Merchant Shipping Act 1995

95 Power to detain dangerously unsafe ship. U.K.

F1 [(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) [F2 Subject 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.

F2 [(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) [F3 require 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).

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 95(1) substituted (23.3.1997) by 1997 c. 28, s. 9, Sch. 1 para. 2(2); S.I. 1997/1082, art. 2, Sch.

F2 S. 95(2A) and words in s. 95(2) inserted (23.3.1997) by 1997 c. 28, s. 9, Sch. 1 para. 2(3); S.I. 1997/1082, art. 2, Sch.

F3 Words in s. 95(3)(c) substituted (23.3.1997) by 1997 c. 28, s. 9, Sch. 1 para. 2(4); S.I. 1997/1082, art. 2, Sch.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 95 applied (with modifications) (31.3.2023) by The Merchant Shipping (Watercraft) Order 2023 (S.I. 2023/35), arts. 1(1), 7