Guidance

MSN 1891 (F) Amendment 2 ILO Work in fishing convention, list of crew

Published 27 January 2026

Summary

All UK fishing vessels must have a list of crew on board which must be left with the nominated person before or immediately after the departure of the vessel when it goes to sea, in case an accident befalls the vessel.

The minimum information to be contained in the list of crew is listed at annex A to this notice.

For vessels of 45m and over, the list of crew must be sent annually to the Registry of Shipping and Seamen.

Relationship with the Merchant Shipping (Crew Agreements, Lists of Crew and Discharge of Seamen) (Fishing Vessels) Regulations 1972 as amended

The Merchant Shipping (Crew Agreements, Lists of Crew and Discharge of Seamen) (Fishing Vessels) Regulations 1972 as amended (“the 1972 Regulations”) need to be read together with this notice as it sets out the details, standards and formalities which must be observed in order to comply with the legal obligations under those regulations. Failure to comply with those obligations may be a criminal offence under the regulations (see section 6 of this notice).

Amendment 2 updates reference information only.

1. Introduction

1.1 The master of any United Kingdom ship is required to have a list of the crew currently engaged on board. A copy of the list must be delivered to the nominated person when the vessel is at sea. The purpose of this is primarily in case the vessel goes missing, so that those ashore or the authorities responding to an incident know who was on board and the next of kin can be contacted.

1.2 Certified extracts may also be required by the Registrar-General of Shipping and Seamen and may enable the death of a person on the vessel to be recorded to avoid any delay in settling their estate.

1.3 For vessels calling in foreign ports, a list is also required for immigration purposes.

2. List of crew

2.1 The detail to be contained in a list of crew is set out in “the 1972 Regulations”. Annex A sets out the minimum information to be recorded. The minimum content of the crew list is mandatory but the format is not.

2.2 A list of crew must be kept up to date (by adding the details for new crew joining the vessel and noting when any crew member is discharged from the vessel).

3. Copy of list of crew ashore

3.1 As the purpose of the crew list is to provide details of those on board the vessel if there is an incident it is important that the copy left ashore is accessible in case of an incident.

3.2 The list of crew may be delivered in hard copy or electronic form. The list should be deposited with the nominated person, which means a person, on-line management system or place as described below.

3.3 For the purposes of compliance with the 1972 Regulations, the nominated person may be:-

• where the fishing vessel is owned or operated by a company, the company office

• in electronic form, via an online management system, accepted by the Administration

• family ashore

• the fish selling company

• deposited in a designated safe place, as agreed with the local marine office.

3.4 The list of crew for a particular fishing vessel should always be deposited in the same location, so that in the event that it is needed, it can easily be located.

3.5 If the crew members do not change on successive trips, there is no need to update the list ashore. However, it is important that if there are any changes to the crew, either the list is updated or the person holding the list ashore is notified, either electronically or in writing.

4. List of young persons

4.1 The skipper is required to hold a record, alongside the copy of the list of crew on board the vessel, of any young persons working on the fishing vessel together with their dates of birth and date of engagement on the fishing vessel.

4.2 In accordance with section 55 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, and the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) (Employment of Young Persons) Regulations 1998, a summary of the provisions of those regulations and a list of all young persons under the age of 18 is required to be included with every list of crew.

4.3 It should be noted that a copy of this form is required to be included with the List of Crew even if no young persons are employed on the ship concerned. In such circumstances the form should be noted with “NIL”.

4.4 A suggested format for a list of young persons is included at annex B to this notice.

5. Submission of lists of crew

5.1 A list of crew must be made available to authorised persons on demand. This includes MCA surveyors, Border Force officers, Fisheries Protection Officers, and those authorised by HMRC, the Royal Navy and Harbour Masters.

6. References to this notice in the Merchant Shipping (Crew Agreements, Lists of Crew and Discharge of Seamen) (Fishing Vessels) Regulations 1972 as amended

6.1 Regulation 14, requires that the master of a fishing vessel shall ensure that a copy of the crew list is delivered to the nominated person, as described in MSN 1891(F), prior to the departure of the vessel or communicated to the nominated person immediately after the departure of the fishing vessel. Paragraph 3.3 of this MSN describes the meaning of the nominated person.

