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Rations of Food per Crew Member and Procedure for Catering¹

Passed 23.07.2014 No. 49
RT I, 29.07.2014, 2
Entry into force 01.08.2014

Amended by the following legal instruments (show)

This Regulation is established under § 28 (2) of the Seafarers Employment Act.

§ 1.  Scope of regulation

  This Regulation establishes daily rations of food for crew members working and living on board ships (hereinafter ‘ food ration ’) and the procedure for catering.

§ 2.  Scope of application

 (1) This Regulation is applied to ships used for merchant shipping and ships engaged in commercial fishing that are entered in the Estonian ship registry or register of bareboat chartered ships.

 (2) This Regulation is not applied to the organisation of catering of crew members on ships less than 12 metres in length.

 (3) This Regulation is not applied to the organisation of catering of crew members on fishing vessels less than 24 metres in length, except in the cases referred to in subsection (4) of this section.
[RT I, 06.03.2020, 12 – entry into force 09.03.2020]

 (4) The provisions of § 3 (1) through (3) and § 8 (2) and (3) of this Regulation are applied to fishing vessels less than 24 metres in length. The requirements are not applied to a fishing vessel less than 24 metres in length if:
 1) it remains at sea for less than 24 hours, or
 2) the fishermen do not stay on board the vessel overnight in port.
[RT I, 06.03.2020, 12 – entry into force 09.03.2020]

§ 3.  General requirements for catering

 (1) Food and potable water shall be sufficient, having regard to the number of crew members, and the duration and nature of the voyage.

 (2) Proper food and potable water shall be stocked for the crew and regular cooking and serving shall be organised, taking into account the crew members’ food energy requirement.

 (3) Catering shall consider the principles of a balanced diet, the conventional dietary habits of the population, variety and, where possible, requirements arising from a crew member’s religious or cultural practices and individual dietary habits.

 (4) A crew member shall be catered when the vessel is navigating and also when it is anchored, at the quay side or docked if watchkeeping has been organised and the crew member is performing duties assigned to them.

 (5) The crew’s mealtime schedule and daily menus shall be posted in a spot visible or known to the crew members.

 (6) At specified intervals, the master of a ship or an officer designated thereby and the worker in charge of catering or the ship’s cook shall prepare a review of food and potable water supplies and the catering facilities, galley and other supplies.

 (7) A crew member tasked with cooking for the crew shall have the training as set out in § 27 (2) of the Food Act.

 (8) A ship’s cook tasked with cooking for a crew of ten and more shall, for working in that position, have completed training according to § 20 of the Government of the Republic Regulation No. 96 “Requirements for the training and qualification of crew members and procedure for the certification of crew members” of 20.06.2013 and hold a certificate of a ship’s cook according to § 68 thereof.

§ 4.  Food ration

 (1) For the purposes of this Regulation, food ration means the quantity of food that must cover a crew member’s food requirements necessary for vital functions and satisfy nutritional requirements and the food energy derived from food must meet the daily food energy requirement of a crew member as set out in the Annex to this Regulation.

 (2) In addition to the normal food ration provided for in the Annex to this Regulation, a crew member with special needs (male over 190 cm tall, female over 180 cm tall or pregnant) shall be given daily food that covers the additional food energy requirement of 1260 kJ or 300 kcal.

 (3) Where necessary, a sick crew member shall be provided with a special diet or appropriate food.

§ 5.  Food energy requirement of crew members

  The daily food energy requirement of crew members shall be calculated based on their age, gender, work performed and physical activity level on the basis of the average food energy requirement corresponding to the physical activity level and basal metabolic rate provided for in the Annex to this Regulation.

§ 6.  Crew members’ food

 (1) A crew member’s food shall be varied and balanced, its amount shall be sufficient and its taste shall be acceptable.

 (2) Potable water and drinks shall be provided as required by crew member in addition to the water contained in food, but no less than 1.5 litres a day.

 (3) The average recommended quantities of basic foodstuffs depending on a person’s energy requirement are provided for in the Annex to this Regulation.

 (4) Menus shall be prepared based on the requirements for basic foodstuffs intake set out in this Regulation and the Annex to this Regulation and the food ration shall be assessed based on the average food energy of two weeks’ food and daily recommended intake of vitamins and minerals according to § 18 of the Government of the Republic regulation No. 324 “Requirements for labelling of food and procedure for labelling and provision of information in another manner” of 19.12.2003.

 (5) On average over two weeks, protein shall account for 10% to 20% of the daily food energy.

 (6) Food shall contain edible fats in an amount that covers 30 ± 2.5% E of the average daily food energy requirement, whereas saturated fatty acids may not account for more than 10% of the food energy received.

§ 7.  Mealtimes

 (1) Warm food shall be served at least three times a day at fixed times. If possible, snacks shall be offered twice a day.

 (2) Proper food for night-time shall be provided to a crew member working at night from 22:00 to 6:00 and regular meals shall also be provided during watchkeeping.

§ 8.  Serving food to crew

 (1) Crew shall be served food in the dining hall (hereinafter ‘ mess room ’). The surface area and furnishing of the mess room shall be sufficient for crew members using the mess room at the same time. If necessary, food may be served in shifts.

 (2) When serving food, contamination of the food and multiplication of microbes shall be avoided and proper preservation of food until handover to the crew members shall be ensured.

 (3) Expired food may not be served to the crew. Expired food shall be separated from edible food and collected with other food waste in a tightly sealed container with appropriate structure that shall be given to port reception facilities or destroyed outside the prohibition zone, having regard to § 44¹ (1) of the Maritime Safety Act.

§ 9.  Potable water used for catering

  Water that meets the requirements for potable water established under the Water Act shall be used for drinking, cooking and washing the dishes on a ship.

§ 10.  On-board inspection of food ration and catering

 (1) At specified intervals and together with the worker in charge of catering or the ship’s cook, the master of a ship or a representative of the ship’s officers designated by the master of the ship shall inspect the food ration of crew members and the catering procedure.

 (2) In addition to subsection (1), at the request of the crew another representative of the crew may be involved in the inspection of the food ration compliance and catering.

§ 11.  Cases of illness related to catering

 (1) If during a voyage cases of illness occur that can be associated with food, potable water or violation of hygiene requirements upon catering, the master of the ship or the operator shall promptly report this to the Health Board and, if necessary, the food supervision agency in the country of destination.

 (2) In the event of a suspected food infection the samples of the suspected food shall be preserved frozen, but for no longer than one week.

¹Council Directive (EU) 2017/159 implementing the Agreement concerning the implementation of the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 of the International Labour Organisation, concluded on 21 May 2012 between the General Confederation of Agricultural Cooperatives in the European Union (Cogeca), the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) and the Association of National Organisations of Fishing Enterprises in the European Union (Europêche) (OJ L 25, 31.01.2017, pp. 12–35). [RT I, 06.03.2020, 12 – entry into force 09.03.2020]

Annex Basic foodstuffs intake corresponding to daily food energy requirements