Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 For the purpose of standardizing the management of medical certificate for seafarers, Measures for the Management of Issuing Medical Certificate for Seafarers of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Measures) are formulated in accordance with Regulations on Seafarers of the People’s Republic of China and relevant international conventions which China has concluded or acceded to.

Article 2 The Measures apply to the issuance and management of medical certificate for seafarers within the territory of People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as medical certificate).

The medical certificate hereby referred to the occupational medical documentary evidence issued by maritime administrations in accordance with Regulations on Seafarers of the People’s Republic of China and relevant international conventions which China has concluded or acceded to, which proves that a seafarer’s physical condition enables him to effectively perform post duties onboard.

Article 3Maritime Safety Administration of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as China MSA) is in charge of the issuance and management of seafarer medical certificate. while regional MSAs are responsible for specific issues regarding issuance and management of medical certificates in line with the responsibility scope determined by China MSA.

Chapter II Medical Certificate

Article 4 Seafarers shall hold valid medical certificates during their service on board.

Article 5 A medical certificate shall include the following information:

1. the holder’s name, gender, date of birth, nationality, department on board, signature, and photograph;

2. certificate number;

3. applicable clauses in relevant international conventions;

4. declaration of the recognized medical practitioner;

5. date of issuance and expiry;

6. name of authorizing administration;

7. name of issuing agency and signature of recognized medical practitioner;

8. other remarks to be specified.

Article 6 Seafarers applying for medical certificates shall take medical fitness examination in the qualified medical examination agencies in conducting occupational medical examination of seafarers (hereinafter referred to as medical examination agencies) publicized by maritime administrations.

Article 7 Recognized medical practitioners of the medical examination agencies shall issue medical certificates timely to seafarers meeting the following requirements:

1. be at least 16 years old;

2. hold valid identification documents;

3. meet the applicable medical fitness standards for seafarers;

4. submit photograph as required by maritime administrations.

Article 8 Medical certificates shall remain valid for a maximum period of two years. For seafarers applying for medical certificates under the age of 18, the maximum validity period shall be only one year. The date of expiry shall not be later than the 65th birthday of the certificate holder.

Article 9 The seafarer shall reapply for a medical certificate in case of expiration of the medical certificate.

If the medical certificate expires in the course of a voyage, then the medical certificate shall continue in force until the next port of call where a medical practitioner recognized by contracting party is available, provided that the period shall not exceed three months.

In urgent cases the maritime administration may permit a seafarer possessing an expired medical certificate of recent date to work until the next port of call where a medical practitioner recognized by the Party is available, but the period of such permission shall not exceed three months.

Article 10 When a medical certificate is lost or damaged, the holder shall apply for medical certificate re-issuance to the physical examination agency issuing the original certificate, as well as meet the following requirements：

1. where a medical certificate is damaged, the original damaged certificate shall be returned;

2. where a medical certificate is lost, a lost announcement shall be published in newspapers with a nationwide circulation, and an application could be submitted 30 days after the announcement.

3. Where an application for the re-issuance of a medical certificate damaged in the marine incident is made, the seafarer shall provide the documentary evidence of the incident to the medical examination agency.

The expiry date of the reissued medical certificate shall be the same as that of the original certificate.

[page]

Article 11 Seafarers applying for certificate information change shall submit relevant documentary evidence in accordance with the following situations:

1 Those who apply for a correction of the identification information in the medical certificate shall submit the application for information change to the medical examination agency issuing the original certificate after providing the relevant documentary evidence issued by the identification issuance authority to the maritime administration for identification information change.

2 Those who apply for a correction of information other than the identification information shall provide relevant documentary evidence to the medical examination agency issuing the original certificate for a change.

Article 12 The seafarer shall reapply for medical fitness examination under any of the following circumstances, and the recognized medical practitioner shall make a medical examination conclusion on the physical condition:

1 loss of work ability for more than 30 days;

2 disembarkation due to medical causes;

3 other circumstances, i.e. duty performance is affected by physical condition.

Article 13 Medical certificate shall be uniformly formulated and printed by China MSA.