7. More information

Seafarer Safety and Health Branch
Maritime and Coastguard Agency
Bay 2/17
Spring Place
105 Commercial Road
Southampton
SO15 1EG

Telephone: +44 (0)203 81 72000

Email: mlc@mcga.gov.uk

Website: www.gov.uk/mca

Please note that all addresses and telephone numbers are correct at time of publishing.

Annex A - Information to be contained in the list of crew

1.the fishing vessel:

(the name of the fishing vessel, its port of registry and official number)

2.the name and address of the fishing vessel owner

3.completed for every seafarer

The term “seafarer” is used here because this is the word used in the 1972 Regulations.

• name
• address
• the date and place of birth
• nationality
• the name of the ship or fishing vessel registered in the United Kingdom in which the seafarer was last employed, and, if discharged from that ship more than 12 months before starting to work in the fishing vessel to which the list of crew relates, the year of discharge;
• the capacity in which the seafarer is employed in the fishing vessel
• the grade and number of any certificate of competency
• the date of commencing work on the fishing vessel
• the date on and place where the seafarer left the fishing vessel and, if on discharge, the reason for discharge
• if left behind otherwise than on discharge, the date and place of and the reason (if known to the master) for this being done
• the name and relationship of seafarer’s next of kin and the address of next of kin, if different from that of the seafarer.

Annex B – List of young persons

Summary of the provisions of section 55 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 and the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Health and Safety at Work) (Employment of Young Persons) Regulations 1998 (as amended)

This summary is required to be included in every list of crew

No person under 16 years of age may be employed in any ship to which the Maritime Labour Convention applies.

Where young persons (i.e. persons over 16 years of age and under 18 years of age) are employed in a ship, appropriate measures shall be taken to protect them from the risks to their health and safety which are a consequence of their lack of experience, absence of awareness of existing or potential risks, or lack of maturity.

Young persons under the age of 18 may not begin work, unless –

• an assessment has been carried out of the risks to their health and safety as a result of their inexperience, absence of awareness of risks, or lack of maturity.

• the young persons have been informed of the findings of that assessment, and appropriate measures taken for their protection.

Young persons shall not be employed in work which is objectively beyond their physical or psychological capacity or otherwise involves exposure to the risks identified in the Schedule to the Regulations, unless that work is–

• indispensable for their vocational training

• is performed under the supervision of a competent person.

Young persons shall be provided with

• a rest period of 12 hours in every 24 hour period

• a rest period of 2 days in every week

• where daily working time is more than four and a half hours, a rest period of 30 minutes

except where the young person is working –

• under a schedule of duties complying with regulation 9 of the Merchant Shipping (Safe Manning, Hours of Work and Watchkeeping) Regulations 1997

• under another relevant agreement; or

in which case they shall be allowed compensatory rest time and measures shall be taken to ensure that there is no risk to their health and safety.

Young persons under 18 years of age must not work, or be employed or engaged to work, at night on a ship except where:-

• the effective training of the seafarer, in accordance with established programmes and schedules, would be impaired by its application

• the specific nature of the duty or of a recognised training programme requires that the seafarer performs duties at night and the work to be carried out is specified in MSN 1882(F) as not being detrimental to the health and well-being of young persons under the age of 18.

In this context “night” means a period the duration of which is not less than nine consecutive hours, and which starts no later than midnight and ends no earlier than 5 a.m. (local time).

Young persons shall be entitled to a free assessment of their health and capacities before starting work in a ship, and to free monitoring of their health, where the risk assessment identifies a significant risk to their health or where they are regularly required to work at night, for as long as they are exposed to that risk.

Young persons shall not be employed in any capacity unless the master is in possession of a medical certificate issued by a duly qualified medical practitioner certifying that person is fit to be employed in that capacity. In cases of urgency a proper officer may authorise a young person to be employed without a certificate up to but not beyond the first port of call where there is a duly qualified medical practitioner.

Every list of crew must have a copy of this summary appended to it together with a list of all members of the crew under 18 years of age with the dates of birth and dates on which they became employed in the ship. This applies irrespective of whether or not any young persons are employed on the ship.

List of young persons

Reference No. in list of crew	Family name and other names (in full)	Date of birth	Place of birth	Capacity in which employed

Annex B is attached separately to this notice to download.