Merchant Shipping Act 1995

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.

[F1 (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.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 47(4A)(4B) inserted (26.6.2013) by Marine Navigation Act 2013 (c. 23), ss. 10, 13; S.I. 2013/1489, art. 2

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Ss. 47-50 extended (in so far as not already extended) (1.1.2007) by The Merchant Shipping (Inland Waterway and Limited Coastal Operations) (Boatmasters’ Qualifications and Hours of Work) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/3223), regs. 1(b), 4(1)(a)

C2 S. 47 applied (with modifications) (21.7.2022) by S.I.1989/1350, art. 5 (as inserted by The Hovercraft (Application of Enactments) and Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution) (Law of the Sea Convention) Amendment Order 2022 (S.I. 2022/844), arts. 1(3), 2(3))