Merchant Shipping Act 1995

PART IU.K. BRITISH SHIPS

1 British ships and United Kingdom ships.U.K.

(1)A ship is a British ship if—

(a)the ship is registered in the United Kingdom under Part II; or

(b)the ship is, as a Government ship, registered in the United Kingdom in pursuance of an Order in Council under section 308; or

(c)the ship is registered under the law of a relevant British possession; or

(d)the ship is a small ship other than a fishing vessel and—

(i)is not registered under Part II, but

(ii)is wholly owned by qualified owners, and

(iii)is not registered under the law of a country outside the United Kingdom.

(2)For the purposes of subsection (1)(d) above—

• “qualified owners” means persons of such description qualified to own British ships as is prescribed by regulations made by the Secretary of State for the purposes of that paragraph; and

• “small ship” means a ship less than 24 metres in length (“length” having the same meaning as in the tonnage regulations).

(3)A ship is a “United Kingdom ship” for the purposes of this Act (except section 85 and 144(3)) if the ship is registered in the United Kingdom under Part II (and in Part V “United Kingdom fishing vessel” has a corresponding meaning).

2 British flag.U.K.

(1)The flag which every British ship is entitled to fly is the red ensign (without any defacement or modification) and, subject to subsections (2) and (3) below, no other colours.

(2)Subsection (1) above does not apply to Government ships.

(3)The following are also proper national colours, that is to say—

(a)any colours allowed to be worn in pursuance of a warrant from Her Majesty or from the Secretary of State;

(b)in the case of British ships registered in a relevant British possession, any colours consisting of the red ensign defaced or modified whose adoption for ships registered in that possession is authorised or confirmed by Her Majesty by Order in Council.

(4)Any Order under subsection (3)(b) above shall be laid before Parliament after being made.

3 Offences relating to British character of ship.U.K.

(1)If the master or owner of a ship which is not a British ship does anything, or permits anything to be done, for the purpose of causing the ship to appear to be a British ship then, except as provided by subsections (2) and (3) below, the ship shall be liable to forfeiture and the master, the owner and any charterer shall each be guilty of an offence.

(2)No liability arises under subsection (1) above where the assumption of British nationality has been made for the purpose of escaping capture by an enemy or by a foreign ship of war in the exercise of some belligerent right.

(3)Where the registration of any ship has terminated by virtue of any provision of registration regulations, any marks prescribed by registration regulations displayed on the ship within the period of 14 days beginning with the date of termination of that registration shall be disregarded for the purposes of subsection (1) above.

(4)If the master or owner of a British ship does anything, or permits anything to be done, for the purpose of concealing the nationality of the ship, the ship shall be liable to forfeiture and the master, the owner and any charterer of the ship shall each be guilty of an offence.

(5)Without prejudice to the generality of subsections (1) and (4) above, those subsections apply in particular to acts or deliberate omissions as respects—

(a)the flying of a national flag;

(b)the carrying or production of certificates of registration or other documents relating to the nationality of the ship; and

(c)the display of marks required by the law of any country.

(6)Any person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to [F1a fine not exceeding £50,000] [F1a fine];

(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine, or both.

(7)This section applies to things done outside, as well as to things done within, the United Kingdom.

4 Penalty for carrying improper colours.U.K.

(1)If any of the following colours, namely—

(a)any distinctive national colours except—

(i)the red ensign,

(ii)the Union flag (commonly known as the Union Jack) with a white border, or

(iii)any colours authorised or confirmed under section 2(3)(b); or

(b)any colours usually worn by Her Majesty’s ships or resembling those of Her Majesty, or

(c)the pendant usually carried by Her Majesty’s ships or any pendant resembling that pendant,

are hoisted on board any British ship without warrant from Her Majesty or from the Secretary of State, the master of the ship, or the owner of the ship (if on board), and every other person hoisting them shall be guilty of an offence.

(2)A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) above shall be liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

(b)on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

(3)If any colours are hoisted on board a ship in contravention of subsection (1) above, any of the following, namely—

(a)any commissioned naval or military officer,

(b)any officer of customs and excise, and

(c)any British consular officer,

may board the ship and seize and take away the colours.

(4)Any colours seized under subsection (3) above shall be forfeited to Her Majesty.

(5)In this section “colours” includes any pendant.

5 Duty to show British flag.U.K.

(1)Subject to subsection (2) below, a British ship, other than a fishing vessel, shall hoist the red ensign or other proper national colours—

(a)on a signal being made to the ship by one of Her Majesty’s ships (including any ship under the command of a commissioned naval officer); and

(b)on entering or leaving any foreign port; and

(c)in the case of ships of 50 or more tons gross tonnage, on entering or leaving any British port.

(2)Subsection (1)(c) above does not apply to a small ship (as defined in section 1(2)) registered under Part II.

6 Duty to declare national character of ship.U.K.

(1)An officer of customs and excise shall not grant a clearance or transire for any ship until the master of such ship has declared to that officer the name of the nation to which he claims that the ship belongs, and that officer shall thereupon enter that name on the clearance or transire.

(2)If a ship attempts to proceed to sea without such clearance or transire, the ship may be detained until the declaration is made.

7 Proceedings on forfeiture of a ship.U.K.

(1)Where any ship has either wholly or as to any share in it become liable to forfeiture under this Part—

(a)any commissioned naval or military officer, or

(b)any person appointed by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this section;

may seize and detain the ship and bring the ship for adjudication before the court.

(2)Where a ship is subject to adjudication under this section the court may—

(a)adjudge the ship and her equipment to be forfeited to Her Majesty; and

(b)make such order in the case as seems just.

(3)No officer or person bringing proceedings under this section shall be liable in damages in respect of the seizure or detention of the ship, notwithstanding that the ship has not been proceeded against or, if proceeded against, adjudicated not liable to forfeiture, if the court is satisfied that there were reasonable grounds for the seizure or detention.

(4)If the court is not so satisfied the court may award costs (or in Scotland expenses) and damages to the party aggrieved and make such other order as the court thinks just.

(5)In this section “the court” means the High Court or, in Scotland, the Court of Session.

Part IIU.K. Registration

GeneralU.K.

8 Central register of British ships.U.K.

(1)There shall continue to be a register of British ships for all registrations of ships in the United Kingdom.

(2)The register shall be maintained by the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen as registrar.

(3)The Secretary of State may designate any person to discharge, on behalf of the registrar, all his functions or such of them as the Secretary of State may direct.

(4)The Secretary of State may give to the registrar directions of a general nature as to the discharge of any of his functions.

(5)The register shall be so constituted as to distinguish, in a separate part, registrations of fishing vessels and may be otherwise divided into parts so as to distinguish between classes or descriptions of ships.

(6)The register shall be maintained in accordance with registration regulations and the private law provisions for registered ships and any directions given by the Secretary of State under subsection (4) above.

(7)The register shall be available for public inspection.

9 Registration of ships: basic provisions.U.K.

(1)A ship is entitled to be registered if—

(a)it is owned, to the prescribed extent, by persons qualified to own British ships; and

(b)such other conditions are satisfied as are prescribed under subsection (2)(b) below;

(and any application for registration is duly made).

(2)It shall be for registration regulations—

(a)to determine the persons who are qualified to be owners of British ships, or British ships of any class or description, and to prescribe the extent of the ownership required for compliance with subsection (1)(a) above;

(b)to prescribe other requirements designed to secure that, taken in conjunction with the requisite ownership, only ships having a British connection are registered.

(3)The registrar may, nevertheless, if registration regulations so provide, refuse to register or terminate the registration of a ship if, having regard to any relevant requirements of this Act, he considers it would be inappropriate for the ship to be or, as the case may be, to remain registered.

(4)The registrar may, if registration regulations so provide, register a fishing vessel notwithstanding that the requirement of subsection (1)(a) above is not satisfied in relation to a particular owner of a share in the vessel if the vessel otherwise has a British connection.

(5)Where a ship becomes registered at a time when it is already registered under the law of a country other than the United Kingdom, the owner of the ship shall take all reasonable steps to secure the termination of the ship’s registration under the law of that country.

(6)Subsection (5) above does not apply to a ship which becomes registered on a transfer of registration to the register from a relevant British possession.

(7)Any person who contravenes subsection (5) above shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(8)In this section “the relevant requirements of this Act” means the requirements of this Act (including requirements falling to be complied with after registration) relating to—

(a)the condition of ships or their equipment so far as relevant to their safety or any risk of pollution; and

(b)the safety, health and welfare of persons employed or engaged in them.

(9)In this Part references to a ship’s having a British connection are references to compliance with the conditions of entitlement imposed by subsection (1)(a) and (b) above and “declaration of British connection” is to be construed accordingly.

10 Registration regulations.U.K.

(1)The Secretary of State shall by regulations (to be known as registration regulations) make provision for and in connection with the registration of ships as British ships.

(2)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above, registration regulations may, in particular, make provision with respect to any of the following matters—

(a)the persons by whom and the manner in which applications in connection with registration are to be made;

(b)the information and evidence (including declarations of British connection) to be provided in connection with such applications and such supplementary information or evidence as may be required by any specified authority;

(c)the shares in the property in, and the numbers of owners (including joint owners) of, a ship permitted for the purposes of registration and the persons required or permitted to be registered in respect of a ship or to be so registered in specified circumstances;

(d)the issue of certificates (including provisional certificates) of registration, their production and surrender;

(e)restricting and regulating the names of ships registered or to be registered;

(f)the marking of ships registered or to be registered, including marks for identifying the port to which a ship is to be treated as belonging;

(g)the period for which registration is to remain effective without renewal;

(h)the production to the registrar of declarations of British connection or other information relating thereto, as respects registered ships, at specified intervals or at his request;

(i)the survey and inspection of ships registered or to be registered and the recording of their tonnage as ascertained (or re-ascertained) under the tonnage regulations;

(j)the refusal, suspension and termination of registration in specified circumstances;

(k)matters arising out of the expiration, suspension or termination of registration (including the removal of marks and the cancellation of certificates);

(l)the charging of fees in connection with registration or registered ships;

(m)the transfer of the registration of ships to and from the register from and to registers or corresponding records in countries other than the United Kingdom;

(n)inspection of the register;

(o)any other matter which is authorised or required by this Part to be prescribed in registration regulations;

but no provision determining, or providing for determining, the fees to be charged or prescribing any arrangements for their determination by other persons shall be made without the approval of the Treasury.

(3)Registration regulations may—

(a)make different provision for different classes or descriptions of ships and for different circumstances;

(b)without prejudice to paragraph (a) above, make provision for the granting of exemptions or dispensations by the Secretary of State from specified requirements of the regulations, subject to such conditions (if any) as he thinks fit to impose; and

(c)make such transitional, incidental or supplementary provision as appears to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient, including provision authorising investigations and conferring powers of inspection for verifying the British connection of a ship.

(4)Registration regulations—

(a)may make provision for the registration of any class or description of ships to be such as to exclude the application of the private law provisions for registered ships and, if they do, may regulate the transfer, transmission or mortgaging of ships of the class or description so excluded;

(b)may make provision for any matter which is authorised or required by those provisions to be prescribed by registration regulations; and

(c)shall make provision precluding notice of any trust being entered in the register or being receivable by the registrar except as respects specified classes or descriptions of ships or in specified circumstances.

(5)Registration regulations may create offences subject to the limitation that no offence shall be punishable with imprisonment or punishable on summary conviction with a fine exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(6)Registration regulations may provide for—

(a)the approval of forms by the Secretary of State; and

(b)the discharge of specified functions by specified authorities or persons.

(7)Registration regulations may provide for any of their provisions to extend to places outside the United Kingdom.

(8)Any document purporting to be a copy of any information contained in an entry in the register and to be certified as a true copy by the registrar shall be evidence (and, in Scotland, sufficient evidence) of the matters stated in the document.

(9)Registration regulations may provide that any reference in any other Act or in any instrument made under any other Act to the port of registry or the port to which a ship belongs shall be construed as a reference to the port identified by the marks required for the purpose by registration regulations.

11 Tonnage ascertained for registration to be tonnage of ship.U.K.

When the tonnage of any ship has been ascertained and registered in accordance with the tonnage regulations that tonnage shall be treated as the tonnage of the ship except so far as registration regulations provide, in specified circumstances, for the ship to be re-measured and the register amended accordingly.

12 Tonnage of ships of foreign countries adopting tonnage regulations.U.K.

(1)Her Majesty may by Order in Council make such provision in relation to the ships of a foreign country as is authorised by this section where it appears to Her that the tonnage regulations have been adopted by the foreign country and are in force there.

(2)An Order under this section may order that the ships of the foreign country shall, without being re-measured in the United Kingdom, be treated as being of the tonnage denoted by their certificates of registration or other national papers, to the same extent, and for the same purposes as the tonnage denoted in the certificate of registration of a United Kingdom ship is treated as being the tonnage of that ship.

(3)Where an Order under this section is in force in relation to the ships of any country any space shown in the ship’s certificate of registration or other national papers as deducted from the tonnage shall, if a similar deduction in the case of a United Kingdom ship depends on compliance with any conditions or on the compliance being evidenced in any manner, be treated as complying with those conditions and as being so evidenced, unless a surveyor of ships certifies to the Secretary of State that the construction and equipment of the ship as respects that space do not come up to the standard which would be required if the ship were a United Kingdom ship.

(4)Any such Order may—

(a)operate for a limited time; and

(b)be subject to such conditions and qualifications (if any) as Her Majesty may consider expedient.

(5)If it appears to Her Majesty that the tonnage of any foreign ship, as measured by the rules of the country to which the ship belongs, materially differs from what it would be under the tonnage regulations, Her Majesty may by Order in Council order that, notwithstanding any Order in Council in force under this section, any of the ships of that country may, for all or any of the purposes of this Act, be re-measured in accordance with the tonnage regulations.

13 Status of certificate of registration.U.K.

The certificate of registration of a British ship shall be used only for the lawful navigation of the ship, and shall not be subject to detention to secure any private right or claim.

14 Offences relating to a ship’s British connection.U.K.

(1)Any person who, in relation to any matter relevant to the British connection of a ship—

(a)makes to the registrar a statement which he knows to be false or recklessly makes a statement which is false; or

(b)furnishes to the registrar information which is false,

shall be guilty of an offence.

(2)If at any time there occurs, in relation to a registered ship, any change affecting the British connection of the ship the owner of the ship shall, as soon as practicable after the change occurs, notify the registrar of that change; and if he fails to do so he shall be guilty of an offence.

(3)Any person who intentionally alters, suppresses, conceals or destroys a document which contains information relating to the British connection of a ship and which he has been required to produce to the registrar in pursuance of registration regulations shall be guilty of an offence.

(4)A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine, or both.

(5)This section applies to things done outside, as well as to things done within, the United Kingdom.

15 Supplementary provisions as respects fishing vessels.U.K.

(1)Subject to subsection (2) below, if a fishing vessel which—

(a)is either—

(i)entitled to be registered, or

(ii)wholly owned by persons qualified to be owners of British ships, but

(b)is registered neither under this Act in the part of the register relating to fishing vessels nor under the law of any country outside the United Kingdom,

fishes for profit the vessel shall be liable to forfeiture and the skipper, the owner and the charterer of the vessel shall each be guilty of an offence.

(2)Subsection (1) above does not apply to fishing vessels of such classes or descriptions or in such circumstances as may be specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State.

(3)If the skipper or owner of a fishing vessel which is not registered in the United Kingdom does anything, or permits anything to be done, for the purpose of causing the vessel to appear to be a vessel registered in the United Kingdom, then, subject to subsection (4) below, the vessel shall be liable to forfeiture and the skipper, the owner and any charterer of the vessel shall each be guilty of an offence.

(4)Where the registration of a fishing vessel has terminated by virtue of any provision of registration regulations, any marks prescribed by registration regulations displayed on the fishing vessel within the period of 14 days beginning with the date of termination of that registration shall be disregarded for the purposes of subsection (3) above.

(5)Any person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to [F2a fine not exceeding £50,000] [F2a fine];

(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine, or both.

