Working language
Legally and practically important
Relevant M-notices and documents: SOLAS Chapter V, STCW code, The Merchant Shipping (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping) Regulations 2022, A Masters Guide to the UK Flag, IMO Resolution A.918(22) (IMO Standard Maritime Communication Phrases), MSN 1862, MSN 1867, MGN 610, The Merchant Shipping Act 1995 Section 51
STCW Code Regulation 1/14 1.7
Each Administration shall ensure that…at all times on board its ships there shall be effective oral communication
The phrase ‘working language of the ship’ occurs again and again in maritime legislation and guidance. Questions on working language are common at Mate and Master level, though admittedly not normally to the level of detail given in this article. With that said, knowing a bit more never looks bad. So where do the ‘working language’ requirements come from and how can we ensure we comply with the requirements?
There is a legal requirement to record the working language of the ship in the Official Log Book, in the Narrative section. This is under SOLAS V, Reg. 14:
On all ships, to ensure effective crew performance in safety matters, a working language shall be established and recorded in the ship's log-book. The company, as defined in regulation IX/1, or the master, as appropriate, shall determine the appropriate working language. Each seafarer shall be required to understand and, where appropriate, give orders and instructions and to report back in that language. If the working language is not an official language of the State whose flag the ship is entitled to fly, all plans and lists required to be posted shall include a translation into the working language.
This is re-iterated in the Masters guide to UK flag, section 4.41:
There is also a requirement to record the official working language of the ship. if this is not recorded elsewhere onboard, then it should be recorded in the OLB narrative section.
SOLAS V Reg. 14 also states that:
On ships to which Chapter I applies, English shall be used on the bridge as the working language for bridge-to-bridge and bridge-to-shore communications as well as for communications on board between the pilot and bridge watchkeeping personnel, unless those directly involved in the communication speak a common language other than English.
MCA guidance on Regulation 14, from MGN 610, states that:
(Regulation 14, paragraph 4)… requires English to be used as the common language on the bridge of all SOLAS compliant ships unless a common working language has been established on board and between ship and shore. The working language on the bridge of UK-flagged ships will normally be English. Under section 51 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, UK ships may be detained if crew members cannot understand orders given in English and there are no arrangements for giving orders in a language which they understand.
So, it is important to have an established, recorded working language onboard and for crew members to be able to understand orders given in that language.
The Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards of Safety Communications) Regulations 1997
This act lays out slightly different requirements for communication onboard certain types of ship.
Passenger ships:
It shall be the duty of the owner and master to ensure…that on every passenger ship and hovercraft personnel nominated on muster lists to assist passengers in emergency situations are readily identifiable and have communication skills that are sufficient for that purpose, taking into account an appropriate and adequate combination of any of the following criteria—
(i)the language or languages appropriate to the principal nationalities of passengers carried on a particular route;
(ii)the likelihood that an ability to use elementary English vocabulary for basic instructions can provide a means of communicating with a passenger in need of assistance whether or not the passenger and crew member share a common language.