The Merchant Shipping (Load Line) Regulations 1998

PART VII EQUIVALENTS, PENALTIES AND DETENTION

Equivalents

34.  The Assigning Authority may, with the approval of the Secretary of State—

(a) allow any fitting, material, appliance or apparatus to be fitted in a ship, or allow other provisions to be made in a ship, in the place of any fitting, material, appliance, apparatus or provision respectively which is required under any of the provisions of these Regulations, if satisfied by trial or otherwise that it is at least as effective as that so required; or

(b) allow in an exceptional case departure from the requirements of any of the said provisions on condition that the freeboards to be assigned to the ship are increased to such an extent as to satisfy the Secrtary of State that the safety of the ship and protection afforded to the crew will be no less effective than would be the case if the ship fully complied with those requirements and there were no such increase of freeboards.

Penalties

35.—(1) Where regulation 6(1) is contravened the owner and master of the ship shall each be guilty of an offence and liable:

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

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

(2) Any contravention of regulation 6(3) shall be an offence by both the owner and master and, being an offence corresponding to the offence under paragraphs 4(2) and (3) and 14 of Schedule 3 to the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, shall be punishable:

(a) on summary conviction, by a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum and by such additional fine, not exceeding an amount calculated in accordance with paragraph (3), 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; and

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

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

(a) in a case falling within regulation 6(3)(a), the appropriate load line on each side of the ship was submerged; or

(b) in a case falling within regulation 6(3)(b), the appropriate load line on each side of the ship would have been submerged.

(4) Any contravention of regulation 6(4) shall be an offence by the master and by any other person who, having reason to believe that the ship is so loaded, sends or is party to sending the ship to sea, punishable (without prejudice to any fine liable in respect of an offence under paragraph (2)):

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

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

(5) Where a person is charged with an offence under paragraph (2), 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) (a) Any contravention of regulation 23(1) shall be an offence by both the owner and the master punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(b) Any contravention of regulation 23(2) by any person shall be an offence punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(c) It shall be a defence for a person charged under this paragraph to show he had reasonable excuse for the contravention.

(7) Any contravention of regulation 9(4) shall be an offence by the master punishable—

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

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

(8) Any contravention of regulation 13 shall be an offence by both the master and owner punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

Offences and penalties in relation to certificates and surveys

36.—(1) No person shall:

(a) intentionally alter a certificate referred to in these Regulations;

(b) falsely make a certificate referred to in these Regulations;

(c) in connection with any survey required by these Regulations, knowingly or recklessly furnish false information;

(d) with intent to deceive, use, lend, or allow to be used by another, a certificate referred to in these Regulations;

(e) fail to surrender a certificate required to be surrendered under regulation 11; or

(f) in Scotland forge any certificate referred to in these Regulations.

(2) Any contravention of paragraph (1) shall be an offence punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or on conviction on indictment by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or a fine, or both.

Detention

37.—(1) Any ship which, in contravention of regulation 6(1), proceeds or attempts to proceed to sea without being surveyed and marked may be detained until it has been so surveyed and marked.

(2) Any ship which does not comply with the conditions of assignment applicable to it shall be liable to be detained until it complies.

(3) Without prejudice to any proceedings under regulation 33, any ship which is loaded in contravention of regulation 6(3) may be detained until it ceases to be so loaded.

(4) In any case where a ship is liable to be detained section 284 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995(1) (which relates to the detention of a ship) shall have effect in relation to the ship, subject to the modification that as if for the words “this Act” wherever they appear, there were substituted the words “the Merchant Shipping (Load Lines) Regulations 1998”.

(5) The provisions of sections 96 and 97 (except section 96(3) and the words “as a dangerously unsafe ship” in section 96(5) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 shall apply in relation to a detention notice issued pursuant to this regulation as they apply in relation to detention notices issued pursuant to section 95, and in such application “the relevant inspector” means a person issuing the detention notice.

(1)

Section 284 was amended by the Merchant Shipping and Maritime Security Act 1997, Schedule 1.