(6)Proceedings for an offence under this section shall not be instituted—

(a)in England and Wales, except by or with the consent of the Attorney [F3General or] the Secretary of State F4. . .; or

(b)in Northern Ireland, except by or with the consent of the Attorney General for Northern Ireland, the Secretary of State or the Minister.

(7)In subsection (6) above “the Minister”—

F5(a). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(b)in relation to Northern Ireland, means the Secretary of State concerned with sea fishing in Northern Ireland.

(8)This section applies to things done outside, as well as to things done within, the United Kingdom.

(9)Sections 8 and 9 of the M1Sea Fisheries Act 1968 (general powers of British sea-fishery officers and powers of sea-fishery officers to enforce conventions) shall apply in relation to any provision of this section or of registration regulations in their application to fishing vessels or fishing vessels of any class or description as they apply in relation to any order mentioned in section 8 of that Act and in relation to any convention mentioned in section 9 of that Act respectively; and sections 10 to 12 and 14 of that Act (offences and supplemental proceedings as to legal proceedings) shall apply accordingly.

16 Private law provisions for registered ships and liability as owner.U.K.

(1)Schedule 1 (which makes provision relating to the title to, and the registration of mortgages over, ships) shall have effect.

(2)Schedule 1 does not apply in relation to ships which are excluded from its application by registration regulations under section 10(4)(a).

(3)Where any person is beneficially interested, otherwise than as mortgagee, in any ship or share in a ship registered in the name of some other person as owner, the person so interested shall, as well as the registered owner, be liable to any pecuniary penalties imposed by or under this Act or any other Act on the owners of registered ships.

(4)Where the registration of any ship terminates by virtue of any provision of registration regulations, the termination of that registration shall not affect any entry made in the register so far as relating to any undischarged registered mortgage of that ship or of any share in it.

(5)In subsection (4) above “registered mortgage” has the same meaning as in that Schedule.

(6)In this Part “the private law provisions for registered ships” means the provisions of Schedule 1 and registration regulations made for the purposes of that Schedule or the provisions of registration regulations made under section 10(4)(a).

Ships on bareboat charterU.K.

17 Ships bareboat chartered-in by British charterers.U.K.

(1)This section applies to any ship which—

(a)is registered under the law of a country other than the United Kingdom (“the country of original registration”),

(b)is chartered on bareboat charter terms to a charterer who is a person qualified to own British ships, and

(c)is so chartered in circumstances where the conditions of entitlement to registration prescribed under section 9(2)(b), read with the requisite modifications, are satisfied as respects the charterer and the ship.

(2)The “requisite modifications” of those conditions are the substitution for any requirement to be satisfied by or as respects the owner of a ship of a corresponding requirement to be satisfied by or as respects the charterer of the ship.

(3)A ship to which this section applies is entitled to be registered if an application for registration is duly made, but section 9(3) applies also in relation to registration by virtue of this section.

(4)The registration of a ship registered by virtue of this section shall remain in force (unless terminated earlier by virtue of registration regulations and subject to any suspension thereunder) until the end of the charter period and shall then terminate by virtue of this subsection.

(5)Section 9(5) does not apply to a ship registered by virtue of this section but registration regulations shall include provision for securing that the authority responsible for the registration of ships in the country of original registration is notified of the registration of the ship and of the termination of its registration whether by virtue of subsection (4) above or registration regulations.

(6)Accordingly, throughout the period for which a ship is registered by virtue of this section—

(a)the ship shall, as a British ship, be entitled to fly the British flag;

(b)this Act shall, subject to subsections (7) and (8) below, apply to the ship as a British ship or as a registered ship as it applies to other British ships and to registered ships; and

(c)any other enactment applicable to British ships or ships registered under this Act shall, subject to subsection (8) below, apply to the ship as a British ship or as a registered ship.

(7)The private law provisions for registered ships shall not apply to a ship registered by virtue of this section and any matters or questions corresponding to those for which the private law provisions for registered ships make provision shall be determined by reference to the law of the country of original registration.

(8)Her Majesty may, subject to subsection (9) below, by Order in Council, provide that any enactment falling within subsection (6)(b) or (c) above—

(a)shall not have effect in accordance with that subsection in relation to a ship registered by virtue of this section, or

(b)shall so have effect subject to such modifications (if any) as may be specified in the Order.

(9)No provision shall be made by an Order in Council under subsection (8) above which would have the effect of relaxing the relevant requirements of this Act (as defined in section 9(8)) in their application to a ship to which this section applies.

(10)An Order in Council under subsection (8) above may make such transitional, incidental or supplementary provision as appears to Her Majesty to be necessary or expedient (including provision divesting or providing for the divestment of ownership in the ship).

(11)In this section—

• “bareboat charter terms”, in relation to a ship, means the hiring of the ship for a stipulated period on terms which give the charterer possession and control of the ship, including the right to appoint the master and crew; and

• “the charter period” means the period during which the ship is chartered on bareboat charter terms.

SupplementalU.K.

18 Regulation of registration in British possessions by reference to categories of registries.U.K.

(1)Her Majesty may by Order in Council make provision for regulating the registration in relevant British possessions of ships other than small ships and fishing vessels by reference to categories of registries established by the Order.

(2)Any such Order may—

(a)establish different categories of registries to which different restrictions on the registrations of ships in such possessions apply, being restrictions framed by reference to—

(i)ships’ tonnages, or

(ii)types of ships, or

(iii)any other specified matter, or

(iv)any combination of matters falling within one or more of the preceding sub-paragraphs,

as well as a category of registries to which no such restriction applies;

(b)assign any relevant British possession to such one of the categories so established as appears to Her Majesty to be appropriate;

(c)provide that, where a relevant British possession has been assigned to a category to which any such restriction on registration as is mentioned in paragraph (a) applies, no ship covered by that restriction shall be registered under the law of that possession;

(d)specify circumstances in which ships may be exempted from any provision made by virtue of paragraph (c) above.

(3)Any provision made by virtue of subsection (2)(c) above shall be expressed to be without prejudice to the operation of any provision for the time being in force under the law of any such possession as is mentioned in subsection (2)(c) above by virtue of which the registration of ships in that possession is, or may be, further restricted.

(4)An Order in Council under this section may make such transitional, incidental or supplementary provision as appears to Her Majesty to be necessary or expedient.

(5)In this section “small ship” has the meaning given by section 1(2).

19 Tonnage regulations.U.K.

(1)The tonnage of any ship to be registered under this Part shall be ascertained in accordance with regulations made by the Secretary of State (“tonnage regulations”).

(2)Tonnage regulations—

(a)may make different provisions for different descriptions of ships or for the same description of ships in different circumstances;

(b)may make any regulation dependent on compliance with such conditions, to be evidenced in such manner, as may be specified in the regulations;

(c)may prohibit or restrict the carriage of goods or stores in spaces not included in the registered tonnage and may provide for making the master and the owner each liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale where such a prohibition or restriction is contravened.

(3)Tonnage regulations may make provision—

(a)for assigning to a ship, either instead of or as an alternative to the tonnage ascertained in accordance with the other provisions of the regulations, a lower tonnage applicable where the ship is not loaded to the full depth to which it can safely be loaded;

(b)for indicating on the ship, by such mark as may be specified in the regulations, that such a lower tonnage has been assigned to it; and

(c)where the lower tonnage has been assigned to it as an alternative, for indicating on the ship the depth to which the ship may be loaded for the lower tonnage to be applicable.

(4)Tonnage regulations may provide for the measurement and survey of ships to be undertaken, in such circumstances as may be specified in the regulations by persons appointed by such organisations as may be authorised for the purpose by the Secretary of State.

(5)Tonnage regulations may provide for the issue, by the Secretary of State or by persons appointed by such organisations as may be authorised for the purpose by the Secretary of State, of certificates of the registered tonnage of any ship or of the tonnage which is to be taken for any purpose specified in the regulations as the tonnage of a ship not registered in the United Kingdom, and for the cancellation and delivery up of such certificates in such circumstances as may be prescribed by the regulations.

(6)Regulations requiring the delivery up of any certificate may make a failure to comply with the requirement an offence punishable on summary conviction with a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

20 Proceedings on forfeiture of ship.U.K.

Section 7 applies in relation to ships or shares in ships which become liable to forfeiture under this Part as it applies in relation to ships or shares in ships which become liable to forfeiture under Part 1.

21 Disclosure of information relating to registration by other government departments.U.K.

(1)No obligation as to secrecy or other restriction on the disclosure of information (whether imposed by statute or otherwise) shall preclude any of the persons mentioned in subsection (2) below from disclosing—

(a)to the Secretary of State, or

(b)to the registrar, or

(c)to an authorised officer of the Secretary of State,

information for the purpose of assisting the Secretary of State in the performance of his functions under this Part.

(2)The persons referred to in subsection (1) above are—

(a)the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food,

(b)the Secretaries of State respectively concerned with sea fishing in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland,

(c)the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland,

(d)the Commissioners of Customs and Excise, and

(e)an authorised officer of any of the persons falling within paragraphs (a) to (d) above.

(3)Information obtained by any person in pursuance of subsection (1) above shall not be disclosed by him to any other person except where the disclosure is made—

(a)to a person to whom the information could have been disclosed by any of the persons mentioned in subsection (2) above in accordance with subsection (1) above, or

(b)for the purposes of any legal proceedings arising out of this Part.

22 Forgery of documents: Scotland.U.K.

(1)In Scotland, if any person forges or fraudulently alters—

(a)any entry or endorsement in the register; or

(b)subject to subsection (2) below, any other document as respects which provision is made by, under or by virtue of this Part (or any entry or endorsement in or on such other document and as respects which provision is so made),

he shall be liable—

(i)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both; or

(ii)on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment or to both.

(2)Subsection (1)(b) does not apply in respect of actings which constitute an offence under section 288(6) or 300(8).

23 Interpretation.U.K.

(1)In this Part—

• “British connection” and “declaration of British connection” have the meaning given in section 9(9);

• “the private law provisions for registered ships” has the meaning given in section 16;

• “the register” means the register of British ships maintained for the United Kingdom under section 8 and “registered” (except with reference to the law of another country) is to be construed accordingly; and

• “the registrar” means the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen in his capacity as registrar or, as respects functions of his being discharged by another authority or person, that authority or person.

(2)Where, for the purposes of any enactment the question arises whether a ship is owned by persons qualified to own British ships, the question shall be determined by reference to registration regulations made under section 9(2)(a).

Part IIIU.K. Masters and Seamen

Application of PartU.K.

24 Application of this Part.U.K.

(1)With the exceptions specified in subsection (2) below, this Part applies only to ships which are sea-going ships and masters and seamen employed in sea-going ships.

(2)Those exceptions are sections 43, 46 to 52, 54, 55, 58, 61 to 68 and 69.

[F6(2A)Sections 25, 26, 30, 31, 33, 38(1), 44, 45, 55 and 73 to 75 apply to sea-going United Kingdom ships and masters and seamen employed in them only if they are—

F7(a). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(b)ships of traditional build; or

(c)vessels which are not ordinarily engaged in commercial activities.]

(3)This Part, in its application to fishing vessels and persons serving in them, has effect subject to the modifications made by Part V and in particular sections 110 and 112 apply to the exclusion of sections 30 and 31.

Engagement and discharge of crewsU.K.

25 Crew agreements.U.K.

(1)Except as provided under subsection (5) below, an agreement in writing shall be made between each person employed as a seaman in a United Kingdom ship and the persons employing him and shall be signed both by him and by or on behalf of them.

(2)The agreements made under this section with the several persons employed in a ship shall be contained in one document (in this Part referred to as a crew agreement) except that in such cases as the Secretary of State may approve—

(a)the agreements to be made under this section with the persons employed in a ship may be contained in more than one crew agreement; and

(b)one crew agreement may relate to more than one ship.

(3)The provisions and form of a crew agreement must be of a kind approved by the Secretary of State; and different provisions and forms may be so approved for different circumstances.

(4)Subject to the following provisions of this section, a crew agreement shall be carried in the ship to which it relates whenever the ship goes to sea.

(5)The Secretary of State may make regulations providing for exemptions from the requirements of this section—

(a)with respect to such descriptions of ship as may be specified in the regulations or with respect to voyages in such areas or such description of voyages as may be so specified; or

(b)with respect to such descriptions of seamen as may be specified in the regulations;

and the Secretary of State may grant other exemptions from those requirements (whether with respect to particular seamen or with respect to seamen employed by a specified person or in a specified ship or in the ships of a specified person) in cases where the Secretary of State is satisfied that the seamen to be employed otherwise than under a crew agreement will be adequately protected.

(6)Where, but for an exemption granted by the Secretary of State, a crew agreement would be required to be carried in a ship or a crew agreement carried in the ship would be required to contain an agreement with a person employed in a ship, the ship shall carry such document evidencing the exemption as the Secretary of State may direct.

(7)Regulations under this section may enable ships required under this section to carry a crew agreement to comply with the requirement by carrying a copy thereof, certified in such manner as may be provided by the regulations.

(8)If a ship goes to sea or attempts to go to sea in contravention of the requirements of this section the master or the person employing the crew shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale and the ship, if in the United Kingdom, may be detained.

26 Regulations relating to crew agreements.U.K.

(1)The Secretary of State may make regulations—

(a)requiring such notice as may be specified in the regulations to be given to a superintendent or proper officer, except in such circumstances as may be so specified, before a crew agreement is made or an agreement with any person is added to those contained in a crew agreement;

(b)providing for the delivery to a superintendent or proper officer or the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen of crew agreements and agreements added to those contained in a crew agreement and of copies of crew agreements and of agreements so added;

(c)requiring the posting in ships of copies of or extracts from crew agreements;

(d)requiring copies of or extracts from crew agreements to be supplied to members of the crew demanding them and requiring copies of or extracts from documents referred to in crew agreements to be made available, in such circumstances as may be specified in the regulations, for inspection by members of the crew; and

(e)requiring any documents carried in a ship in pursuance of section 25 to be produced on demand to an officer of customs and excise.

(2)Regulations under this section may make a contravention of any provision thereof an offence punishable, on summary conviction, with a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale or such less amount as may be specified in the regulations.

27 Discharge of seamen.U.K.

(1)The Secretary of State may make regulations prescribing the procedure to be followed in connection with the discharge of seamen from United Kingdom ships.

(2)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above, regulations under this section may make provision—

(a)requiring notice of such a discharge to be given at such time as may be specified in the regulations to the superintendent or proper officer at a place specified in or determined under the regulations;

(b)requiring such a discharge to be recorded, whether by entries in the crew agreement and discharge book or otherwise, and requiring copies of any such entry to be given to a superintendent or proper officer or the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen.

(3)Regulations under this section may provide that in such cases as may be specified in the regulations, or except in such cases as may be specified in or determined under the regulations, a seaman shall not be discharged outside the United Kingdom from a United Kingdom ship without the consent of the proper officer.

(4)Regulations under this section may make a contravention of any provision thereof an offence punishable, on summary conviction, with a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale or such less amount as may be specified in the regulations.

28 Seamen left behind abroad otherwise than on discharge.U.K.

Regulations made under section 27 may apply any provision thereof, with such modifications as appear to the Secretary of State to be appropriate, to cases where a seaman employed in a United Kingdom ship is left behind outside the United Kingdom otherwise than on being discharged from the ship.

29 Discharge of seamen when ship ceases to be registered in United Kingdom.U.K.

Where a United Kingdom ship ceases to be registered, any seaman employed in the ship shall be discharged from the ship unless he consents in writing to continue his employment in the ship; and sections 30 to 33 shall apply in relation to his wages as if the ship had remained a United Kingdom ship.

Wages etc.U.K.

30 Payment of seamen’s wages.U.K.

(1)Where a seaman employed under a crew agreement relating to a United Kingdom ship leaves the ship on being discharged from it, then, except as provided by or under this Part or any other enactment, the wages due to the seaman under the agreement shall either—

(a)be paid to him in full at the time when he so leaves the ship (in this section and in section 31 referred to as the time of discharge), or

(b)be paid to him in accordance with subsections (4) and (5) below.

