§4 Seafarers

Article 1(3) of the Directive provides that: ‘[…] This Directive shall not apply to seafarers, as defined in Directive 1999/63/EC without prejudice to Article 2(8) of this Directive. […]’ A contrario, this provision means that the general Working Time Directive applies to seafarers who are not covered by Directive 1999/63/EC (82) as amended by Directive 2009/13/EC (83). Directive 1999/63/EC establishes minimum standards for the working time of seafarers. According to Clause 1 of the Annex to this directive, it applies to ‘seafarers on board every seagoing ship, whether publicly or privately owned, which is registered in the territory of any Member State and is ordinarily engaged in commercial maritime operations’ and that seafarers are defined by Clause 2 as ‘any person who is employed or engaged or works in any capacity on board a ship to which this Agreement applies’. As a result, workers on board vessels which are not ordinarily engaged in ‘commercial maritime operations’ would not be covered by Directive 1999/63/EC. In light of the wording of Article 1(3) as presented above, the Commission considers that such workers fall under the scope of the Working Time Directive.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07