The 'Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seamen' is intended primarily for merchant seamen on UK-registered vessels. The Code details the regulatory framework for health and safety on board ship, safety management and statutory duties underlying the advice in the Code, and the areas that should be covered when introducing a new recruit to the safety procedures on board. Amendment 8 is the latest amendment to the Code and contains two significant changes to the existing Code following the introduction of new regulations. The first change relates to the Merchant Shipping (Health and Safety at Work) Carcinogens and Mutagens Regulations 2007, which came into force on the 1 March 2008 which necessitates the inclusion of a new section in Chapter 27 - Hazardous Substances. The second change relates to the Merchant Shipping (Control of Noise at Work) Regulations 2007 and Merchant Shipping (Control of Vibration at Work) Regulations 2007 which came into force on the 23 February 2008. Copies of the current edition of the Code must be carried on all UK ships other than fishing vessels and pleasure craft. A copy must be made available to any seaman in the ship who requests it, in accordance with the Merchant Shipping (Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seamen) Regulations 1998. Amendment 9 to the Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seamen provides some useful pictorial representations of various existing safety points contained within the Code: these include arrangements for working aloft, working on portable ladders, arrangements for entrances into enclosed spaces, use of mobile work equipment and the positioning of boarding equipment.