The Hovercraft (General) Order 1972

PART I REGISTRATION

Hovercraft to be registered

4.  Subject to Article 7, a hovercraft shall, if used in the United Kingdom, be registered in the United Kingdom unless—

(a) it is registered in some other country; or

(b) an unqualified person holds a legal or beneficial interest in the hovercraft by way of ownership or share therein, and the Secretary of State consents to its use unregistered in the United Kingdom, subject to such conditions as he thinks fit:

Provided that a hovercraft may also be used unregistered in the United Kingdom if:

(i) (a) it has been issued with an Experimental Certificate in accordance with Article 9, and

(b) it is marked in a manner approved by the Secretary of State; or

(ii) it has an unladen weight of less than 1,000 kg. and is not used for reward.

Registration of hovercraft in the United Kingdom

5.—(1) The Secretary of State shall be the authority for registration of hovercraft in the United Kingdom.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this Article a hovercraft shall not be registered or continue to be registered in the United Kingdom if it appears to the Secretary of State that—

(a) the hovercraft is registered outside the United Kingdom and that such registration does not cease by operation of law upon the hovercraft being registered in the United Kingdom; or

(b) an unqualified person holds any legal or beneficial interest in the hovercraft by way of ownership or any share therein.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4) of this Article the following persons and no others shall be qualified to be the holder of a legal or beneficial interest by way of ownership in a hovercraft registered in the United Kingdom or a share therein—

(a) the Crown in right of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom;

(b) persons ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom;

(c) bodies incorporated in the United Kingdom and having their principal place of business in the United Kingdom;

(d) firms carrying on business in Scotland;

In this sub-paragraph “firm” has the same meaning as in the Partnership Act 1890.

(4) If an unqualified person holds a legal or beneficial interest by way of ownership in a hovercraft or a share therein, or is charterer by demise thereof, the Secretary of State may register the hovercraft in the United Kingdom subject to such conditions as he thinks fit. The Secretary of State may at any time cancel the registration of a hovercraft registered under this paragraph.

(5) Application for the registration of a hovercraft in the United Kingdom shall be made in writing to the Secretary of State and shall include or be accompanied by such particulars and evidence relating to the hovercraft and the ownership and chartering thereof as he may require to enable him to determine whether the hovercraft may properly be registered in the United Kingdom and to issue the certificate referred to in paragraph (7) of this Article.

(6) Upon receiving an application for the registration of a hovercraft in the United Kingdom and being satisfied that the hovercraft may properly be so registered, the Secretary of State shall (or, in the case of an application under paragraph (4) of this Article, may) register the hovercraft, wherever it may be, and shall include in the register the following particulars—

(a) the number of the certificate;

(b) the registration mark assigned to the hovercraft by the Secretary of State;

(c) the name of the constructor of the hovercraft, its type and constructor's number;

(d) (i) the name and address of every person who holds a legal interest in the hovercraft by way of ownership or a share therein, or, in the case of a hovercraft which is the subject of a hire-purchase agreement, the name and address of the hirer; and

(ii) in the case of a hovercraft registered in pursuance of paragraph(4) of this Article, an indication that it is so registered, and an indication as to whether the person in whose name it is registered is the owner or charterer by demise.

(7) The Secretary of State shall furnish to the person in whose name the hovercraft is registered (hereinafter in this Article referred to as “the registered owner”) a certificate of registration, which shall include the foregoing particulars and the date on which the certificate was issued.

(8) Subject to paragraph (4) of this Article, if at any time after a hovercraft has been registered in the United Kingdom an unqualified person becomes the holder of a legal or beneficial interest in the hovercraft by way of ownership or a share therein, the registration of the hovercraft shall thereupon become void and the certificate of registration shall forthwith be returned by the registered owner to the Secretary of State for cancellation.

(9) Any person who is registered as the owner of a hovercraft registered in the United Kingdom shall forthwith inform the Secretary of State in writing of—

(a) any change in the particulars which were furnished to the Secretary of State upon application being made for the registration of the hovercraft;

(b) the destruction of the hovercraft, or its permanent withdrawal from use;

(c) in the case of a demise chartered hovercraft registered in pursuance of paragraph (4) of this Article, the termination of the demise charter.

(10) Any person who becomes the owner of a hovercraft registered in the United Kingdom shall forthwith inform the Secretary of State in writing to that effect.

(11) The Secretary of State may, whenever it appears to him necessary or appropriate to do so for giving effect to this Order or for bringing up to date or otherwise correcting the particulars entered on the register, amend the register or, if he thinks fit, may cancel the registration of the hovercraft, and shall cancel that registration if he is satisfied that there has been a change in the ownership of the hovercraft.

(12) In this Article references to an interest in a hovercraft do not include references to an interest in a hovercraft to which a person is entitled only by virtue of his membership of a hovercraft club and the reference in paragraph (9) of this Article to the registered owner of a hovercraft includes in the case of a deceased person, his legal personal representative, and in the case of a body corporate which has been dissolved, its successor.

Nationality and registration marks

6.—(1) A hovercraft registered in the United Kingdom shall not be used unless—

(i) it bears prominently and clearly painted or affixed to the craft its nationality and registration marks; and

(ii) the nationality and registration marks together with the name and address of the registered owner are engraved on a fire proof metal plate affixed in a prominent position inside the hovercraft near an entrance.

(2) The nationality mark of a hovercraft registered in the United Kingdom shall be the capital letters “GH” in Roman characters and the registration mark shall be a group of four digits assigned by the Secretary of State on the registration of the hovercraft. The letters and digits shall be without ornamentation and a hyphen shall be placed between the nationality mark and the registration mark.

(3) The nationality and registration marks of a hovercraft shall be used as the sole means of identification of the craft by radio.

Hovercraft registered outside the United Kingdom

7.—(1) A hovercraft registered in a country other than the United Kingdom shall not be used for reward or in connection with a trade or business in or over the United Kingdom, except with the permission of the Secretary of State granted under this Article to the operator or charterer of the hovercraft and in accordance with any conditions to which such permission may be subject.

(2) Nothing in this Article shall apply to the use of a hovercraft for passage through the territorial waters of the United Kingdom.