Merchant Shipping Act 1995

United Kingdom shipsU.K. Compliance with load line rules

3(1)Subject to any exemption conferred by or under this Schedule, no United Kingdom ship to which this Schedule applies shall proceed or attempt to proceed to sea unless—

(a)the ship has been surveyed in accordance with the load line rules;

(b)the ship is marked with a deck-line and with load lines in accordance with those rules;

(c)the ship complies with the conditions of assignment; and

(d)the information required by those rules to be provided as mentioned in paragraph 2(4) of this Schedule is provided for the guidance of the master of the ship in the manner determined in accordance with the rules.

(2)If any ship proceeds or attempts to proceed to sea in contravention of sub-paragraph (1) above, the owner or master of the ship shall be liable—

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

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

(3)Any ship which in contravention of sub-paragraph (1) above attempts to proceed to sea without being surveyed and marked as mentioned in sub-paragraph (1)(a) and (b) above may be detained until it has been so surveyed and marked.

(4)Any such ship as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) above which does not comply with the conditions of assignment shall be deemed to be dangerously unsafe for the purposes of sections 95, 96 and 97.

Submersion of load linesU.K.

4(1)Where a United Kingdom ship to which this Schedule applies is marked with load lines, the ship shall not be so loaded that—

(a)if the ship is in salt water and has no list, the appropriate load line on each side of the ship is submerged, or

(b)in any other case, the appropriate load line on each side of the ship would be submerged if the ship were in salt water and had no list.

(2)If any ship is loaded in contravention of sub-paragraph (1) above, the owner or master of the ship shall (subject to sub-paragraph (5) below) be liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum and to such additional fine, not exceeding an amount calculated in accordance with sub-paragraph (3) below, as the court thinks fit to impose, having regard to the extent to which the earning capacity of the ship was increased by reason of the contravention;

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

(3)Any additional fine imposed under sub-paragraph (2)(a) above shall not exceed £1,000 for each complete centimetre by which—

(a)in a case falling within sub-paragraph (1)(a) above, the appropriate load line on each side of the ship was submerged, or

(b)in a case falling within sub-paragraph (1)(b) above, the appropriate load line on each side of the ship would have been submerged as therein mentioned.

(4)If the master of a ship takes the ship to sea when it is loaded in contravention of sub-paragraph (1) above, or if any other person, having reason to believe that the ship is so loaded, sends or is party to sending the ship to sea when it is loaded in contravention of that sub-paragraph, then (without prejudice to any fine to which he may be liable in respect of an offence under sub-paragraph (2) above) he shall be liable—

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

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

(5)Where a person is charged with an offence under sub-paragraph (2) above, it shall be a defence to prove that the contravention was due solely to deviation or delay and that the deviation or delay was caused solely by stress of weather or other circumstances which neither the master nor the owner nor the charterer (if any) could have prevented or forestalled.

(6)Without prejudice to any proceedings under the preceding provisions of this paragraph, any ship which is loaded in contravention of sub-paragraph (1) above may be detained until it ceases to be so loaded.

(7)For the purposes of the application of this paragraph to a ship in any circumstances prescribed by the load line rules in accordance with paragraph 2(2)(d) of this Schedule, “the appropriate load line” means the load line which, in accordance with those rules, indicates the maximum depth to which the ship may be loaded in salt water in those circumstances.

Miscellaneous offences in relation to marksU.K.

5Where a United Kingdom ship to which this Schedule applies is marked in accordance with any requirements as to marking imposed by or under this Schedule, then if—

(a)the owner or master of the ship fails without reasonable excuse to keep the ship so marked, or

(b)any person conceals, removes, alters, defaces or obliterates, or causes or permits any person under his control to conceal, remove, alter, deface or obliterate, any mark with which the ship is so marked, except where he does so under the authority of a person empowered under the load line rules to authorise him for that purpose,

he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

Issue of load line certificatesU.K.

6(1)Where a United Kingdom ship to which this Schedule applies has been surveyed and marked in accordance with the load line rules, the appropriate certificate shall be issued to the owner of the ship on his application.

(2)For the purposes of this paragraph the appropriate certificate—

(a)in the case of a pre-1966 Convention ship of not less than 150 tons gross tonnage, and in the case of a post-1966 Convention ship of not less than 24 metres in length, is a certificate which shall continue to be called an “International Load Line Certificate (1966)”, and

(b)in the case of any other ship, is a certificate which shall continue to be called a “United Kingdom load line certificate”.

