Failure to comply with directions
22.—(1) The master of a vessel who fails to comply with a direction given under article 21 (power to give directions) above shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 onthe standard scale.
(2) Without prejudice to any other defence it shall be a defence to a charge made pursuant to paragraph (1) above that the master had reasonable ground for believing that to comply with the direction in question would have endangered life or imperilled the safety of any vessel or its cargo, or that for any other reason such compliance was impractical.