Medical Equipment & First Aid

Ship medicine chest inspection, restocking and first aid equipment

Ship medicine chest inspection and restocking keep the vessel able to treat injuries and illness far from shore medical care. On most merchant ships there is no doctor, so the master or a designated officer relies on the medicine chest, the medical equipment and a medical guide, supported by radio medical advice. This service covers the main medicine chest and hospital stores, lifeboat and liferaft first aid kits, medical oxygen, defibrillators, stretchers and the dangerous goods antidote supplements carried where required.

Medicines expire, controlled drugs need careful records, and national lists change over time. vslSafety coordinates licensed pharmacies and medical suppliers at the vessel’s port to inspect the chest, replace expired or used items, and issue the certificate that flag and port State control expect to see.

Regulatory requirements and standards

The Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC 2006) regulation 4.1 and Standard A4.1 paragraph 4(a) require all ships to carry a medicine chest, medical equipment and a medical guide, with the specifics prescribed by the competent authority and subject to regular inspection. Guideline B4.1.1 recommends that the medicine chest and its contents be inspected at intervals not exceeding 12 months, checking labelling, expiry dates, storage conditions and the functioning of equipment. The guideline refers to the WHO International Medical Guide for Ships, third edition, as the basis for national requirements.

Ships carrying dangerous goods also need the IMO Medical First Aid Guide for Use in Accidents Involving Dangerous Goods (MFAG) and the associated medicines and antidotes. National scales implement these requirements in different ways. In the European Union, Council Directive 92/29/EEC sets medical supplies by vessel category and calls for an annual inspection by a competent person or authority. The United Kingdom scale is set out in MSN 1905 (M+F), which replaced MSN 1768. Other flags, including Liberia, the Marshall Islands and Panama, publish their own lists or accept recognised equivalents.

The inspection and certificate are normally issued by a licensed pharmacist or medical supplier accepted by the flag. Controlled drugs, such as opioid analgesics, can only be supplied against a prescription or authorisation acceptable to the port country, and records must be kept on board.

Inspection and replacement intervals

Item	Requirement	Interval	Reference
Medicine chest and medical equipment	Inspection of contents, expiry, storage and equipment	Not exceeding 12 months	MLC Standard A4.1, Guideline B4.1.1
EU-flagged vessels	Annual inspection by competent person or authority	Annually	Directive 92/29/EEC
Medicines and consumables	Replacement of expired or used items	Before expiry, and after use	Flag scale
Controlled drugs	Register and stock reconciliation	Continuous, checked at inspection	Flag and national law
Medical oxygen cylinders	Content, expiry and cylinder test date	At inspection; cylinder retest per national rules	Flag scale, cylinder standards
Survival craft first aid kits	Contents and expiry	At lifeboat checks and liferaft servicing	LSA Code

What the service includes

• Check of the medicine chest against the flag State scale and the ship’s category
• Recording of expiry dates, quantities and storage conditions, including refrigerated medicines
• Supply of replacement medicines, dressings, instruments and consumables
• Supply of controlled drugs where the port country’s law and the ship’s authorisation allow
• Check and replacement of MFAG dangerous goods antidotes where carried
• Inspection or exchange of medical oxygen cylinders and resuscitation equipment
• Defibrillator check, pads and battery replacement
• Restocking of lifeboat and deck first aid kits
• Issue of the medicine chest certificate and updated inventory

Equipment types covered

The service covers main medicine chests for category A, B and C vessels under EU and UK scales, hospital and sickbay equipment, stretchers and splints, medical oxygen sets, automated external defibrillators, eye wash stations, burns kits and survival craft first aid kits. Medicines are sourced from the port’s licensed supply chain, so brand names often differ from those on the ship’s list; the supplier should confirm that each substitute has the same active ingredient and strength.

Common defects and PSC deficiencies

• Expired medicines or no valid medicine chest certificate
• Contents not matching the flag scale or missing required items
• Controlled drugs register incomplete or stock not reconciled
• No MFAG or dangerous goods antidotes on a ship carrying dangerous cargo
• Medical oxygen cylinders empty, overdue for test or with missing masks
• No current medical guide on board, or radio medical advice procedure not known
• Refrigerated medicines stored at the wrong temperature

Medical care on board falls under the MLC and is checked by port State control officers as part of the inspection of living and working conditions.

Certificates and documents you receive

• Medicine chest inspection certificate stating the scale used and the next due date
• Updated inventory showing items, quantities and expiry dates
• Supply invoice and delivery documents
• Controlled drugs supply documents where applicable
• Oxygen cylinder and defibrillator service records where included

How to prepare the vessel

Have the medicine chest inventory, previous certificate and controlled drugs register ready for the inspector. Identify the flag scale and vessel category, and state whether dangerous goods supplements are required. Allow access to the ship’s hospital and all first aid kit locations. Controlled drugs usually require the master’s or company’s written order and may take extra time to clear, so send the list early. Lifeboat kits can be restocked during lifeboat inspection and servicing, and first aid training can be arranged through maritime safety training.

Information needed for a quotation

• Vessel name, IMO number and flag
• Port, berth or anchorage, ETA and ETD
• Flag scale, vessel category and number of persons on board
• Current inventory or list of missing and expired items
• Whether controlled drugs and MFAG antidotes are needed
• Oxygen cylinders, defibrillator or other equipment to be serviced
• Date of the last medicine chest certificate

vslSafety then coordinates a suitable licensed provider at the vessel’s port and confirms scope and delivery before attendance.

Frequently asked questions

How often must a ship’s medicine chest be inspected?

MLC 2006 requires regular inspection of the medicine chest, and Guideline B4.1.1 recommends intervals not exceeding 12 months. Most flag administrations apply this annual interval, and EU Directive 92/29/EEC requires an annual inspection for vessels flying the flag of a member State. Items used or expiring between inspections should be replaced as they are identified.

Which list should a ship use for its medicine chest?

Use the scale prescribed by the flag State. Many flags base their lists on the WHO International Medical Guide for Ships, while EU and UK vessels follow Directive 92/29/EEC and MSN 1905 respectively. Some flags accept another recognised scale if it meets their minimum. The vessel category, trading area, number of persons and any dangerous cargo all affect the quantities required.

Can controlled drugs be supplied to ships in any port?

Controlled drugs are subject to national narcotics laws, which vary widely. In many ports a supplier can provide them against a written order from the master or company, while in others supply is restricted or requires a local prescription. The ship must keep a register and reconcile stock at each inspection. Allow extra lead time and send the order early.

Is a defibrillator mandatory on merchant ships?

MLC 2006 does not name defibrillators specifically; the equipment required is set by the flag State’s scale. Some flags and many companies now require or recommend an automated external defibrillator, particularly on passenger ships and vessels with larger crews. Check the flag scale and company policy, and keep pads and batteries within their expiry dates.

What happens if the medicine chest certificate has expired?

An expired certificate or expired medicines may be recorded as a deficiency by port State control, and serious shortfalls can affect the vessel’s MLC compliance. Arranging an inspection and restocking at the next port usually resolves the matter. Keep the updated certificate and inventory available for the next inspection.