The MLC (Martime Labor Convention, of the ILO) - 2006 establishes in its item MLC A4.1.4 that: "all vessels must have medicines, medical equipment and a medical guide, whose specifications must be prescribed and inspected by the competent authority; national requirements shall take into account the type of vessel, the number of persons on board and the nature, destination and duration of voyages and relevant national and international standards and recommendations".
Nations that signed the MLC2006, as is the case of Brazil, must adopt these requirements.
The Medical Chest Certificate, in its entirety, would be the medicine cabinet certificate, that is, annually a pharmacist or trained medical professional must inspect the ship's infirmary and check that it has all the items on board in accordance with the regulation followed by the vessel. , and issue a certificate that has the effect of evidence that the “Medical Chest” has been examined and complies with the aforementioned.
Medical Chest certification is a guarantee of the availability of medical resources to assist the crew in situations of illness, first aid care and other health emergencies.
There are several regulations in the world and the determination of which regulation to follow is based on the ship's flag. That is, if the country where the ship is registered has its own regulations or a reference to follow, it must adopt this guidance. In a situation where there is no specific regulation in the country where the ship is registered and there is no reference to follow, it must follow the guidance of the World Health Organization (WHO) that created the International Medical Guide for Ships, which includes a specific supply of medicines and hospital medical equipment based on the type of navigation and the number of crew on board.
Remembering that we at Medinship are specialized in carrying out this inspection and we issue dozens of Medical Chest Certificates monthly.