(2)If the amount shown in the account delivered to a seaman under section 31(1) as being the amount payable to him under subsection (1)(a) above is replaced by an increased amount shown in a further account delivered to him under section 31(3), the balance shall be paid to him within seven days of the time of discharge; and if the amount so shown in the account delivered to him under section 31(1) exceeds £50 and it is not practicable to pay the whole of it at the time of discharge, not less than £50 nor less than one-quarter of the amount so shown shall be paid to him at that time and the balance within seven days of that time.

(3)If any amount which, under subsection (1)(a) or (2) above, is payable to a seaman is not paid at the time at which it is so payable the seaman shall be entitled to wages at the rate last payable under the crew agreement for every day on which it remains unpaid during the period of 56 days following the time of discharge; and if any such amount or any amount payable by virtue of this subsection remains unpaid after the end of that period it shall carry interest at the rate of 20 per cent. per annum.

(4)Where the crew agreement referred to in subsection (1) above provides for the seaman’s basic wages to be payable up-to-date at specified intervals not exceeding one month, and for any additional amounts of wages to be payable within the pay cycle following that to which they relate, any amount of wages due to the seaman under the agreement shall (subject to subsection (5) below) be paid to him not later than the date on which the next payment of his basic wages following the time of discharge would have fallen due if his employment under the agreement had continued.

(5)If it is not practicable, in the case of any amount due to the seaman by way of wages additional to his basic wages, to pay that amount by the date mentioned in subsection (4) above, that amount shall be paid to him not later than what would have been the last day of the pay cycle immediately following that date if his employment under the crew agreement had continued.

(6)If any amount which, under subsection (4) or (5) above, is payable to a seaman is not paid at the time at which it is so payable, it shall carry interest at the rate of 20 per cent. per annum.

(7)The provisions of subsection (3) or (6) above shall not apply if the failure to pay was due to—

(a)a mistake,

(b)a reasonable dispute as to liability,

(c)the act or default of the seaman, or

(d)any other cause, not being the wrongful act or default of the persons liable to pay his wages or of their servants or agents;

and so much of those provisions as relates to interest on the amount due shall not apply if a court in proceedings for its recovery so directs.

(8)Where a seaman is employed under a crew agreement relating to more than one ship the preceding provisions of this section shall have effect, in relation to wages due to him under the agreement, as if for any reference to the time of discharge there were substituted a reference to the termination of his employment under the crew agreement.

(9)Where a seaman, in pursuance of section 29, is discharged from a ship outside the United Kingdom but returns to the United Kingdom under arrangements made by the persons who employed him, the preceding provisions of this section shall have effect, in relation to the wages due to him under a crew agreement relating to the ship, as if for the references in subsections (1) to (4) above to the time of discharge there were substituted references to the time of his return to the United Kingdom, and subsection (8) above were omitted.

(10)For the purposes of this section any amount of wages shall, if not paid to him in cash, be taken to have been paid to a seaman—

(a)on the date when a cheque, or a money or postal order issued by [F8a Post Office company (as defined by section 6 of the Postal Services Act 2011), for that amount was despatched by a recorded delivery service] to the seaman’s last known address, or

(b)on the date when any account kept by the seaman with a bank or other institution was credited with that amount.

31 Account of seaman’s wages.U.K.

(1)Subject to subsections (4) and (5) below and to regulations made under section 32 or 73, the master of every United Kingdom ship shall deliver to every seaman employed in the ship under a crew agreement an account of the wages due to him under that crew agreement and of the deductions subject to which the wages are payable.

(2)The account shall indicate that the amounts stated therein are subject to any later adjustment that may be found necessary and shall be delivered not later than 24 hours before the time of discharge or, if the seaman is discharged without notice or at less than 24 hours’ notice, at the time of discharge.

(3)If the amounts stated in the account require adjustment the persons who employed the seaman shall deliver to him a further account stating the adjusted amounts; and that account shall be delivered not later than the time at which the balance of his wages is payable to the seaman.

(4)Where section 30(4) or (5) applies to the payment of any amount of wages due to a seaman under a crew agreement—

(a)the persons who employed the seaman shall deliver to him an account of the wages payable to him under that subsection and of the deductions subject to which the wages are payable; and

(b)any such account shall be so delivered at the time when the wages are paid to him; and

(c)subsections (1) to (3) above shall not apply;

and section 30(10) shall apply for the purposes of this subsection as it applies for the purposes of that section.

(5)Where a seaman is employed under a crew agreement relating to more than one ship any account which under the preceding provisions of this section would be required to be delivered to him by the master shall instead be delivered to him by the persons employing him and shall be so delivered on or before the termination of his employment under the crew agreement.

(6)If a person fails without reasonable excuse to comply with the preceding provisions of this section he shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.

32 Regulations relating to wages and accounts.U.K.

The Secretary of State may make regulations—

(a)authorising deductions to be made from the wages due to a seaman under a crew agreement [F9or such other type of agreement as may be specified in the regulations] (in addition to any authorised by any provision of this Part or of any other enactment for the time being in force) in cases where a breach of his obligations under the agreement is alleged against him and such conditions, if any, as may be specified in the regulations are complied with, or in such other cases as may be specified in the regulations;

(b)regulating the manner in which any amounts deducted under the regulations are to be dealt with;

(c)prescribing the manner in which wages due to a seaman under [F10the agreement] are to be or may be paid;

(d)regulating the manner in which such wages are to be dealt with and accounted for in circumstances where a seaman leaves his ship in the United Kingdom otherwise than on being discharged therefrom;

(e)prescribing the form and manner in which any account required to be delivered by section 31 is to be prepared and the particulars to be contained therein (which may include estimated amounts).

33 Power of superintendent or proper officer to decide disputes about wages.U.K.

(1)Any dispute relating to the amount payable to a seaman employed under a crew agreement may be submitted by the parties to a superintendent or proper officer for decision; but the superintendent or proper officer shall not be bound to accept the submission or, if he has accepted it, to decide the dispute, if he is of the opinion that the dispute, whether by reason of the amount involved or for any other reason, ought not to be decided by him.

(2)The decision of a superintendent or proper officer on a dispute submitted to him under this section shall be final.

34 Restriction on assignment of and charge upon wages.U.K.

(1)As respects the wages due or accruing to a seaman employed in a United Kingdom ship—

(a)the wages shall not be subject to attachment;

(b)the wages shall not, in Scotland, be subject to any diligence other than those provided for in section 46(1) of the M2Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987;

(c)an assignment thereof before they have accrued shall not bind the seaman and the payment of the wages to the seaman shall be valid notwithstanding any previous assignment or charge; and

(d)a power of attorney or authority for the receipt of the wages shall not be irrevocable.

(2)Nothing in this section shall affect the provisions of this Part with respect to allotment notes.

(3)Nothing in this section applies to any disposition relating to the application of wages—

(a)in the payment of contributions to a fund declared by regulations made by the Secretary of State to be a fund to which this section applies; or

(b)in the payment of contributions in respect of the membership of a body declared by regulations made by the Secretary of State to be a body to which this section applies;

or to anything done or to be done for giving effect to such a disposition.

(4)Subsection (1)(a) above is subject, in relation to England and Wales, to the M3Attachment of Earnings Act 1971.

(5)Subsection (1)(a) above is subject to any provision made by or under—

(a)section 31 or 33 of the M4Child Support Act 1991 (deductions from earnings orders); or

(b)Article 31 or 32 of the M5Child Support (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 (deductions from earnings orders).

35 Power of court to award interest on wages due otherwise than under crew agreement.U.K.

In any proceedings by the master of a ship or a person employed in a ship otherwise than under a crew agreement [F11or an agreement specified in regulations under section 32(a)] for the recovery of any sum due to him as wages the court, unless it appears to it that the delay in paying the sum was due to—

(a)a mistake,

(b)a reasonable dispute as to liability,

(c)the act or default of the person claiming the amount, or

(d)any other cause, not being the wrongful act or default of the persons liable to make the payment or their servants or agents,

may order them to pay, in addition to the sum due, interest on it at the rate of 20 per cent. per annum or such lower rate as the court may specify, for the period beginning seven days after the sum became due and ending when the sum is paid.

36 Allotment notes.U.K.

(1)Subject to the following provisions of this section, a seaman may, by means of an allotment note issued in accordance with regulations made by the Secretary of State, allot to any person or persons part of the wages to which he will become entitled in the course of his employment in a United Kingdom ship or ships.

(2)A seaman’s right to make an allotment under this section shall be subject to such limitations as may, by virtue of the following provisions of this section, be imposed by regulations made by the Secretary of State.

(3)Regulations made by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this section may prescribe the form of allotment notes and—

(a)may limit the circumstances in which allotments may be made;

(b)may limit (whether by reference to an amount or by reference to a proportion) the part of the wages that may be allotted and the number of persons to whom it may be allotted and may prescribe the method by which that part is to be calculated;

(c)may limit the persons to whom allotments may be made by a seaman to persons of such descriptions or persons standing to him in such relationships as may be prescribed by the regulations;

(d)may prescribe the times and the intervals at which payments under allotment notes are to be made.

(4)Regulations under this section may make different provision in relation to different descriptions of seamen and different circumstances.

37 Right of person named in allotment to sue in own name.U.K.

(1)A person to whom any part of a seaman’s wages has been allotted by an allotment note issued in accordance with regulations made under section 36 shall have the right to recover that part in his own name and for that purpose shall have the same remedies as the seaman has for the recovery of his wages.

(2)In any proceedings brought by a person named in such an allotment note as the person to whom any part of a seaman’s wages has been allotted it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is shown, that the seaman is entitled to the wages specified in the note and that the allotment has not been varied or cancelled.

38 Right, or loss of right, to wages in certain circumstances.U.K.

(1)Where a United Kingdom ship is wrecked or lost a seaman whose employment in the ship is thereby terminated before the date contemplated in the agreement under which he is so employed shall, subject to the following provisions of this section, be entitled to wages at the rate payable under the agreement at the date of the wreck or loss for every day on which he is unemployed in the two months following that date.

(2)Where a United Kingdom ship is sold while outside the United Kingdom or ceases to be a United Kingdom ship and a seaman’s employment in the ship is thereby terminated before the date contemplated in the agreement under which he is so employed, then, unless it is otherwise provided in the agreement, he shall, subject to the following provisions of this section, be entitled to wages at the rate payable under the agreement at the date on which his employment is terminated for every day on which he is unemployed in the two months following that date.

(3)A seaman shall not be entitled to wages by virtue of subsection (1) or (2) above for a day on which he was unemployed, if it is shown—

(a)that the unemployment was not due to the wreck or loss of the ship or, as the case may be, the termination of his employment on the sale of the ship or its ceasing to be a United Kingdom ship; or

(b)that the seaman was able to obtain suitable employment for that day but unreasonably refused or failed to take it.

(4)This section shall apply to a master as it does to a seaman.

39 Protection of certain rights and remedies.U.K.

(1)A seaman’s lien, his remedies for the recovery of his wages, his right to wages in case of the wreck or loss of his ship, and any right he may have or obtain in the nature of salvage shall not be capable of being renounced by any agreement.

(2)Subsection (1) above does not affect such of the terms of any agreement made with the seamen belonging to a ship which, in accordance with the agreement, is to be employed on salvage service, as provide for the remuneration to be paid to them for salvage services rendered by that ship.

40 Claims against seaman’s wages for maintenance, etc. of dependants.U.K.

(1)Where, during a seaman’s employment in a ship, expenses are incurred by a responsible authority for the benefit of any dependant of his and the expenses are of a kind specified in regulations under this section and such further conditions, if any, as may be so specified are satisfied, the authority may by notice in writing complying with the regulations require the persons employing the seaman—

(a)to retain for a period specified in the notice such proportion of his net wages as may be so specified; and

(b)to give to the responsible authority as soon as may be notice in writing of the seaman’s discharge from the ship;

and the persons employing the seaman shall comply with the notice (subject to subsection (3) below) and give notice in writing of its contents to the seaman.

(2)For the purposes of this section—

(a)the following persons, and no others, shall be taken to be a seaman’s dependants, that is to say, his spouse and any person under the age of 19 whom he is liable, for the purposes of any enactment in any part of the United Kingdom, to maintain or in respect of whom he is liable under any such enactment to make contributions to a local authority; and

(b)expenses incurred for the benefit of any person include (in addition to any payments made to him or on his behalf) expenses incurred for providing him with accommodation or care or for exercising supervision over him;

but no expenses shall be specified in regulations under this section unless they are such that a magistrates’ court has power under any enactment in force in any part of the United Kingdom to order the making of payments in respect thereof.

(3)Not more than the following proportion of a seaman’s net wages shall be retained under subsection (1) above (whether in pursuance of one or more notices)—

(a)one-half if the notice or notices relate to one dependant only;

(b)two-thirds if the notice or notices relate to two or more dependants.

(4)Where a responsible authority have served a notice under this section on the persons employing a seaman a magistrates’ court may, on the application of the authority, make an order for the payment to the authority of such sum, not exceeding the proportion of the seaman’s wages which those persons were required by virtue of this section to retain, as the court, having regard to the expenses incurred by the authority and the seaman’s means, thinks fit.

(5)Any sums paid out of a seaman’s wages in pursuance of an order under this section shall be deemed to be paid to him in respect of his wages; and the service, on the persons who employed the seaman, of such an order or of an order dismissing an application for such an order shall terminate the period for which they were required to retain the wages.

(6)An application for an order under this section for the payment of any sum by the persons who employed a seaman shall be deemed, for the purposes of any proceedings, to be an application for an order against the seaman; but the order, when served on those persons, shall have effect as an order against them and may be enforced accordingly.

(7)Parts I and III of the M6Maintenance Orders Act 1950 shall have effect as if an order under this section were included among those referred to in sections 4(1) and (2), 9(1) and (2), and 12(1) and (2) of that Act; and any sum payable by any persons under an order made under this section in any part of the United Kingdom may, in any other part of the United Kingdom, be recovered from them as a debt due to the authority on whose application the order was made.

(8)Any notice or order under this section may be served by registered post or recorded delivery service.

(9)The Secretary of State may make regulations specifying—

(a)the expenses in respect of which a notice may be served by a responsible authority under subsection (1) above;

(b)any conditions that must be satisfied if such a notice is to be served;

(c)the period that may be specified in such a notice (being a period beginning with the service of the notice and ending a specified number of days after the seaman’s discharge from his ship);

(d)the form of such a notice and the information to be contained therein; and

(e)the amounts to be deducted from a seaman’s wages in computing his net wages for the purposes of this section;

and the amounts specified under paragraph (e) above may include amounts allotted by allotment notes issued under section 36.

(10)In this section “responsible authority” means the Secretary of State, the Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland, [F12a Health and Social Care trust], or (except in Northern Ireland) any local authority.

(11)In the application of subsection (2)(a) above to Northern Ireland, for the reference to a local authority there shall be substituted a reference to a [F13Health and Social Care trust] and in subsection (10) above and this subsection “[F13Health and Social Care trust]” means [F14a Health and Social Care trust established under the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 (S.I. 1991/194 (N.I. 1)).]

(12)In this section “magistrates’ court”—

(a)in relation to Scotland, means the sheriff court, and

(b)in relation to Northern Ireland, means a court of summary jurisdiction.

41 Remedies of master for remuneration, disbursements and liabilities.U.K.

The master of a ship shall have the same lien for his remuneration, and all disbursements or liabilities properly made or incurred by him on account of the ship, as a seaman has for his wages.

Safety, health and welfareU.K.

42 Obligation of shipowners as to seaworthiness.U.K.

(1)In every contract of employment between the owner of a United Kingdom ship and the master of or any seaman employed in the ship there shall be implied an obligation on the owner of the ship that—

(a)the owner of the ship,

(b)the master of the ship, and

(c)every agent charged with—

(i)the loading of the ship,

(ii)the preparing of the ship for sea, or

(iii)the sending of the ship to sea,

shall use all reasonable means to ensure the seaworthiness of the ship for the voyage at the time when the voyage commences and to keep the ship in a seaworthy condition for the voyage during the voyage.