(3)Subject to sub-paragraph (4) below, any certificate required by sub-paragraph (1) above to be issued—

(a)shall be issued by the Secretary of State or by a person authorised for that purpose by the Secretary of State, and

(b)shall be in such form, and shall be issued in such manner, as may be prescribed by the load line rules.

(4)The Secretary of State may request a Contracting Government, other than Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, to issue an International Load Line Certificate (1966) in respect of any ship to which this Schedule applies which is a United Kingdom ship falling within sub-paragraph (2)(a) above; and the following provisions of this Schedule shall have effect in relation to such a certificate so issued, which contains a statement that it has been issued at the request of Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, as they have effect in relation to an International Load Line Certificate (1966) issued by the Secretary of State.

Effect of load line certificateU.K.

7Where a certificate, issued in pursuance of paragraph 6 and for the time being in force, is produced in respect of the ship to which the certificate relates—

(a)the ship shall be deemed to have been surveyed in accordance with the load line rules, and

(b)if lines are marked on the ship corresponding in number and description to the deck-line and load lines as required by the load line rules, and the positions of those lines so marked correspond to the positions of the deck-line and load lines so specified in the certificate, the ship shall be deemed to be marked as required by those rules.

Duration, endorsement and cancellation of load line certificatesU.K.

8(1)The load line rules shall make provision for determining the period during which any certificate issued under paragraph 6 of this Schedule is to remain in force, including—

(a)provision enabling the period for which any such certificate is originally issued to be extended within such limits and in such circumstances as may be prescribed by the rules, and

(b)provision for cancelling any such certificate in such circumstances as may be so prescribed.

(2)While any such certificate is in force in respect of a ship, there shall be endorsed on the certificate such information relating to—

(a)periodical inspections of the ship in accordance with the load line rules, and

(b)any extension of the period for which the certificate was issued,

as may be prescribed by the rules.

Ships not to proceed to sea without load line certificateU.K.

9(1)Subject to any exemption conferred by or under this Schedule, no United Kingdom ship to which this Schedule applies shall proceed or attempt to proceed to sea unless the appropriate certificate is in force in respect of the ship.

(2)Before any such ship proceeds to sea, the master of the ship shall produce the appropriate certificate to the officer of customs and excise from whom a clearance for the ship is demanded; and a clearance shall not be granted, and the ship may be detained, until the appropriate certificate is so produced.

(3)If any ship proceeds or attempts to proceed to sea in contravention of this paragraph, the master of the ship shall be liable—

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

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

(4)In this paragraph “the appropriate certificate” means the certificate which is the appropriate certificate for the purposes of paragraph 6 of this Schedule.

Publication of load line certificate and entry of particulars in official log bookU.K.

10(1)Where a certificate is issued in respect of a ship under paragraph 6 of this Schedule the owner of the ship shall forthwith on receipt of the certificate cause it to be framed and posted up in some conspicuous place on board the ship, and shall cause it to be kept so framed and posted up and legible so long as the certificate remains in force and the ship is in use.

(2)Before any United Kingdom ship to which this Schedule applies leaves any dock, wharf, harbour or other place for the purpose of proceeding to sea, the master of the ship, subject to sub-paragraph (4) below, shall cause a notice to be posted up in some conspicuous place on board the ship, which shall be in such form and containing such particulars relating to the depth to which the ship is for the time being loaded as may be specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State under this Schedule.

(3)Where a notice required by sub-paragraph (2) above has been posted up, the master of the ship shall cause it to be kept posted up and legible as required by that sub-paragraph until the ship arrives at some other dock, wharf, harbour or place.

(4)The regulations may exempt ships employed in trading or going between places in the limited European trading area, or any class of such ships specified in the regulations, from the requirements as to notices contained in sub-paragraph (2) above.

(5)If the owner or master of a ship fails to comply with any requirement imposed on him by the preceding provisions of this paragraph, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(6)In this paragraph “the limited European trading area” has the same meaning as in regulations under section 47.

Inspection of shipsU.K.

11A ship surveyor or engineer surveyor may inspect any United Kingdom ship to which this Schedule applies for the purpose of seeing that the provisions of this Schedule have been complied with in respect of the ship.