CHAPTER III Medical Examination Agency

Article 14 A medical examination agency engaged in occupational medical fitness examinations for seafarers shall:

1. be a legal person legally incorporated within the territory of the People's Republic of China;

2. be either a general hospital of grade 2 or above with validPractice License of Medical Institution or a professional medical fitness examination and health care institution, obtaining medical fitness examination qualification approved by health competent authorities.

3. provide the diagnoses stipulated in Annex 1;

4. employ two or more recognized medical practitioners entitled to issuing medical certificates;

5. possess the instruments and equipment stipulated in Annex 2;

6. be equipped with technical documents including STCW Convention, Maritime Labor Convention 2006, Guidelines on the Medical Examination of Seafarers, International Medical Guide for Ships, etc. .

7. establish a complete quality management system on medical fitness examination of seafarers.

Article 15 A recognized medical practitioner issuing medical certificates shall:

1. have the professional qualification of associate professorship or above in internal medicine or surgery;

2. have clinical experience in medical fitness examination for two years or more;

3. have a proficient command of the requirements for seafarer medical fitness examination, and be familiar with Guidelines for Medical Examinations of Seafarers, International Medical Guide for Ships, and seafarers’ occupational characteristics.

Article 16 A medical examination agency engaged in seafarer occupational fitness medical examination shall submit to regional maritime administrations for filing the following documents:

1. Seafarer Medical Examination Agency Application Form for Filingand Recognized Medical Practitioner Application Form for Filing (Annex 3);

2. Business License of Enterprise Legal Person or Certificate of State Institution Legal Personand Organization Code Certificate;

3. Practice License of Medical Institution;

4. recognized medical practitioners’ valid identification documents, photographs in compliance with the requirements of the maritime administrations, professional qualification certificates, labor contracts, and documentary evidence related to professional practice;

5. a list of instruments and equipment for seafarer medical fitness examination and their operation record (Annex 4);

6. quality management system on seafarer medical fitness examination;

7. other documents for filing required by maritime administrations.

Where there is no regional maritime administration at the location of the medical examination agency, the above documents shall be submitted for filing to the regional maritime administration designated by China MSA.

[page]

Article 17 Regional maritime administrations shall evaluate the documents submitted by the medical examination agencies and carry out on-site verification, and then report to China MSA the medical examination agencies and their contracted recognized medical practitioners in compliance with the requirements of the Measures.

China MSA shall publicize in time the lists of medical examination agencies qualified for seafarer medical examination and their contracted recognized medical practitioners.

Article 18 Any medical certificate issued by a medical examination agency or a medical practitioner not publicized by China MSA is invalid.

The branches and affiliated agencies to the publicized medical examination agencies, engaged in issuing medical certificate, shall meet the relevant requirements of the Measures, and be publicized by China MSA.

A recognized medical practitioner’s authority of issuing medical certificates automatically terminates in case s/he leaves the contracted medical examination agency.

Article 19 The medical examination agency shall report in time to the filing maritime administrations in case of a change of the filed information regarding the agency or medical practitioners.

Article 20 A medical examination agency conducts medical fitness examination on seafarers in accordance with the requirements upon seafarers’ application. A recognized medical practitioner shall decide whether or not to issue a medical certificate within one workday after completing the examination. A medical certificate shall be issued to the seafarer who comply with the requirements of the Measures. Where the seafarer fails to comply with the requirements of the Measures, a Seafarer Medical Fitness Examination Form shall be issued and a copy of the Seafarer Medical Examination Form with the seafarer’s signature shall be kept.

The seafarer shall be notified in person without delay in case s/he needs countercheck and medical observation. Where a delay of certification is necessary in case of special situations, the reasons shall be clarified and the seafarer shall be notified in person.

Article 21 The medical examination agency shall report to the maritime administration for filing the information of issued medical certificates or unqualified conclusion and items within seven workdays upon the completion of the medical fitness examination.

Article 22 The medical examination agency shall properly keep the blank certificates, and return the invalidated certificates to the filing maritime administration.

Article 23 The medical examination agency shall keep the related documents on the issuance of medical certificates for at least three years.

CHAPTER IV Rights and Obligations

Article 24 Seafarers are entitled to requesting a countercheck in case of an objection to the medical fitness examination result.