(2)The obligation imposed by subsection (1) above applies notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary.

(3)No liability on the owner of a ship arises under subsection (1) above in respect of the ship being sent to sea in an unseaworthy state where, owing to special circumstances, the sending of the ship to sea in such a state was reasonable and justifiable.

43 Crew accommodation.U.K.

(1)The Secretary of State may make regulations with respect to the crew accommodation to be provided in United Kingdom ships.

(2)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above, regulations made under this section may, in particular—

(a)prescribe the minimum space per man which must be provided by way of sleeping accommodation for seamen and the maximum number of persons by whom a specified part of such sleeping accommodation may be used;

(b)regulate the position in the ship in which the crew accommodation or any part thereof may be located and the standards to be observed in the construction, equipment and furnishing of any such accommodation;

(c)require the submission to a surveyor of ships of plans and specifications of any works proposed to be carried out for the purpose of the provision or alteration of any such accommodation and authorise the surveyor to inspect any such works; and

(d)provide for the maintenance and repair of any such accommodation and prohibit or restrict the use of any such accommodation for purposes other than those for which it is designed.

(3)Regulations under this section may make different provision with respect to different descriptions of ship or with respect to ships which were registered in the United Kingdom at different dates or the construction of which was begun at different dates and with respect to crew accommodation provided for seamen of different descriptions.

(4)Regulations under this section may exempt ships of any description from any requirements of the regulations and the Secretary of State may grant other exemptions from any such requirement with respect to any ship.

(5)Regulations under this section may require the master of a ship or any officer authorised by him for the purpose to carry out such inspections of the crew accommodation as may be prescribed by the regulations.

(6)If the provisions of any regulations under this section are contravened in the case of a ship the owner or master shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale and the ship, if in the United Kingdom, may be detained.

(7)In this section “crew accommodation” includes sleeping rooms, mess rooms, sanitary accommodation, hospital accommodation, recreation accommodation, store rooms and catering accommodation provided for the use of seamen but does not include any accommodation which is also used by or provided for the use of passengers.

44 Complaints about provisions or water.U.K.

(1)If three or more seamen employed in a United Kingdom ship consider that the provisions or water provided for the seamen employed in that ship are not in accordance with safety regulations containing requirements as to the provisions and water to be provided on ships (whether because of bad quality, unfitness for use or deficiency in quantity) they may complain to the master, who shall investigate the complaint.

(2)If the seamen are dissatisfied with the action taken by the master as a result of his investigation or by his failure to take any action they may state their dissatisfaction to him and may claim to complain to a superintendent or proper officer; and thereupon the master shall make adequate arrangements to enable the seamen to do so as soon as the service of the ship permits.

(3)The superintendent or proper officer to whom a complaint has been made under this section shall investigate the complaint and may examine the provisions or water or cause them to be examined.

(4)If the master fails without reasonable excuse to comply with the provisions of subsection (2) above he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale and if he has been notified in writing by the person making an examination under subsection (3) above that any provisions or water are found to be unfit for use or not of the quality required by the regulations, then—

(a)if they are not replaced within a reasonable time the master or owner shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale unless he proves that the failure to replace them was not due to his neglect or default; or

(b)if the master, without reasonable excuse, permits them to be used he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

45 Expenses of medical and other treatment during voyage.U.K.

(1)If a person, while employed in a United Kingdom ship, receives outside the United Kingdom any surgical or medical treatment or such dental or optical treatment (including the repair or replacement of any appliance) as cannot be postponed without impairing efficiency, the reasonable expenses thereof shall be borne by the persons employing him.

(2)If a person dies while employed in a United Kingdom ship and is buried or cremated outside the United Kingdom, the expenses of his burial or cremation shall also be borne by those persons.

(3)The reference in subsection (2) above to dying in a ship includes a reference to dying in a ship’s boat.

Manning, qualifications, training and uniformU.K.

46 Application of sections 47 to 51.U.K.

Sections 47 to 51 apply to every United Kingdom ship and also to any ship registered under the law of a country outside the United Kingdom which carries passengers—

(a)between places in the United Kingdom or between the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man or any of the Channel Islands; or

(b)on a voyage which begins and ends at the same place in the United Kingdom and on which the ship calls at no place outside the United Kingdom.

47 Manning.U.K.

(1)Subject to subsection (2) below, the Secretary of State may make regulations—

(a)requiring ships to which this section applies to carry such number of qualified officers of any description, qualified doctors and qualified cooks and such number of other seamen or qualified seamen of any description as may be specified in the regulations; and

(b)prescribing or enabling the Secretary of State to specify standards of competence to be attained and other conditions to be satisfied (subject to any exceptions allowed by or under the regulations) by officers and other seamen of any description in order to be qualified for the purposes of this section.

(2)The Secretary of State shall not exercise his power to make regulations requiring ships to carry seamen other than doctors and cooks except to the extent that it appears to him necessary or expedient in the interests of safety.

(3)Regulations under this section may make different provision for different descriptions of ship or for ships of the same description in different circumstances.

(4)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1)(b) above, the conditions prescribed or specified under that paragraph may include conditions as to nationality, and regulations made for the purposes of that paragraph may make provision, or enable the Secretary of State to make provision, for—

(a)the manner in which the attainment of any standard or the satisfaction of any other condition is to be evidenced;

(b)the conduct of any examinations, the conditions for admission to them and the appointment and remuneration of examiners; and

(c)the issue, form and recording of certificates and other documents;

and different provisions may be so made or enabled to be made for different circumstances.

[F15(4A)Standards of competence or other conditions prescribed or specified by the Secretary of State under subsection (1)(b) may be expressed by reference to other documents.

(4B)A reference to a document in reliance on subsection (4A) may include a reference to amendments of the document which are—

(a)made after the conditions are prescribed or specified, and

(b)approved for the purposes of the regulations by the Secretary of State.]

(5)If a person makes a statement which he knows to be false or recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular for the purpose of obtaining for himself or another person a certificate or other document which may be issued under this section he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

48 Power to exempt from manning requirements.U.K.

(1)The Secretary of State may exempt any ship or description of ship from any requirements of regulations made under section 47.

(2)An exemption given under this section may be confined to a particular period or to one or more particular voyages.

49 Prohibition of going to sea undermanned.U.K.

(1)Subject to section 48, if a ship to which this section applies goes to sea or attempts to go to sea without carrying such officers and other seamen as it is required to carry under section 47, the owner or master shall be liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

(b)on conviction on indictment, to a fine;

and the ship, if in the United Kingdom, may be detained.

(2)This section shall, in its application to ships which are not sea-going ships, have effect as if for the words “goes to sea or attempts to go to sea” there were substituted the words “ goes on a voyage or excursion or attempts to do so ” and the words “if in the United Kingdom” were omitted.

50 Production of certificates and other documents of qualification.U.K.

(1)Any person serving or engaged to serve in any ship to which this section applies and holding any certificate or other document which is evidence that he is qualified for the purposes of section 47 shall on demand produce it to any superintendent, surveyor of ships or proper officer and (if he is not himself the master) to the master of the ship.

(2)If, without reasonable excuse, a person fails to comply with subsection (1) above he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

51 Crew’s knowledge of English.U.K.

(1)Where in the opinion of a superintendent or proper officer the crew of a ship to which this section applies consists of or includes persons who may not understand orders given to them in the course of their duty because of their insufficient knowledge of English and the absence of adequate arrangements for transmitting the orders in a language of which they have sufficient knowledge, then—

(a)if the superintendent or proper officer has informed the master of that opinion, the ship shall not go to sea; and

(b)if the ship is in the United Kingdom, it may be detained.

(2)If a ship goes to sea or attempts to go to sea in contravention of this section the owner or master shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

52 Unqualified persons going to sea as qualified officers or seamen.U.K.

(1)If a person goes to sea as a qualified officer or seaman of any description without being such a qualified officer or seaman he shall be liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum,

(b)on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

(2)In this section “qualified” means qualified for the purposes of section 47.

53 Medical treatment on board ship.U.K.

Where a United Kingdom ship does not carry a [F16registered medical practitioner] among the seamen employed in it the master shall make arrangements for securing that any medical attention on board the ship is given either by him or under his supervision by a person appointed by him for the purpose.

54 Special certificates of competence.U.K.

(1)The Secretary of State may issue and record documents certifying the attainment of any standard of competence relating to ships or their operation, notwithstanding that the standard is not among those prescribed or specified under section 47(1)(b); and may, in relation thereto, make regulations for purposes corresponding to those mentioned in section 47(4).

(2)If a person makes a statement which he knows to be false or recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular for the purpose of obtaining for himself or another person a document which may be issued under this section he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

55 Young persons.U.K.

(1)[F17Subject to subsection (1A),]aperson under school-leaving age shall not be employed in any United Kingdom ship except as permitted by regulations under this section.

[F18(1A)A person under 16 years of age shall not be employed in any sea-going United Kingdom ship.]

(2)The Secretary of State may make regulations—

(a)prescribing circumstances in which and conditions subject to which persons under school-leaving age who have attained such age as may be specified in the regulations may be employed in a ship [F19which is not a sea-going United Kingdom ship] in such capacities as may be so specified;

(b)prescribing circumstances and capacities in which persons over school leaving-age but under the age of 18 or under such lower age as may be specified in the regulations must not be employed in a United Kingdom ship [F20which is not a sea-going ship] or may be so employed only subject to such conditions as may be specified in the regulations.

[F21(c)prescribing circumstances and capacities in which persons of at least the age of 16 but under the age of 18 or under such lower age as may be specified in the regulations must not be employed in a sea-going United Kingdom ship or may be so employed only subject to such conditions as may be specified in the regulations.]

(3)Regulations made for the purposes of this section may make different provision for different employments and different descriptions of ship and any other different circumstances.

(4)If any person is employed in a ship in contravention of this section or if any condition subject to which a person may be employed under regulations made for the purposes of this section is not complied with, the owner or master shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(5)For the purposes of this section a person employed in a ship shall be deemed to be over school-leaving age if he has, and under school-leaving age if he has not, attained the age which is the upper limit of compulsory school age (in Scotland school age) under the enactments relating to education in the part of the United Kingdom in which he entered into the agreement under which he is so employed or, if he entered into that agreement outside the United Kingdom or is employed otherwise than under an agreement, under the enactments relating to education in England and Wales; and if he is treated for the purposes of those enactments as not having attained that age he shall be so treated also for the purposes of this section.

56 Financial assistance for training.U.K.

(1)The Secretary of State may, with the consent of the Treasury, give any person or body of persons of any description determined by him for the purposes of this section financial assistance in respect of expenses incurred or to be incurred by any such person or body in connection with the training (whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere) of officers and ratings for service in merchant ships, including expenses incurred or to be incurred by any such person in connection with his undergoing any such training.

(2)Assistance under this section may be given by way of a grant or a loan or otherwise; and in giving any such assistance the Secretary of State may impose such conditions as he thinks fit, including conditions requiring a grant to be repaid in specified circumstances.

(3)This section is without prejudice to any other power of the Secretary of State to give financial assistance in connection with any such training as is mentioned in subsection (1) above.

[F22(4)In providing assistance in accordance with this section the Secretary of State shall have regard to the maintenance and development of the United Kingdom’s merchant fleet and marine related business and for that purpose shall—

(a)keep under review all aspects of that fleet and business; and

(b)seek the advice of those who appear to him to have experience of that fleet or business.

F22(5)In this section, “marine related business” means any trade, business or other activity concerned with the manufacture of, or the provision of goods and services for, or the operation or use of, ships and includes maritime educational establishments, marine classification societies, marine equipment suppliers, marine surveyors, marine and naval architects, marine insurance companies, protection and indemnity clubs, providers of maritime financial or legal services, the operators of ports and harbours and shipbrokers.]

57 Uniform.U.K.

(1)Subject to subsection (3) below, if any person, not being entitled to wear the merchant navy uniform, wears that uniform or any part thereof, or any dress having the appearance or bearing any of the distinctive marks of that uniform, he shall be guilty of an offence.

(2)A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) above shall be liable, on summary conviction,—

(a)except in a case falling within paragraph (b) below, to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale;

(b)if he wears it in such a manner or under such circumstances as to be likely to bring contempt on the uniform, to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month.

(3)Subsection (1) above shall not prevent any person from wearing any uniform or dress in the course or for the purposes of a stage play or representation, or a music-hall or circus performance if the uniform is not worn in such a manner or under such circumstances as to bring it into contempt.

(4)If any person entitled to wear the merchant navy uniform when aboard a ship in port or on shore appears dressed partly in uniform and partly not in uniform under such circumstances as to be likely to bring contempt on the uniform, or, being entitled to wear the uniform appropriate to a particular rank or position, wears the uniform appropriate to some higher rank or position, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 1 on the standard scale.

Offences by seamen, etcU.K.

58 Conduct endangering ships, structures or individuals.U.K.

(1)This section applies—

(a)to the master of, or any seaman employed in, a United Kingdom ship; and

(b)to the master of, or any seaman employed in, a ship which—

(i)is registered under the law of any country outside the United Kingdom; and

(ii)is in a port in the United Kingdom or within United Kingdom waters while proceeding to or from any such port.

(2)If a person to whom this section applies, while on board his ship or in its immediate vicinity—

(a)does any act which causes or is likely to cause—

(i)the loss or destruction of or serious damage to his ship or its machinery, navigational equipment or safety equipment, or

(ii)the loss or destruction of or serious damage to any other ship or any structure, or

(iii)the death of or serious injury to any person, or

(b)omits to do anything required—

(i)to preserve his ship or its machinery, navigational equipment or safety equipment from being lost, destroyed or seriously damaged, or

(ii)to preserve any person on board his ship from death or serious injury, or

(iii)to prevent his ship from causing the loss or destruction of or serious damage to any other ship or any structure, or the death of or serious injury to any person not on board his ship,

and either of the conditions specified in subsection (3) below is satisfied with respect to that act or omission, he shall (subject to subsections (6) and (7) below) be guilty of an offence.

(3)Those conditions are—

(a)that the act or omission was deliberate or amounted to a breach or neglect of duty;

(b)that the master or seaman in question was under the influence of drink or a drug at the time of the act or omission.

(4)If a person to whom this section applies—

(a)discharges any of his duties, or performs any other function in relation to the operation of his ship or its machinery or equipment, in such a manner as to cause, or to be likely to cause, any such loss, destruction, death or injury as is mentioned in subsection (2)(a) above, or

(b)fails to discharge any of his duties, or to perform any such function, properly to such an extent as to cause, or to be likely to cause, any of those things,

he shall (subject to subsections (6) and (7) below) be guilty of an offence.

(5)A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine, or both.

(6)In proceedings for an offence under this section it shall be a defence to prove—

(a)in the case of an offence under subsection (2) above where the act or omission alleged against the accused constituted a breach or neglect of duty, that the accused took all reasonable steps to discharge that duty;

(b)in the case of an offence under subsection (2) above, that at the time of the act or omission alleged against the accused he was under the influence of a drug taken by him for medical purposes and either that he took it on medical advice and complied with any directions given as part of that advice or that he had no reason to believe that the drug might have the influence it had;

(c)in the case of an offence under subsection (4) above, that the accused took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence; or

(d)in the case of an offence under either of those subsections—

(i)that he could have avoided committing the offence only by disobeying a lawful command, or

(ii)that in all the circumstances the loss, destruction, damage, death or injury in question, or (as the case may be) the likelihood of its being caused, either could not reasonably have been foreseen by the accused or could not reasonably have been avoided by him.

(7)In the application of this section to any person falling within subsection (1)(b) above, subsections (2) and (4) above shall have effect as if subsection (2)(a)(i) and (b)(i) above were omitted; and no proceedings for any offence under this section shall be instituted against any such person—

(a)in England and Wales, except by or with the consent of the Secretary of State or the Director of Public Prosecutions;

(b)in Northern Ireland, except by or with the consent of the Secretary of State or the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.

