as dhows and junks；
（c） fishing vessels；
（d） estuarial craft.
article 2
without prejudice to the steps which should be taken to ensure thatthe persons mentioned below are in good health and not likely to endangerthe health of other persons on board， this convention applies to everyperson who is engaged in any capacity on board a vessel except——
（a） a pilot （not a member of the crew）；
（b） persons employed on board by an employer other than theshipowner， except radio officers or operators in the service of a wirelesstelegraphy company；
（c） travelling dockers （longshoremen） not members of the crew；
（d） persons employed in ports who are not ordinarily employed atsea.
article 3
1. no person to whom this convention applies shall be engaged foremployment in a vessel to which this convention applies unless he producesa certificate attesting to his fitness for the work for which he is to beemployed at sea signed by a medical practitioner or， in the case of acertificate solely concerning his sight， by a person authorised by thecompetent authority to issue such a certificate.
2. provided that， for a period of two years from the date of the entryinto force of this convention for the territory concerned， a person may beso engaged if he produces evidence that he has been employed in asea-going vessel to which this convention applies for a substantial periodduring the previous two years.
article 4
1. the competent authority shall， after consultation with theshipowners' and seafarers' organizations concerned， prescribe the natureof the medical examination to be made and the particulars to be includedin the medical certificate.
2. when prescribing the nature of the examination， due regard shall behad to the age of the person to be examined and the nature of the dutiesto be performed.
3. in particular， the medical certificate shall attest——
（a） that the hearing and sight of the person and， in the case of aperson to be employed in the deck department （except for certainspecialist personnel， whose fitness for the work which they are to performis not liable to be affected by defective colour vision）， his colourvision， are all satisfactory； and
（b） that he is not suffering from any disease likely to beaggravated by， or to render him unfit for， service at sea or likely toendanger the health of other persons on board.
article 5
1. the medical certificate shall remain in force for a period notexceeding two years from the date on which it was granted.
2. in so far as a medical certificate relates to colour vision itshall remain in force for a period not exceeding six years from the dateon which it was granted.
3. if the period of validity of a certificate expires in the course ofa voyage the certificate shall continue in force until the end of thatvoyage.
article 6
1. in urgent cases the competent authority may allow a person to beemployed for a single voyage without having satisfied the requirements ofthe preceding articles.
2. in such cases the terms and conditions of employment shall be thesame as those of seafarers in the same category holding a medicalcertificate.
3. employment in virtue of this article shall not be deemed on anysubsequent occasion to be previous employment for the purpose of article3.
article 7
the competent authority may provide for the acceptance in substitutionfor a medical certificate of evidence in a prescribed form that therequired certificate has been given.
article 8
arrangements shall be made to enable a person who， after examination，has been refused a certificate to apply for a further examination by amedical referee or referees who shall be independent of any shipowner orof any organization of shipowners or seafarers.
article 9
any of the functions of the competent authority under this conventionmay， after consultation with the organizations of shipowners andseafarers， be discharged by delegating the work， or part of it， to anorganization or authority exercising similar functions in respect ofseafarers generally.
article 10
the formal ratifications of this convention shall be communicated tothe director-general of the international labour office for registration.