Hong Kong Regulations

MERCHANT SHIPPING (SEAFARERS) (CREW ACCOMMODATION) - SECT 24

Mess rooms

Caution: This is a past version. See the current version here.

(1) Unless the circumstances are such that no members of the crew are required
to mess on board, mess rooms shall be provided for the crew; each mess room
shall be large enough to accommodate the greatest number of seafarers likely
to use it at any one time.

(2) Mess rooms shall be separate from sleeping rooms, provided that in ships
of under 300 tons a mess room, if not combined with a galley, may be combined
with sleeping accommodation if it is impracticable to provide a separate mess
room.

(3) In every ship of 500 tons or over, each of the following groups of
seafarers shall be provided with a mess room separate from that provided for
any other group -

   (a)  officers; and

   (b)  ratings.

(4) Unless the officers are accommodated in widely separated parts of the ship
the mess room provided pursuant to subsection (3) for officers shall be a
single mess room for the use of all officers.

(5) In every ship of 1000 tons or over the mess rooms provided pursuant to
subsection (3) for the following groups of ratings, that is to say -

   (a)  petty officers of the deck department;

   (b)  petty officers of the engine room department;

   (c)  other ratings of the deck department; and

   (d)  other ratings of the engine room department, shall consist of -

        (i)    4 separate mess rooms, one for use by each group;

        (ii)   a combined mess room to be shared by 2 groups and 2 separate
               mess rooms for use by the other 2 groups;

        (iii)  2 combined mess rooms, each to be shared by 2 groups; or

        (iv)   a single mess room for use by all 4 groups: Provided that a
               combined mess room for use by 2 groups shall not be shared by
               petty officers of one department and other ratings of the other
               department, but may be shared by any other 2 groups.

(6) In every ship of 5000 tons or over which is a foreign-going ship with a
catering department of more than 5 persons, a separate mess room shall be
provided for use by ratings of the catering department, except where the mess
room provided for ratings of other departments is a single mess room.

(7) Where no separate mess room is provided for ratings of the catering
department, messing accommodation shall be provided for them in the mess rooms
provided for ratings of other departments.

(8) Cadets shall be provided with a separate mess room or with messing
accommodation in the officers' mess room.

(9) The floor area of every mess room shall be not less than 1 square metre
per seafarer for as many seafarers as are likely to use the room at any one
time for messing. (Enacted 1995)