(8)In this section—

• “breach or neglect of duty”, except in relation to a master, includes any disobedience to a lawful command;

• “duty”—

(a)in relation to a master or seaman, means any duty falling to be discharged by him in his capacity as such; and

(b)in relation to a master, includes his duty with respect to the good management of his ship and his duty with respect to the safety of operation of his ship, its machinery and equipment; and

59 Concerted disobedience and neglect of duty.U.K.

(1)If a seaman employed in a United Kingdom ship combines with other seamen employed in that ship—

(a)to disobey lawful commands which are required to be obeyed at a time while the ship is at sea;

(b)to neglect any duty which is required to be discharged at such a time; or

(c)to impede, at such a time, the progress of a voyage or the navigation of the ship,

he shall be liable—

(i)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

(ii)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine or both.

(2)For the purposes of this section a ship shall be treated as being at sea at any time when it is not securely moored in a safe berth.

Disciplinary offencesU.K.

Disqualification of seamen and inquiriesU.K.

61 Inquiry into fitness or conduct of officer.U.K.

(1)If it appears to the Secretary of State that an officer—

(a)is unfit to discharge his duties, whether by reason of incompetence or misconduct or for any other reason; or

(b)has been seriously negligent in the discharge of his duties; or

(c)has failed to comply with the provisions of section 92;

the Secretary of State may cause an inquiry to be held by one or more persons appointed by him and, if he does so, may, if he thinks fit, suspend, pending the outcome of the inquiry, any certificate issued to the officer in pursuance of section 47 and require the officer to deliver it to him.

(2)Where a certificate issued to an officer has been suspended under subsection (1) above the suspension may, on the application of the officer, be terminated by the High Court or, if the inquiry is held in Scotland, by the Court of Session, and the decision of the court on such an application shall be final.

(3)An inquiry under this section shall be conducted in accordance with rules made under section 65(1) and those rules shall require the persons holding the inquiry to hold it with the assistance of one or more assessors.

(4)The persons holding an inquiry under this section into the fitness or conduct of an officer—

(a)may, if satisfied of any of the matters mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (c) of subsection (1) above, cancel or suspend any certificate issued to him under section 47 or censure him;

(b)may make such order with regard to the costs (or in Scotland expenses) of the inquiry as they think just; and

(c)shall make a report on the case to the Secretary of State;

and if the certificate is cancelled or suspended the officer (unless he has delivered it to the Secretary of State in pursuance of subsection (1) above) shall deliver it forthwith to the persons holding the inquiry or to the Secretary of State.

(5)Any costs (or in Scotland expenses) which a person is ordered to pay under subsection (4)(b) above may be recovered from him by the Secretary of State.

62 Disqualification of holder of certificate other than officer’s.U.K.

(1)Where it appears to the Secretary of State that a person who is the holder of a certificate to which this section applies is unfit to be the holder of such a certificate, whether by reason of incompetence or misconduct or for any other reason, the Secretary of State may give him notice in writing that he is considering the suspension or cancellation of the certificate.

(2)The notice must state the reasons why it appears to the Secretary of State that that person is unfit to be the holder of such a certificate and must state that within a period specified in the notice, or such longer period as the Secretary of State may allow, he may make written representations to the Secretary of State or claim to make oral representations to the Secretary of State.

(3)After considering any representations made in pursuance of subsection (2) above the Secretary of State shall decide whether or not to suspend or cancel the certificate and shall give the holder of it written notice of his decision.

(4)Where the decision is to suspend or cancel the certificate the notice shall state the date from which the cancellation is to take effect, or the date from which and the period for which the suspension is to take effect, and shall require the holder to deliver the certificate to the Secretary of State not later than the date so specified unless before that date the holder has required the case to be dealt with by an inquiry under section 63.

(5)Where, before the date specified in the notice, he requires the case to be dealt with by such an inquiry, then, unless he withdraws the requirement, the suspension or cancellation shall not take effect except as ordered in pursuance of the inquiry.

(6)The Secretary of State may make regulations prescribing the procedure to be followed with respect to the making and consideration of representations in pursuance of this section, the form of any notice to be given under this section and the period to be specified in any such notice as the period within which any steps are to be taken.

(7)This section applies to every certificate issued under section 54 and to any certificate issued under section 47 other than one certifying that a person is qualified as an officer.

63 Inquiry into fitness or conduct of seaman other than officer.U.K.

(1)Where a person has, before the date mentioned in section 62(4), required his case to be dealt with by an inquiry under this section the Secretary of State shall cause an inquiry to be held by one or more persons appointed by him.

(2)An inquiry under this section shall be conducted in accordance with rules made under section 65(1) and those rules shall require the persons holding the inquiry to hold it with the assistance of one or more assessors.

(3)The persons holding an inquiry under this section—

(a)may confirm the decision of the Secretary of State and cancel or suspend the certificate accordingly;

(b)may, where the decision was to cancel the certificate, suspend it instead;

(c)may, where the decision was to suspend the certificate, suspend it for a different period;

(d)may, instead of confirming the decision of the Secretary of State, censure the holder of the certificate or take no further action;

(e)may make such order with regard to the costs of the inquiry as they think just; and

(f)shall make a report on the case to the Secretary of State;

and if the certificate is cancelled or suspended it shall be delivered forthwith to the persons holding the inquiry or to the Secretary of State.

(4)Any costs (or in Scotland expenses) which a person is ordered to pay under subsection (3)(e) above may be recovered from him by the Secretary of State.

64 Re-hearing of and appeal from inquiries.U.K.

(1)Where an inquiry has been held under section 61 or 63 the Secretary of State may order the whole or part of the case to be reheard, and shall do so—

(a)if new and important evidence which could not be produced at the inquiry has been discovered; or

(b)if there appear to the Secretary of State to be other grounds for suspecting that a miscarriage of justice may have occurred.

(2)An order under subsection (1) above may provide for the re-hearing to be as follows,—

(a)if the inquiry was held in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, by the persons who held it, by a wreck commissioner or by the High Court;

(b)if it was held in Scotland, by the persons who held it, by the sheriff or by the Court of Session.

(3)Any re-hearing under this section which is not held by the High Court or the Court of Session shall be conducted in accordance with rules made under section 65(1).

(4)Where the persons holding the inquiry have decided to cancel or suspend the certificate of any person or have found any person at fault, then, if no application for an order under subsection (1) above has been made or such an application has been refused, that person or any other person who, having an interest in the inquiry, has appeared at the hearing and is affected by the decision or finding, may appeal—

(a)to the High Court if the inquiry was held in England, Wales or Northern Ireland;

(b)to the Court of Session if it was held in Scotland.

65 Rules as to inquiries and appeals.U.K.

(1)The Secretary of State may make rules for the conduct of inquiries under sections 61 and 63 and for the conduct of any re-hearing under section 64 which is not held by the High Court or the Court of Session.

(2)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) above, rules under this section may provide for the appointment and summoning of assessors, the manner in which any facts may be proved, the persons allowed to appear, and the notices to be given to persons affected.

(3)Rules of court made for the purpose of re-hearings under section 64 which are held by the High Court, or of appeals to the High Court, may require the court, subject to such exceptions, if any, as may be allowed by the rules, to hold such a re-hearing or hear such an appeal with the assistance of one or more assessors.

66 Failure to deliver cancelled or suspended certificate.U.K.

If a person fails to deliver a certificate as required under section 61, 62 or 63 he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

67 Power to restore certificate.U.K.

Where a certificate has been cancelled or suspended under section 61, 62, 63 or 64, the Secretary of State, if of the opinion that the justice of the case requires it, may re-issue the certificate or, as the case may be, reduce the period of suspension and return the certificate, or may grant a new certificate of the same or a lower grade in place of the cancelled or suspended certificate.

68 Power to summon witness to inquiry into fitness or conduct of officer or other seaman.E+W+N.I.

(1)The persons holding an inquiry under section 61 or 63 may—

(a)by summons require any person to attend, at a time and place stated in the summons, to give evidence or to produce any documents in his custody or under his control which relate to any matter in question at the inquiry; and

(b)take evidence on oath (and for that purpose administer oaths) or, instead of administering an oath, require the person examined to make a solemn affirmation.

(2)If on the failure of a person to attend such an inquiry in answer to a summons under this section—

(a)the persons holding the inquiry are satisfied by evidence on oath—

(i)that the person in question is likely to be able to give material evidence or produce any document which relates to any matter in question at the inquiry,

(ii)that he has been duly served with the summons, and

(iii)that a reasonable sum has been paid or tendered to him for costs and expenses, and

(b)it appears to them that there is no just excuse for the failure,

they may issue a warrant to arrest him and bring him before the inquiry at a time and place specified in the warrant.

(3)If any person attending or brought before such an inquiry refuses without just excuse to be sworn or give evidence, or to produce any document, the persons holding the inquiry may—

(a)commit him to custody until the end of such period not exceeding one month as may be specified in the warrant or until he gives evidence or produces the document (whichever occurs first), or

(b)impose on him a fine not exceeding £1,000,

or both.

(4)A fine imposed under subsection (3)(b) above shall be treated for the purposes of its collection, enforcement and remission as having been imposed by the magistrates’ court for the area in which the inquiry in question was held, and the persons holding the inquiry shall, as soon as practicable after imposing the fine, give particulars of it to the [F23proper officer] of that court.

[F24(4A)In subsection [F25(4)] above “proper officer” means—

(a)in relation to a magistrates’ court in England and Wales, the [F26designated officer] for the court, and

(b)in relation to a magistrates’ court in Northern Ireland, the clerk of the court.]

(5)This section does not apply to Scotland.

69 Procedure where inquiry into fitness or conduct of officer or other seaman is held by sheriff.U.K.

Where an inquiry under section 61 or 63 is held in Scotland by a sheriff—

(a)he shall (subject to rules made under section 65(1)) dispose of the inquiry as a summary application; and

(b)(subject to section 64) his decision on the inquiry shall be final.

Civil liability of seamen for offencesU.K.

70 Civil liability for absence without leave.U.K.

(1)The following provisions of this section shall apply with respect to the liability of a seaman employed in a United Kingdom ship to damages for being absent from his ship at a time when he is required under his contract of employment to be on board.

(2)If he proves that his absence was due to an accident or mistake or some other cause beyond his control and that he took all reasonable precautions to avoid being absent his absence shall not be treated as a breach of contract.

(3)Where subsection (2) above does not apply, then—

(a)if no special damages are claimed his liability shall be £10;

(b)if special damages are claimed his liability shall not be more than £100.

(4)In the application of this section to Scotland for the references to special damages there shall be substituted references to damage in respect of specific expense incurred or loss sustained.

[F27(5)Subsection (3) does not apply in respect of an agreement to reimburse repatriation costs.]

71 Civil liability for smuggling.U.K.

If a seaman employed in a United Kingdom ship is found in civil proceedings before a court in the United Kingdom to have committed an act of smuggling, whether within or outside the United Kingdom, he shall be liable to make good any loss or expense that the act has caused to any other person.

72 Civil liability for fines imposed under immigration laws.U.K.

(1)The following provisions of this section shall apply where, at a time when a United Kingdom ship is in the national or territorial waters of any country outside the United Kingdom, a seaman employed in the ship is absent without leave and present in that country in contravention of that country’s laws.

(2)If, by reason of the contravention, a penalty is incurred under those laws by the persons employing the seaman the penalty shall be treated as being attributable to his absence without leave and may, subject to the provisions of section 70, be recovered from him as special damages for breach of contract (or, in Scotland, as damages in respect of specific expense incurred or loss sustained).

(3)If, by reason of the contravention, a penalty is incurred under those laws by any other person the amount thereof, or, if that amount exceeds £100, £100, may be recovered by him from the seaman.

Relief and repatriation and relief costsU.K.

73 Relief and return of seamen etc. left behind and shipwrecked.U.K.

(1)Where—

(a)a person employed as a seaman in a United Kingdom ship is left behind in any country outside the United Kingdom or is taken to such a country on being shipwrecked; or

(b)a person who became so employed under an agreement entered into outside the United Kingdom is left behind in the United Kingdom or is taken to the United Kingdom on being shipwrecked;

the persons who last employed him as a seaman shall make such provision for his return and for his relief and maintenance until his return and such other provisions as may be required by regulations made by the Secretary of State.

(2)The provisions to be so made may include the repayment of expenses incurred in bringing a shipwrecked seaman ashore and maintaining him until he is brought ashore and the payment of the expenses of the burial or cremation of a seaman who dies before he can be returned.

(3)The Secretary of State may also make regulations providing for the manner in which any wages due to any person left behind or taken to any country as mentioned in subsection (1) above, and any property of his left on board ship, are to be dealt with.

(4)The Secretary of State may make regulations requiring a superintendent or proper officer—

(a)to make such provision as may be prescribed by the regulations with respect to any matter for which provision may be required to be made by regulations under the preceding provisions of this section; and

(b)to make the like provision with respect to persons who are British citizens, British Dependent Territories citizens or British overseas citizens and are found in distress in any country outside the United Kingdom after being employed in ships registered in, or belonging to the government of, such a country.

(5)Without prejudice to the generality of the preceding provisions, regulations made under this section may make provision—

(a)for determining the place to which a person is to be returned;

(b)for requiring the master of any United Kingdom ship to convey a person to a place determined in accordance with the regulations and for enabling a superintendent or proper officer to give the master directions for that purpose;

(c)for the making of payments in respect of the conveyance of a person in accordance with the regulations; and

(d)for the keeping of records and the rendering of accounts.

(6)Regulations under this section may make a contravention of any provision thereof an offence punishable on summary conviction with a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale or such less amount as may be specified in the regulations.

(7)This section applies to a person left behind on being discharged in pursuance of section 29, whether or not at the time he is left behind the ship is still a United Kingdom ship.

(8)This section applies to the master of a ship as it applies to a seaman and sections 74 and 75 shall have effect accordingly.

74 Limit of employer’s liability under section 73.U.K.

Where a person left behind in or taken to any country as mentioned in section 73(1) remains there after the end of a period of three months the persons who last employed him as a seaman shall not be liable under that section to make provision for his return or for any matter arising after the end of that period, unless they have before the end of that period been under an obligation imposed on them by regulations under that section to make provision with respect to him.

75 Recovery of expenses incurred for relief and return, etc.U.K.

(1)Where any expenses are incurred in respect of any matter for which the employers of a seaman are required to make provision under section 73, then—

(a)if the expenses are incurred by the Secretary of State, or are incurred by the government of any country outside the United Kingdom and repaid to them on behalf of the Crown, the Secretary of State may recover them from the employers;

(b)if the expenses are incurred by the seaman he may recover them from the employers unless they prove either that under the terms of his employment they were to be borne by him or that he would not have been left behind but for his own wrongful act or neglect.

(2)Where, in the case of any seaman, expenses are incurred by the Secretary of State or are incurred by the government of any country outside the United Kingdom and repaid to them on behalf of the Crown—

(a)in respect of any matter for which, but for section 74, the seaman’s last employers would have been required to make provision under section 73; or

(b)in respect of any matter for which provision is required to be made under section 73(4)(b);

the Secretary of State may recover them from the seaman (or, if he has died, from his personal representatives).

76 Financial assistance in respect of crew relief costs.U.K.

(1)The Secretary of State may, with the consent of the Treasury, give financial assistance to—

(a)the owner of a ship registered in the British Islands, or

(b)any manager of a ship so registered, being either an individual ordinarily resident in the British Islands or a body corporate which is incorporated in the British Islands and has its principal place of business there,

in respect of travel and other costs incurred by the owner or manager in connection with members of the ship’s crew joining or leaving the ship outside the limited European trading area.

(2)If the Secretary of State so determines, eligibility for assistance under this section shall be conditional on the fulfilment of such conditions with respect to all or any of the following matters as are specified in his determination—

(a)the nationality of any person in relation to whom any such costs as are mentioned in subsection (1) above are incurred;

(b)the ordinary residence of any such person;

(c)the place (outside the limited European trading area) where any such person joins or leaves his ship.