Article 25 Seafarers may apply for only one countercheck to the original medical examination agency within five workdays after being notified the medical fitness examination result, in case of an objection to the medical fitness examination result inconsistent with standards of medical fitness examination requirements of seafarers or causing limitations to certain duties onboard demonstrated by the examination.

Article 26 The medical examination agency shall conduct counterchecks on seafarer’s unqualified or limited items as per his/her application. The recognized medical practitioner conducting the countercheck shall not be the same person as the recognized medical practitioner conducting the original medical examination.

A medical certificate shall be issued to the seafarers qualified in the countercheck, while the disqualification countercheck result shall be notified to the seafarers in person.

Article 27 The medical examination agencies and recognized medical practitioners have the following rights and obligations:

1. independent decision-making right; reporting to the filing regional maritime administrations in case of interference with the independent decision-making right of the medical examination agency or the seafarer medical fitness examination professionals.

2. timely notification of any diseases found in the medical fitness examination to the seafarer in person;

3. an objective and truthful conclusion of seafarer medical fitness examination and reporting in time for filing to the maritime administrations;

4. providing consultancy to seafarers concerning their medical fitness examination results, truthful explanations of the medical fitness examination results, and answers to relevant questions;

5. protection of seafarers’ privacy and adoption of necessary measures to prevent seafarers’ medical fitness examination information from being used for other purposes;

6. annual summarization and analysis of seafarer medical fitness examination and issuance of medical certificates, and reporting to maritime administrations in written and electronic forms.

[page]

CHAPTER V Supervision and Management

Article 28 The maritime administrations shall establish and improve the system for regular supervision and inspection on medical examination agencies to enhance the supervision and inspection on the operation and integrity of these agencies. The maritime administrations shall conduct one on-site supervision and inspection every year as a minimum.

Article 29 The maritime administrations shall keep files of medical examination agency management for recording the information, qualification and business operation of medical examination agencies.

Article 30 Medical certificate issuing agencies shall cancel those seafarers’ medical certificates and report to the filing immediate maritime administrations, who: :

1. apply for a cancellation;

2. obtain a medical certificate via such improper means as fraudulence, bribery, etc.;

3. hide relevant occupational contraindication history;

4. have changes in physical condition, etc., no longer meeting the standards of medical certificate issuance;

5. be under other circumstances that medical certificate issuing agencies regard as necessary.

Article 31 China MSA shall remove those medical examination agencies or recognized medical practitioners from the publicized list and prohibit them from reapplying for filing within two years, in case they:

1. fail to effectively verify examinees’ identification;

2. fail to make a truthful medical fitness examination conclusion ;

3. fail to issue medical certificates in accordance with procedures and relevant regulations;

4. fail to keep relevant documents on certificate issuance as required;

5. fail to custody the blank certificates as required;

6. disclose seafarers’ privacy and medical fitness examination information;

7. fail to update timely the information of medical examination agencies or recognized medical practitioners in case of changes;

8. no longer meet the requirements for medical examination agencies or recognized medical practitioners stipulated by the Measures.

CHAPTER VI Supplementary Provisions

Article 32 A medical certificate issued by a medical practitioner acknowledged by contracting parties held by Chinese seafarers is recognized.

Article 33 Medical certificate application from pilots, foreign seafarers and students taking seafarer education and training shall comply with the requirements of the Measures.

Article 34 The Measures shall enter into force on 1st April, 2012.

[page]

Annex 1

Required Diagnostic Items for Seafarers Medical Examination Agencies

Code	Diagnostic item	Notes
03	Internal Medicine
04	Surgery
05	Obstetrics and Gynecology	05.01 Gynecology and 05.02 Obstetrics are required.
10	Ophthalmology
11	E . N . T .
12	Stomatology
13	Dermatology
16	Infectious Disease
30	Laboratory	30.1Clinical Body Fluid and Blood, 30.02Clinical Microbiology, 30.03Clinical Biochemistry, and 30.04Clinical Immunology and Serology are required.
32	Medical Imaging	32.01X-Ray Diagnosis, 32.05Ultrasonic Diagnosis, and 32.06 ECG Diagnosis are required.