Merchant Shipping Act 1970

43 Manning

(1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, the Board of Trade 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 Board of Trade 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 Board of Trade shall not exercise their power to make regulations requiring ships to carry seamen other than doctors and cooks except to the extent that it appears to them 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 paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this section, 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 Board of Trade 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.

(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 £100.