(3)Assistance under this section may be given by way of a grant or loan or otherwise; and in giving any such assistance the Secretary of State may impose such conditions as he thinks fit.

(4)For the purposes of this section—

(a)the crew of a ship shall be taken to include the master and other officers of the ship; and

(b)“the limited European trading area” has the same meaning as it has for the purposes of any regulations made under section 47.

DocumentationU.K.

77 Official log books.U.K.

(1)Except as provided by regulations under this section an official log book in a form approved by the Secretary of State shall be kept in every United Kingdom ship.

(2)The Secretary of State may make regulations prescribing the particulars to be entered in official log books, the persons by whom such entries are to be made, signed or witnessed, and the procedure to be followed in the making of such entries and in their amendment or cancellation.

(3)The regulations may require the production or delivery of official log books to such persons, in such circumstances and within such times as may be specified therein.

(4)Regulations under this section may exempt ships of any description from any requirements thereof, either generally or in such circumstances as may be specified in the regulations.

(5)Regulations under this section may make a contravention of any provision thereof an offence punishable on summary conviction with a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale or not exceeding a lesser amount.

(6)If a person intentionally destroys or mutilates or renders illegible any entry in an official log book he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

78 Lists of crew.U.K.

(1)Except as provided by regulations made under this section, the master of every United Kingdom ship shall make and maintain a list of the crew containing such particulars as may be required by the regulations.

(2)The Secretary of State may make regulations—

(a)specifying the particulars to be entered in a list of the crew;

(b)limiting the time for which a list of the crew may remain in force;

(c)providing for the maintenance by such persons and either in such place as may be specified in the regulations or, if it is so specified, in the ship, of a copy or copies of each list of a crew, and for the notification to such persons of any changes therein;

(d)for the production of a list of the crew to such persons, in such circumstances and within such time as may be specified in the regulations; and

(e)for the delivery to a superintendent or proper officer or the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen, in such circumstances as may be specified in the regulations, of a list of the crew or a copy thereof maintained under the regulations and for the notification to him of any changes in such a list.

(3)Regulations under this section may enable a list of the crew to be contained in the same document as a crew agreement and may treat any particulars entered in the crew agreement as forming part of the particulars entered in the list.

(4)Regulations under this section may exempt from the requirements thereof such descriptions of ship as may be specified in the regulations and may make different provisions for different circumstances.

(5)Regulations under this section may make a contravention of any provision thereof an offence punishable on summary conviction with a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale or not exceeding a lesser amount.

79 British seamen’s cards.U.K.

(1)The Secretary of State may make regulations providing—

(a)for the issue to British seamen of cards (in this section referred to as “British seamen’s cards”) in such form and containing such particulars with respect to the holders thereof and such other particulars (if any) as may be prescribed by the regulations, and for requiring British seamen to apply for such cards;

(b)for requiring the holders of British seamen’s cards to produce them to such persons and in such circumstances as may be prescribed by the regulations;

(c)for the surrender of British seamen’s cards in such circumstances as may be prescribed by the regulations;

(d)for any incidental or supplementary matters for which the Secretary of State thinks it expedient for the purposes of the regulations to provide;

and any provision of the regulations having effect by virtue of paragraph (a) above may be so framed as to apply to all British seamen or any description of them and as to have effect subject to any exemptions for which provision may be made by the regulations.

(2)Regulations under this section may make a contravention of any provision thereof an offence punishable on summary conviction with a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale or not exceeding a lesser amount.

(3)In this section “British seamen” means persons who are not aliens within the meaning of the M7British Nationality Act 1981 and are employed, or ordinarily employed, as masters or seamen.

(4)If a person makes a statement which he knows to be false or recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular for the purpose of obtaining for himself or another person a British seaman’s card he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

80 Discharge books.U.K.

(1)The Secretary of State may make regulations providing—

F28[F28(a)for the issue of discharge books—

(i)to persons who are or have been employed in United Kingdom ships; or

(ii)to persons who are or have been employed in other ships but are not aliens within the meaning of the M8British Nationality Act 1981;

F28(aa)for requiring the persons mentioned in paragraph (a) above to apply for discharge books;

F28(ab)for the form of discharge books and the particulars (if any) that they are to contain with respect to their holders;]

(b)for requiring the holders of discharge books to produce them to such persons and in such circumstances as may be prescribed by the regulations;

(c)for the surrender of discharge books in such circumstances as may be prescribed by the regulations;

(d)for any incidental or supplementary matters for which the Secretary of State thinks it expedient for the purposes of the regulations to provide;

and any provision of the regulations having effect by virtue of [F29paragraph (a), (aa) or (ab)] above may be so framed as to apply to all such persons as are mentioned in that paragraph or any description of such persons and as to have effect subject to any exemptions for which provision may be made by the regulations.

(2)Regulations under this section may—

(a)provide for a person to cease to be entitled to a discharge book in consequence of a recommendation made by a disciplinary body by virtue of regulations made under section 60(3) or (4); and

(b)provide for the re-issue of discharge books which have been surrendered in consequence of such a recommendation.

(3)Regulations under this section may make a contravention of any provision thereof an offence punishable on summary conviction with a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale or not exceeding a lesser amount.

(4)A person who, in the United Kingdom or elsewhere—

(a)obtains employment as a seaman on board a United Kingdom ship and does so when he is disentitled to a discharge book by virtue of regulations made under subsection (2)(a) above; or

(b)employs as such a seaman a person who he knows or has reason to suspect is disentitled as aforesaid,

shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine or both.

81 Handing over of documents by master.U.K.

(1)If a person ceases to be the master of a United Kingdom ship during a voyage of the ship he shall deliver to his successor the documents relating to the ship or its crew which are in his custody.

(2)If, without reasonable excuse, the master of such a ship fails to comply with subsection (1) above, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

Merchant Navy ReserveU.K.

82 Maintenance of Merchant Navy Reserve.U.K.

(1)The Secretary of State may maintain the body of persons known as the Merchant Navy Reserve whose members may, in such circumstances and for such periods as the Secretary of State may determine, be required by him to serve in ships belonging to or employed in the service of Her Majesty.

(2)The Merchant Navy Reserve shall consist of such number of persons as the Secretary of State may determine who voluntarily undertake to become members of the Reserve and are accepted as members of it.

(3)The Secretary of State may determine the procedure by which, and the conditions under which, persons may become, or (subject to any regulations made by him under this section) may cease to be, members of the Merchant Navy Reserve.

(4)The Secretary of State may make regulations with respect to the calling into, and discharge from, service of members of the Merchant Navy Reserve and with respect to other matters relating to the service of members of the Reserve.

(5)Any such regulations may, in particular, make provision—

(a)for call-out notices to be served on members of the Reserve;

(b)for the requirements to be complied with by persons on whom such notices have been served;

(c)as to the uniform and equipment with which members of the Reserve are to be provided;

(d)for regulating the conduct and discipline of members of the Reserve who have entered into service, and for securing their attendance at their places of duty;

(e)for the imposition of fines, or the forfeiture of pay or other amounts, for misconduct or breaches of discipline or for contravention of provisions of the regulations.

(6)Without prejudice to the operation of subsection (5)(e) above, regulations under this section may provide that a contravention of the regulations shall be an offence punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale or such lower amount as is prescribed by the regulations.

(7)Regulations under this section may make different provision for different circumstances.

83 Supplementary provisions as respects the Reserve.U.K.

(1)Subject to such conditions as the Secretary of State may determine, there shall be payable to members of the Merchant Navy Reserve such pay, bounties and allowances as he may determine.

(2)The Secretary of State may make such payments as he thinks fit in connection with the training and certification of members of the Merchant Navy Reserve (including payments to persons undergoing such training and payments in connection with the re-validation of certificates).

(3)The Secretary of State shall not make any determination under subsection (1) above, or any payment under subsection (2) above, except with the consent of the Treasury.

(4)Where any person is called into service by virtue of regulations under section 82—

(a)the provisions of the M9Reserve Forces (Safeguard of Employment) Act 1985 shall apply to that person as if any service rendered by him in pursuance of the call-out were whole-time service within the meaning of that Act; and

(b)any service so rendered shall be relevant service within the meaning of the M10Reserve and Auxiliary Forces (Protection of Civil Interests) Act 1951.

InterpretationU.K.

84 Interpretation.U.K.

(1)In this Part—

• “crew agreement” has the meaning given to it by section 25(2);

• “relief and maintenance” includes the provision of surgical or medical treatment and such dental and optical treatment (including the repair or replacement of any appliance) as cannot be postponed without impairing efficiency; and

• “ship’s boat” includes a life-raft.

(2)References in this Part to going to sea include references to going to sea from any country outside the United Kingdom.

(3)For the purposes of this Part a seaman is discharged from a ship when his employment in that ship is terminated.

(4)For the purposes of this Part a seaman discharged from a ship in any country and left there shall be deemed to be left behind in that country notwithstanding that the ship also remains there.

(5)Any power conferred by this Part to provide for or grant an exemption includes power to provide for or grant the exemption subject to conditions.

Part IVU.K. Safety

Safety and Health on ShipsU.K.

85 Safety and health on ships.U.K.

(1)The Secretary of State may by regulations (in this Act referred to as “safety regulations”) make such provision as he considers appropriate for all or any of the following purposes—

(a)for securing the safety of United Kingdom ships and persons on them, and for protecting the health of persons on United Kingdom ships;

F30[(b)for securing the safety of other ships and persons on them while they are within United Kingdom waters and for protecting the health of persons on ships other than United Kingdom ships while they are within United Kingdom waters.]

F31[F31(1A)Except as provided by subsection (1B) below, safety regulations shall not apply in relation to—

(a)a qualifying foreign ship while it is exercising—

(i)the right of innocent passage; or

(ii)the right of transit passage through straits used for international navigation; or

(b)persons on such a ship while it is exercising any such right.

F31(1B)Safety regulations shall apply in relation to a qualifying foreign ship, and persons on such a ship, even though the ship is exercising a right mentioned in subsection (1A)(a) above, to the extent that the safety regulations give effect to any provisions of an international agreement ratified by the United Kingdom so far as it relates to the safety of ships or persons on them or to the protection of the health of persons on ships.]

(2)In subsection (1) above “United Kingdom ship” means a ship which—

(a)is registered in the United Kingdom; or

(b)is not registered under the law of any country but is wholly owned by persons each of whom is—

(i)a British citizen, a British Dependent Territories citizen or a British Overseas citizen, or

(ii)a body corporate which is established under the law of a part of the United Kingdom and has its principal place of business in the United Kingdom.

(3)Regulations in pursuance of subsection (1)(a) or (b) above may make provision with respect to any of the following matters, F32. . ., that is to say—

(a)the design, construction, maintenance, repair, alteration, inspection, surveying and marking of ships and their machinery and equipment;

(b)the packaging, marking, loading, placing, moving, inspection, testing and measuring of cargo and anything on a ship which is not cargo, machinery or equipment;

(c)the carrying out of any operation involving a ship;

(d)the use of the machinery and equipment of a ship and of anything on a ship which is not cargo, machinery or equipment;

(e)the manning of ships, including the employment on ships of persons qualified to attend to the health and safety of persons on the ships;

(f)the arrangements for ensuring communication between persons in different parts of a ship and between persons in the ship and other persons;

(g)the access to, presence in and egress from a ship, and different parts of it, of persons of any description;

(h)the ventilation, temperature and lighting of different parts of a ship;

(i)the steps to be taken to prevent or control noise, vibration and radiation in and from a ship and the emission in or from a ship of smoke, gas and dust;

(j)the steps to be taken to prevent, detect and deal with outbreaks of fire on a ship;

(k)the steps to be taken to prevent any collision involving a ship and in consequence of any collision involving a ship;

(l)the steps to be taken, in a case where a ship is in distress or stranded or wrecked, for the purpose of saving the ship and its machinery, equipment and cargo and the lives of persons on or from the ship, including the steps to be taken by other persons for giving assistance in such a case;

(m)the removal, by jettisoning or otherwise, of its equipment and of other things from a ship for the purpose of avoiding, removing or reducing danger to persons or property;

(n)the steps to be taken, in a case where danger of any kind occurs or is suspected on a ship, for removing or reducing the danger and for warning persons who are not on the ship of the danger or suspected danger;

(o)the making of records and the keeping of documents relating to ships and the keeping and use on a ship of information to facilitate the navigation of the ship;

(p)the keeping of registers and the issue of certificates in cases for which registration or a certificate is required by virtue of the regulations; and

(q)the furnishing of information;

but the mention of specific matters in this subsection shall not be construed as restricting the generality of the power conferred by [F33paragraph (a) or (b)] of subsection (1) above.

(4)The power to make regulations conferred by [F34subsection (1)]above shall extend also to the making of regulations for the prevention of collisions between seaplanes on the surface of water and between ships and seaplanes and subsection (3)(k) above and (5) to (7) below and section 86(1) shall have effect accordingly.

(5)Safety regulations—

(a)may make provision in terms of approvals given by the Secretary of State or another person and in terms of any document which the Secretary of State or another person considers relevant from time to time;

(b)may provide for the cancellation of an approval given in pursuance of the regulations and for the alteration of the terms of such an approval; and

(c)must provide for any approval in pursuance of the regulations to be given in writing and to specify the date on which it takes effect and the conditions (if any) on which it is given.

(6)Without prejudice to section 86(1)(b), safety regulations may provide—

(a)for the granting by the Secretary of State or another person, on such terms (if any) as the Secretary of State or other person may specify, of exemptions from specified provisions of the regulations for classes of cases or individual cases; and

(b)for the alteration or cancellation of exemptions granted in pursuance of the regulations.

(7)Safety regulations may provide—

(a)that in such cases as are prescribed by the regulations a ship shall be liable to be detained and that section 284 shall have effect, with such modifications (if any) as are prescribed by the regulations, in relation to the ship;

(b)that a contravention of the regulations shall be an offence punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum and on conviction on indictment by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years and a fine;

(c)that any such contravention shall be an offence punishable only on summary conviction by a maximum fine of an amount not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or such less amount as is prescribed by the regulations;

(d)that, in such cases as are prescribed by the regulations, such persons as are so prescribed shall each be guilty of an offence created by virtue of paragraph (b) or (c) above;

(e)that, notwithstanding anything in paragraph (b) or (c) above, a person convicted summarily of an offence under the regulations of a kind which is stated by the regulations to correspond to an offence which is triable either summarily or on indictment under an enactment specified in the regulations which authorises or authorised a fine on summary conviction of a maximum amount exceeding the statutory maximum shall be liable to a fine not exceeding that maximum amount.

[F35(8)Safety regulations which make provision in respect of the prohibition of smoking on any ship (“the smoking provisions”) may include provision—

(a)for the appointment by the Secretary of State of persons to enforce the smoking provisions (whether in respect of ships generally or for any particular case or purpose), and for the removal of any person so appointed,

(b)for such persons (if they are not surveyors of ships appointed under section 256) to have the powers of such surveyors for the purposes of their enforcement functions,

(c)for any such persons to have, for the purposes of their enforcement functions, powers corresponding to those which authorised officers have under paragraphs 2(b) to (e), 3 and 4, as read with paragraphs 5 and 9, of Schedule 2 to the Health Act 2006 (which confers powers of entry, etc., on authorised officers of enforcement authorities in relation to the enforcement of the provisions of that Act in relation to smoking),

(d)in relation to an offence of smoking in a place where smoking is prohibited under the smoking provisions, for purposes corresponding to those of section 9 of and Schedule 1 to the Health Act 2006 (which provide for the giving by authorised officers of penalty notices in respect of such an offence).

In this subsection, “smoking” has the same meaning as in Chapter 1 of Part 1 of the Health Act 2006.]

86 Provisions supplementary to section 85: general.U.K.

(1)Safety regulations may—

(a)make different provision for different circumstances and, in particular, make provision for an individual case;

(b)be made so as to apply only in such circumstances as are prescribed by the regulations;

(c)be made so as to extend outside the United Kingdom;

(d)contain such incidental, supplemental and transitional provisions as the Secretary of State considers appropriate;

(e)make provision for compensation to be paid, where a signal is used or displayed otherwise than in accordance with the regulations, for any expense or loss caused in consequence of the signal’s being taken for a signal of distress;

and any compensation falling to be paid by virtue of regulations under paragraph (e) above may, without prejudice to any other remedy, be recovered in the same manner as salvage.

