Aug 15 2023 21 mins
In this third episode of the fourth series, CFPO CEO Chris Ranford and guest co-host Charles Blyth, the Risk, Safety & Training Lead at the NFFO are joined by Julie Carlton, Seafarer Safety & Health Manager at the MCA as we revisit medicals ahead of the fast approaching November 2023 deadline.
Fathom kicked off this series at the start of the year with a broad look into the world of health and safety at sea and shared insights and issues to be aware of for the year ahead from fishing safety experts. This episode focuses in on the most significant issue within the fishing industry at present: the requirement for every fisherman to be in possession of a ML5 or ENG1 medical certification by November this year. Medicals have become the talk of many coastal communities in recent months. The requirement has come into force as part of the ILO188 Working in Fishing Convention, which has set common worldwide standards for health, safety and working conditions at-sea.
With growing concern, and some confusion, about what the medicals entail and why they are needed, we brought on Julie Carlton from the MCA to help us answer some of the most frequently asked questions Chris and Charles have been getting from fishermen.
We cover the who, where, when, what why of medicals in the fishing industry, as well as getting into the detail of the getting an appointment ahead of the November deadline and what the MCA are trying to do to address that, the requirements for Grandfather rights and the flexibility of the medicals in terms of meeting the deadline and conditions required to pass.
If you have any concerns or questions, you can get in touch with Charles at the NFFO at c[email protected].uk or find details or contact the MCA directly.
The fourth series of the Fathom podcast has been produced by the Cornish Fish Producers’ Organisation (CFPO) with funding from The Seafarers’ Charity.
LINKS
- Find how to apply for your medical certificate here
- More guidance from the MCA on medicals can be found here
- You can also get support and advice from Seafit, an initiative jointly run by Fishermen's Mission and Seafarers Hospital Society helping to connect fishermen to both physical and mental health services.