Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers, 2024 Edition (eBook version)

The Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seafarers (COSWP) is a comprehensive set of guidelines and best practices designed to ensure the safety and health of seafarers working on merchant vessels. It provides practical guidance on safe working practices and procedures to be followed on board ships to minimise risks and prevent accidents.

It is a statutory requirement for the current edition of the code to be carried on board all UK ships, other than fishing vessels and pleasure craft. The code contains essential health and safety information, and it must be made available to any seafarer on board the ship who requests it.

What’s new?

The code has undergone a comprehensive redesign and modernisation process aimed at improving its structure, ensure consistency, and simplify its language. The use of recurring design features will facilitate quicker reference and enhance overall clarity and ease of understanding.

Industry played a central role throughout the review process. Industry focus groups, representing diverse user groups, were convened to assess concepts of design and address feedback. Further engagement on the proposed adaptation was made with industry through holding a stakeholder engagement exercise. This collaboration between MCA and industry effort led to collective agreement on actions required to reform the code into a new edition.