(2)The Secretary of State may by regulations—

(a)make such repeals or other modifications of provisions of the Merchant Shipping Acts 1894 to 1977 re-enacted in this Act, and of any instruments made under those Acts as he considers appropriate in consequence or in anticipation of the making of safety regulations;

(b)make such repeals or other modifications of provisions of any enactment passed and any instrument made before 4th April 1979 as he considers appropriate in connection with any modification made or to be made in pursuance of paragraph (a);

(c)provide for anything done under a provision repealed or otherwise modified by virtue of either of the preceding paragraphs to have effect as if done under safety regulations and make such other transitional provision and such incidental and supplemental provision as he considers appropriate in connection with any modification made by virtue of either of those paragraphs.

(3)Nothing in section 85(3) to (6) or subsection (1) above shall be construed as prejudicing the generality of section 85(1).

(4)Where the Secretary of State proposes to make safety regulations or he or another person proposes to give an approval in pursuance of safety regulations it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State or other person, before he gives effect to the proposal, to consult such persons in the United Kingdom (if any) as he considers will be affected by the proposal.

F36(5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F36(6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

87 Provisions supplementary to section 85: dangerous goods.U.K.

(1)Where any dangerous goods have been sent or carried, or attempted to be sent or carried, on board any ship, whether or not a United Kingdom ship—

(a)without being marked as required by safety regulations,

(b)without such notice having been given as is required by safety regulations,

(c)under a false description, or

(d)with a false description of their sender or carrier,

any court having Admiralty jurisdiction may declare the goods, and any package or receptacle in which they are contained, to be forfeited.

(2)On a declaration of forfeiture being made, the goods shall be forfeited and they shall be disposed of as the court directs.

(3)The powers conferred on the court by subsections (1) and (2) above are exercisable notwithstanding that the owner of the goods—

(a)has not committed any offence under safety regulations relating to dangerous goods;

(b)is not before the court; and

(c)has no notice of the proceedings;

and notwithstanding that there is no evidence to show to whom the goods belong.

(4)Nevertheless, the court may, in their discretion, require such notice as they may direct to be given to the owner or shipper of the goods before they are forfeited.

(5)In this section “dangerous goods” means goods designated as dangerous goods by safety regulations.

88 Safety of submersible and supporting apparatus.U.K.

(1)This section applies to any submersible or supporting apparatus—

(a)operated within United Kingdom waters, or

(b)launched or operated from, or comprising, a United Kingdom ship.

(2)The Secretary of State may make regulations —

(a)for the safety of submersible and supporting apparatus;

(b)for the prevention of accidents in or near submersible or supporting apparatus;

(c)for the safety, health and welfare of persons on or in submersible and supporting apparatus;

(d)for prohibiting or otherwise restricting the operation of any submersible apparatus except in accordance with the conditions of a licence granted under the regulations; and

(e)for the registration of submersible apparatus.

(3)Schedule 2 shall have effect for supplementing the provisions of this section.

(4)In this section—

• “apparatus” includes any vessel, vehicle or hovercraft, any structure, any diving plant or equipment and any other form of equipment;

• “specified” means specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this section;

• “submersible apparatus” means any apparatus used, or designed for use, in supporting human life on or under the bed of any waters or elsewhere under the surface of any waters; and

• “supporting apparatus” means any apparatus used, or designed for use, in connection with the operation of any submersible apparatus.

Special provisionsU.K. Report of dangers to navigation.U.K.

F3789. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .U.K.

F3890. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .U.K.

91(1)F39. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .U.K.

(2)F39. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3)F39. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4)F39. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(5)Every person in charge of a controlled station for wireless telegraphy shall, on receiving the signal prescribed [F40under safety regulations relating to dangers to navigation, which indicates that a message is about to be sent under those regulations], refrain from sending messages for a time sufficient to allow other stations to receive the message, and, if so required by the Secretary of State, shall transmit the message in such manner as may be required by the Secretary of State.

(6)Compliance with subsection (5) above shall be deemed to be a condition of every wireless telegraphy licence.

(7)In this section—

• “controlled station for wireless telegraphy” means such a station controlled by the Secretary of State [F41or by the Office of Communications] ; and “controlled” includes controlled by means of a licence granted [F42by the Office of Communications] ;

• F43. . .

• [F44“wireless telegraphy licence” has the same meaning as in the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006, and “station for wireless telegraphy” has the same meaning as “wireless telegraphy station” in that Act.]

F45. . ..

Assistance at seaU.K.

92 Duty of ship to assist the other in case of collision.U.K.

(1)In every case of collision between two ships, it shall be the duty of the master of each ship, if and so far as he can do so without danger to his own ship, crew and passengers (if any)—

(a)to render to the other ship, its master, crew and passengers (if any) such assistance as may be practicable, and may be necessary to save them from any danger caused by the collision, and to stay by the other ship until he has ascertained that it has no need of further assistance; and

(b)to give to the master of the other ship the name of his own ship and also the names of the ports from which it comes and to which it is bound.

(2)The duties imposed on the master of a ship by subsection (1) above apply to the masters of United Kingdom ships and to the masters of foreign ships when in United Kingdom waters.

(3)The failure of the master of a ship to comply with the provisions of this section shall not raise any presumption of law that the collision was caused by his wrongful act, neglect, or default.

(4)If the master fails without reasonable excuse to comply with this section, he shall—

(a)in the case of a failure to comply with subsection (1)(a) above, be liable—

(i)on summary conviction, to [F46a fine not exceeding £50,000] [F46a fine] or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both;

(ii)on conviction on indictment, to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both; and

(b)in the case of a failure to comply with subsection (1)(b) above, be liable—

(i)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

(ii)on conviction on indictment, to a fine;

and in either case if he is a certified officer, an inquiry into his conduct may be held, and his certificate cancelled or suspended.

93 Duty to assist [F47aircraft] in distress.U.K.

(1)The master of a ship, on receiving at sea a signal of distress [F48from an aircraft] or information from any source that [F49an] aircraft is in distress, shall proceed with all speed to the assistance of the persons in distress (informing them if possible that he is doing so) unless he is unable, or in the special circumstances of the case considers it unreasonable or unnecessary, to do so, or unless he is released from this duty under subsection (4) or (5) below.

F50(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3)The duties imposed on the master of a ship by [F51subsection (1)]above apply to the masters of United Kingdom ships and to the masters of foreign ships when in United Kingdom waters.

F52(4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(5)A master shall be released from the duty imposed by subsection (1) above F53. . .if he is informed by the persons in distress, or by the master of any ship that has reached the persons in distress, that assistance is no longer required.

(6)If a master fails to comply with the preceding provisions of this section he shall be liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or both;

(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine, or both.

(7)Compliance by the master of a ship with the provisions of this section shall not affect his right, or the right of any other person, to salvage.

Unsafe shipsU.K.

94 Meaning of “dangerously unsafe ship”.U.K.

(1)For the purposes of sections 95, 96, 97 and 98 a ship [F54in port] is “dangerously unsafe” if, having regard to the nature of the service for which it is intended, the ship is, by reason of the matters mentioned in subsection (2) below, unfit to go to sea without serious danger to human life.

F55[(1A)For the purposes of those sections a ship at sea is “dangerously unsafe” if, having regard to the nature of the service for which it is being used or is intended, the ship is, by reason of the matters mentioned in subsection (2) below, either—

(a)unfit to remain at sea without serious danger to human life, or

(b)unfit to go on a voyage without serious danger to human life.]

(2)Those matters are—

(a)the condition, or the unsuitability for its purpose, of—

(i)the ship or its machinery or equipment, or

(ii)any part of the ship or its machinery or equipment;

(b)undermanning;

(c)overloading or unsafe or improper loading;

(d)any other matter relevant to the safety of the ship;

and are referred to in those sections, in relation to any ship, as “the matters relevant to its safety”.

(3)Any reference in those sections to “going to sea” shall, in a case where the service for which the ship is intended consists of going on voyages or excursions that do not involve going to sea, be construed as a reference to going on such a voyage or excursion.

95 Power to detain dangerously unsafe ship.U.K.

F56[(1)Where a ship which is—

(a)in a port in the United Kingdom, or

(b)at sea in United Kingdom waters,

appears to a relevant inspector to be a dangerously unsafe ship, the ship may be detained.]

(2)[F57Subject to subsection (2A) below]the power of detention conferred by subsection (1) above is exercisable in relation to foreign ships as well as United Kingdom ships.

F57[(2A)The power of detention conferred by subsection (1)(b) is not exercisable in relation to a qualifying foreign ship while the ship is exercising—

(a)the right of innocent passage, or

(b)the right of transit passage through straits used for international navigation.]

(3)The officer detaining the ship shall serve on the master of the ship a detention notice which shall—

(a)state that the relevant inspector is of the opinion that the ship is a dangerously unsafe ship;

(b)specify the matters which, in the relevant inspector’s opinion, make the ship a dangerously unsafe ship; and

(c)[F58require the ship to comply with the terms of the notice] until it is released by a competent authority.

(4)In the case of a ship which is not a British ship the officer detaining the ship shall cause a copy of the detention notice to be sent as soon as practicable to the nearest consular officer for the country to which the ship belongs.

(5)In this section—

• “competent authority” means any officer mentioned in section 284(1); and

• “relevant inspector” means any person mentioned in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of section 258(1).

96 References of detention notices to arbitration.U.K.

(1)Any question as to whether any of the matters specified in relation to a ship in a detention notice in pursuance of section 95(3)(b) in connection with any opinion formed by the relevant inspector constituted a valid basis for that opinion shall, if the master or owner of the ship so requires by a notice given to the relevant inspector within 21 days from the service of the detention notice, be referred to a single arbitrator appointed by agreement between the parties for that question to be decided by him.

(2)Where a notice is given by the master or owner of the ship in accordance with subsection (1) above, the giving of the notice shall not suspend the operation of the detention notice unless, on the application of the person requiring the reference, the arbitrator so directs.

(3)The arbitrator shall have regard, in coming to his decision, to any other matters not specified in the detention notice which appear to him to be relevant to whether the ship was or was not a dangerously unsafe ship.

(4)Where on a reference under this section the arbitrator decides as respects any matter to which the reference relates, that in all the circumstances the matter did not constitute a valid basis for the inspector’s opinion he shall either cancel the detention notice or affirm it with such modifications as he may in the circumstances think fit; and in any other case the arbitrator shall affirm the notice in its original form.

(5)The arbitrator shall include in his decision a finding whether there was or was not a valid basis for the detention of the ship as a dangerously unsafe ship.

(6)A person shall not be qualified for appointment as an arbitrator under this section unless he is—

(a)a person holding a certificate of competency as a master mariner or as a marine engineer officer class 1, or a person holding a certificate equivalent to any such certificate;

(b)a naval architect;

(c)a person falling within subsection (7); or

(d)a person with special experience of shipping matters, of the fishing industry, or of activities carried on in ports.

(7)For the purposes of subsection (6)(c) a person falls within this subsection if—

[F59(a)he satisfies the judicial-appointment eligibility condition on a 7-year basis;]

(b)he is an advocate or solicitor in Scotland of at least [F607] years’ standing; or

(c)he is a member of the bar of Northern Ireland or [F61solicitor of the Court of Judicature of Northern Ireland] of at least [F627] years’ standing.

(8)In connection with his functions under this section an arbitrator shall have the powers conferred on an inspector by section 259.

(9)In the application of this section to Scotland any reference to an arbitrator shall be construed as a reference to an arbiter and the reference in subsection (1) above to a single arbitrator appointed by agreement between the parties shall be construed as a reference to a single arbiter so appointed or, in default of agreement, appointed by the sheriff.

F63(10). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(11)In this section “relevant inspector” has the same meaning as in section 95.

97 Compensation in connection with invalid detention of ship.U.K.

(1)If on a reference under section 96 relating to a detention notice in relation to a ship—

(a)the arbitrator decides that any matter did not constitute a valid basis for the relevant inspector’s opinion, and

(b)it appears to him that there were no reasonable grounds for the inspector to form that opinion,

the arbitrator may award the owner of the ship such compensation in respect of any loss suffered by him in consequence of the detention of the ship as the arbitrator thinks fit.

(2)Any compensation awarded under this section shall be payable by the Secretary of State.

(3)In the application of this section to Scotland any reference to an arbitrator shall be construed as a reference to an arbiter.

(4)In this section “relevant inspector” has the same meaning as in section 95.

98 Owner and master liable in respect of dangerously unsafe ship.U.K.

(1)If a ship which—

(a)is in a port in the United Kingdom, or

(b)is a United Kingdom ship and is in any other port,

is dangerously unsafe, then, subject to subsections (4) and (5) below, the master and the owner of the ship shall each be guilty of an offence.

(2)Where, at the time when a ship is dangerously unsafe, any responsibilities of the owner with respect to the matters relevant to its safety have been assumed (whether wholly or in part) by any person or persons other than the owner, and have been so assumed by that person or (as the case may be) by each of those persons either—

(a)directly, under the terms of a charter-party or management agreement made with the owner, or

(b)indirectly, under the terms of a series of charter-parties or management agreements,

the reference to the owner in subsection (1) above shall be construed as a reference to that other person or (as the case may be) to each of those other persons.

(3)A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to [F64a fine not exceeding £50,000] [F64a fine];

(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine, or both.

(4)It shall be a defence in proceedings for an offence under this section to prove that at the time of the alleged offence—

(a)arrangements had been made which were appropriate to ensure that before the ship went to sea it was made fit to do so without serious danger to human life by reason of the matters relevant to its safety which are specified in the charge (or, in Scotland, which are libelled in the complaint, petition or indictment); or

(b)it was reasonable for such arrangements not to have been made.

(5)It shall also be a defence in proceedings for an offence under this section to prove—

(a)that, under the terms of one or more charter-parties or management agreements entered into by the accused, the relevant responsibilities, namely—

(i)where the accused is the owner, his responsibilities with respect to the matters relevant to the ship’s safety, or

(ii)where the accused is liable to proceedings under this section by virtue of subsection (2) above, so much of those responsibilities as had been assumed by him as mentioned in that subsection,

had at the time of the alleged offence been wholly assumed by some other person or persons party thereto; and

(b)that in all the circumstances of the case the accused had taken such steps as it was reasonable for him to take, and exercised such diligence as it was reasonable for him to exercise, to secure the proper discharge of the relevant responsibilities during the period during which they had been assumed by some other person or persons as mentioned in paragraph (a) above;

and, in determining whether the accused had done so, regard shall be had in particular to the matters mentioned in subsection (6) below.

(6)Those matters are—

(a)whether prior to the time of the alleged offence the accused was, or in all the circumstances ought reasonably to have been, aware of any deficiency in the discharge of the relevant responsibilities; and

(b)the extent to which the accused was or was not able, under the terms of any such charter-party or management agreement as is mentioned in subsection (5)(a) above—

(i)to terminate it, or

(ii)to intervene in the management of the ship,

in the event of any such deficiency, and whether it was reasonable for the accused to place himself in that position.

(7)No proceedings for an offence under this section shall be instituted—

(a)in England and Wales, except by or with the consent of the Secretary of State or the Director of Public Prosecutions;

(b)in Northern Ireland, except by or with the consent of the Secretary of State or the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.

(8)In this section—

• “management agreement”, in relation to a ship, means any agreement (other than a charter-party or a contract of employment) under which the ship is managed, either wholly or in part, by a person other than the owner (whether on behalf of the owner or on behalf of some other person); and

• “relevant responsibilities” shall be construed in accordance with subsection (5) above.

(9)References in this section to responsibilities being assumed by a person under the terms of a charter-party or management agreement are references to their being so assumed by him whether or not he has entered into a further charter-party or management agreement providing for them to be assumed by some other person.

99 Use of unsafe lighters, etc.U.K.

(1)If any person uses or causes or permits to be used in navigation any lighter, barge or like vessel when, because of—

(a)the defective condition of its hull or equipment,

(b)overloading or improper loading, or

(c)undermanning,

it is so unsafe that human life is thereby endangered, he shall be liable—

(i)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

(ii)on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

(2)Proceedings for an offence under this section shall not be instituted—

(a)in England and Wales, except by or with the consent of the Secretary of State; or

(b)in Northern Ireland, except by or with the consent of the Secretary of State.

(3)This section does not affect the liability of the owners of any lighter, barge or like vessel in respect of loss of life or personal injury caused to any person carried in the vessel.

100 Owner liable for unsafe operation of ship.U.K.

(1)It shall be the duty of the owner of a ship to which this section applies to take all reasonable steps to secure that the ship is operated in a safe manner.

(2)This section applies to—

(a)any United Kingdom ship; and

(b)any ship which—

(i)is registered under the law of any country outside the United Kingdom, and

(ii)is within United Kingdom waters while proceeding to or from a port in the United Kingdom,

unless the ship would not be so proceeding but for weather conditions or any other unavoidable circumstances.

(3)If the owner of a ship to which this section applies fails to discharge the duty imposed on him by subsection (1) above, he shall be liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to [F65a fine not exceeding £50,000] [F65a fine];

(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine, or both.

(4)Where any such ship—

(a)is chartered by demise, or

(b)is managed, either wholly or in part, by a person other than the owner under the terms of a management agreement within the meaning of section 98,

any reference to the owner of the ship in subsection (1) or (3) above shall be construed as including a reference—

(i)to the charterer under the charter by demise, or

(ii)to any such manager as is referred to in paragraph (b) above, or

(iii)(if the ship is both chartered and managed as mentioned above) to both the charterer and any such manager,

and accordingly the reference in subsection (1) above to the taking of all reasonable steps shall, in relation to the owner, the charterer or any such manager, be construed as a reference to the taking of all such steps as it is reasonable for him to take in the circumstances of the case.

(5)No proceedings for an offence under this section shall be instituted—

(a)in England and Wales, except by or with the consent of the Secretary of State or the Director of Public Prosecutions;

(b)in Northern Ireland, except by or with the consent of the Secretary of State or the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.

[F66 Temporary exclusion zonesU.K.

F67100A Power to establish temporary exclusion zones.U.K.

(1)Subsection (2) below applies where a ship, structure or other thing—

(a)is in United Kingdom waters or a part of the sea specified by virtue of section 129(2)(b); and

(b)is wrecked, damaged or in distress;

and in this section and section 100B “the relevant casualty” means that ship, structure or other thing.

(2)If it appears to the Secretary of State—

(a)that significant harm will or may occur as a direct or indirect result of the relevant casualty being wrecked, damaged or in distress, and

(b)that if access to an area around the relevant casualty were restricted in accordance with section 100B, significant harm, or the risk of such harm, would be prevented or reduced,

he may by direction identify an area to which access is so restricted (“a temporary exclusion zone”).

(3)In this section “significant harm” means—

(a)significant pollution in the United Kingdom, in United Kingdom waters or in a part of the sea specified by virtue of section 129(2)(b); or

(b)significant damage to persons or property.

(4)A temporary exclusion zone may not include any area which is neither within United Kingdom waters nor within a part of the sea specified by virtue of section 129(2)(b).

(5)If it appears to the Secretary of State at any time after a temporary exclusion zone is established that the zone is larger than is needed for the purpose of preventing or reducing significant harm, or the risk of such harm, he shall by direction vary the direction establishing the zone accordingly.

(6)Subject to subsections (4) and (5) above, a temporary exclusion zone may be identified by reference to the position of the relevant casualty from time to time.

(7)If it appears to the Secretary of State at any time after a temporary exclusion zone is established that the zone is not needed for the purpose of preventing or reducing significant harm, or the risk of such harm, he shall by direction revoke the direction establishing the zone.

(8)Where the Secretary of State gives a direction under this section, he shall—

(a)as soon as practicable, publish it in such manner as he considers appropriate for bringing it to the attention of persons likely to be affected by it; and

(b)within the period of 24 hours from the giving of the direction, send a copy of it to the International Maritime Organization.

(9)Subsection (2) above does not apply where an order under section 2 of the M11Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 has effect in relation to the relevant casualty.

F68100B Temporary exclusion zones: offencesU.K.

(1)If a direction establishing a temporary exclusion zone contains a statement of a description mentioned in subsection (2) below, then, subject to subsection (4) below, no ship shall enter or remain in the zone.

(2)The statement is one to the effect that the direction is given for the purpose of preventing or reducing significant pollution, or the risk of significant pollution, in the United Kingdom, in United Kingdom waters or in a part of the sea specified by virtue of section 129(2)(b).

(3)If a direction establishing a temporary exclusion zone does not contain a statement of a description mentioned in subsection (2) above, then, subject to subsections (4) and (5) below—

(a)no ship shall enter or remain in any part of the zone that is in United Kingdom waters; and

(b)no United Kingdom ship shall enter or remain in any part of the zone that is in a part of the sea specified by virtue of section 129(2)(b).

(4)A ship may enter or remain in a temporary exclusion zone or a part of such a zone if it does so—

(a)in accordance with the direction establishing the zone;

(b)with the consent of the Secretary of State; or

(c)in accordance with regulations made by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this section.

(5)A qualifying foreign ship may enter a temporary exclusion zone or a part of such a zone if in doing so it is exercising the right of transit passage through straits used for international navigation.

(6)If a ship enters or remains in a temporary exclusion zone or a part of such a zone in contravention of subsection (1) or (3) above then, subject to subsection (7) below, its owner and its master shall each be guilty of an offence and liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to [F69a fine not exceeding £50,000] [F69a fine];

(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine or to both.

(7)It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove that the existence or area of the temporary exclusion zone was not, and would not on reasonable enquiry have become, known to the master.]

F70[ Power to require ships to be moved]U.K.

F71F72100C Power to require ships to be moved.U.K.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F71F73100D Offences in relation to section 100C.U.K.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F71F74[100E] Service of directions under section 100C.U.K.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F75100F Requirements to be met by ships in respect of which trans-shipment licences in force.U.K.

(1)In this section and section 100G “trans-shipment licence” means a licence under section 4A of the M12Sea Fish Conservation Act 1967 (prohibition of trans-shipment of fish unless authorised by a licence).

(2)The Secretary of State may, for all or any of the purposes specified in subsection (3) below, by regulations prescribe requirements to be met by ships in respect of which trans-shipment licences are in force.

(3)Those purposes are—

(a)the purpose of securing the safety of ships in respect of which trans-shipment licences are in force and persons on them,

(b)the purpose of protecting the health of persons on such ships,

(c)the purpose of securing the safety of any other persons or property, and

(d)the purpose of preventing or reducing pollution.

(4)The matters with respect to which requirements may be prescribed under subsection (2) above include, in particular, the construction and equipment of ships, the manning of ships, and operational matters.

(5)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2) above, regulations under that subsection may apply in relation to a ship in respect of which a trans-shipment licence is in force any requirements contained in—

(a)safety regulations,

(b)regulations under section 128, or

(c)any international agreement,

whether or not those requirements would otherwise apply in relation to that ship.]

F76100G Failure to comply with prescribed standards in respect of ship in respect of which trans-shipment licence is in force.U.K.

(1)If it appears to the Secretary of State that any requirement of regulations under section 100F(2) or regulations under section 192A is being contravened in respect of a ship in respect of which a trans-shipment licence is in force, he may serve on the master a notice under subsection (2) below.

(2)A notice under this subsection must specify the contravention by reason of which it is given and must—

(a)prohibit the receiving by the ship of fish trans-shipped from another ship,

(b)prohibit the processing of fish on the ship, or

(c)prohibit both such receiving and such processing.

(3)The Secretary of State shall revoke a notice under subsection (2) above if he is satisfied that the contravention specified in it has been remedied.

(4)If a trans-shipment licence ceases to be in force in respect of a ship to which a notice under subsection (2) above relates, the notice is revoked by virtue of this subsection.

(5)If without reasonable excuse the master of a ship causes or permits any prohibition imposed by a notice under subsection (2) above to be contravened in respect of the ship, he shall be liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to [F77a fine not exceeding £50,000] [F77a fine];

(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine or both.

(6)The obligation imposed by regulations under section 100F(2) shall not be enforceable except in accordance with this section, but this subsection does not limit the powers conferred by section 258.

Control of, and returns as to, persons on shipsU.K.

101 Offences in connection with passenger ships.U.K.

(1)A person commits an offence if, in relation to a ship to which this section applies, he does any of the following things, that is to say—

(a)if, being drunk or disorderly, he has been on that account refused admission to the ship by the owner or any person in his employment, and, after having the amount of his fare (if he has paid it) returned or tendered to him, nevertheless persists in attempting to enter the ship;

(b)if, being drunk or disorderly on board the ship, he is requested by the owner or any person in his employment to leave the ship at any place in the United Kingdom at which he can conveniently do so, and, after having the amount of his fare (if he has paid it) returned or tendered to him, does not comply with the request;

(c)if, on board the ship, after warning by the master or other officer thereof, he molests or continues to molest any passenger;

(d)if, after having been refused admission to the ship by the owner or any person in his employment on account of the ship being full, and having had the amount of his fare (if he has paid it) returned or tendered to him, he nevertheless persists in attempting to enter the ship;

(e)if, having gone on board the ship at any place, and being requested, on account of the ship being full, by the owner or any person in his employment to leave the ship before it has left that place, and having had the amount of his fare (if he has paid it) returned or tendered to him, he does not comply with that request;

(f)if, on arriving in the ship at a point to which he has paid his fare, he knowingly and intentionally refuses or neglects to leave the ship; and

(g)if, on board the ship he fails, when requested by the master or other officer thereof, either to pay his fare or show such ticket or other receipt, if any, showing the payment of his fare, as is usually given to persons travelling by and paying their fare for the ship;

but his liability in respect of any such offence shall not prejudice the recovery of any fare payable by him.

(2)A person commits an offence if, on board any ship to which this section applies he intentionally does or causes to be done anything in such a manner as to—

(a)obstruct or damage any part of the machinery or equipment of the ship, or

(b)obstruct, impede or molest the crew, or any of them, in the navigation or management of the ship, or otherwise in the execution of their duty on or about the ship.

(3)The master or other officer of any ship to which this section applies, and all persons called by him to his assistance, may, without any warrant, detain any person who commits any offence against subsection (1) or (2) above and whose name and address are unknown to the master or officer, and deliver that person to a constable.

(4)A person guilty of an offence against subsection (1) or (2) above shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.

(5)If any person commits an offence against subsection (1) or (2) above and on the application of the master of the ship, or any other person in the employment of the owner thereof, refuses to give his name and address, or gives a false name or address, that person shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.

(6)This section applies to a ship for which there is in force a Passenger Ship Safety Certificate or Passenger Certificate, as the case may be, issued under or recognised by safety regulations.

102 Power to exclude drunken passengers from certain passenger ships.U.K.

(1)The master of any ship to which this section applies may refuse to receive on board any person who by reason of drunkenness or otherwise is in such a state, or misconducts himself in such a manner, as to cause annoyance or injury to passengers on board, and if any such person is on board, may put him on shore at any convenient place.

(2)A person so refused admittance or put on shore shall not be entitled to the return of any fare he has paid.

(3)This section applies to a ship (whether or not a United Kingdom ship) carrying more than 12 passengers and employed in carrying passengers between places in the limited European trading area as for the time being defined in regulations made under section 47 by the Secretary of State.

103 Stowaways.U.K.

(1)If a person, without the consent of the master or of any other person authorised to give it, goes to sea or attempts to go to sea in a United Kingdom ship, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(2)Nothing in section 281 shall be taken to limit the jurisdiction of any court in the United Kingdom to deal with an offence under this section which has been committed in a country outside the United Kingdom by a person who is not a British citizen.

104 Unauthorised presence on board ship.U.K.

Where a United Kingdom ship or a ship registered in any other country is in a port in the United Kingdom and a person who is neither in Her Majesty’s service nor authorised by law to do so—

(a)goes on board the ship without the consent of the master or of any other persons authorised to give it; or

(b)remains on board the ship after being requested to leave by the master, a constable, an officer authorised by the Secretary of State or an officer of customs and excise,

he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

105 Master’s power of arrest.U.K.

The master of any United Kingdom ship may cause any person on board the ship to be put under restraint if and for so long as it appears to him necessary or expedient in the interest of safety or for the preservation of good order or discipline on board the ship.

106 Unauthorised persons: offences relating to safety.U.K.

(1)Where a person goes to sea in a ship without the consent of the master or of any other person authorised to give it or is conveyed in a ship in pursuance of section 73(5)(b), sections 58 and 59 shall apply as if he were a seaman employed in the ship.

(2)Subsection (1) above shall, in its application to section 58 so far as that section applies to ships which are not sea-going ships have effect—

(a)with the omission of the words “goes to sea in a ship”; and

(b)with the insertion, after the words “to give it”, of the words “ is on board a ship while it is on a voyage or excursion ”.

(3)This section does not apply to fishing vessels.

107 Return to be furnished by masters of ships as to passengers.U.K.

(1)The master of every ship, whether or not a United Kingdom ship, which carries any passenger to a place in the United Kingdom from any place out of the United Kingdom, or from any place in the United Kingdom to any place out of the United Kingdom, shall furnish to such person and in such manner as the Secretary of State directs a return giving the total number of any passengers so carried, distinguishing, if so directed by the Secretary of State, the total number of any class of passengers so carried, and giving, if the Secretary of State so directs, such particulars with respect to passengers as may be for the time being required by the Secretary of State.

(2)Any passenger shall furnish the master of the ship with any information required by him for the purpose of the return.

(3)If—

(a)the master of a ship fails to make a return as required by this section, or makes a false return,

(b)any passenger refuses to give any information required by the master of the ship for the purpose of the return required by this section, or, for that purpose, gives to the master information which he knows to be false or recklessly gives to him information which is false,

the master or (as the case may be) passenger shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale in the case of a failure or refusal and level 3 on the standard scale in the case of a false return or false information.

108 Returns of births and deaths in ships, etc.U.K.

(1)The Secretary of State may make regulations under the following provisions of this section in relation to births and deaths in the circumstances specified in those provisions.

(2)Regulations under this section may require the master of any United Kingdom ship to make a return to a superintendent or proper officer of—

(a)the birth or death of any person occurring in the ship; and

(b)the death of any person employed in the ship, wherever occurring outside the United Kingdom;

and to notify any such death to such person (if any) as the deceased may have named to him as his next of kin.

(3)Regulations under this section may require the master of any ship not registered in the United Kingdom which calls at a port in the United Kingdom in the course of or at the end of a voyage to make a return to a superintendent of any birth or death of a British citizen, a British Dependent Territories citizen or a British Overseas citizen which has occurred in the ship during the voyage.

(4)The returns referred to in subsections (2) and (3) above shall be for transmission to the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen.

(5)Regulations under this section may require the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen to record such information as may be specified in the regulations about such a death as is referred to in subsection (2) above in a case where—

(a)it appears to him that the master of the ship cannot perform his duty under that subsection because he has himself died or is incapacitated or missing; and

(b)any of the circumstances specified in subsection (6) below exist.

(6)Those circumstances are that—

(a)the death in question has been the subject of—

(i)an inquest held by a coroner,

(ii)an inquiry held in pursuance of section 271, or

(iii)an inquiry held in pursuance of the [F78Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc. (Scotland) Act 2016];

and the findings of the inquest or inquiry include a finding that the death occurred;

(b)the deceased’s body has been the subject of—

(i)a post-mortem examination in England and Wales, or

(ii)a preliminary investigation in Northern Ireland;

and in consequence the coroner [F79discontinues an investigation under Part 1 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 or, as the case may be, is satisfied that an inquest under the Coroners Act (Northern Ireland) 1959 is unnecessary]; or