(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations, which repeal the provisions in the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937 and the Children and Young Persons Act (Northern Ireland) 1968 which restrict the manual handling of loads by children, give effect as regards shipping activities in the United Kingdom to Council Directive 90/269/EEC on the minimum health and safety requirements for the manual handling where there is a risk particularly of back injury to the workers (O.J. L156, 21.6.90, p.9).

The Regulations apply to all United Kingdom ships, other than public service vessels or vessels engaged in search and rescue (regulation 3(1)). Ships which are not United Kingdom ships but are in United Kingdom waters are subject to the regulations covering inspection and detention (regulations 3(2) and 10–13). The Regulations do not apply if the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (S.I. 1992/2793) or the Manual Handling Operations Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1992 (S.R. 1992/535) cover the matter (regulation 3(3)).

An obligation is placed on the employer to avoid, so far as is reasonably practicable, the need for any manual handling of a load which would involve a health and safety risk to the worker (regulation 5(1)) but if avoidance is not reasonably practicable the employer shall

  • carry out an assessment having regard to specified factors and consider specified questions in relation to those factors (regulation 5(2)(a) and the Schedule),

  • take appropriate steps to reduce the risk of injury to workers to the lowest level that is reasonably practicable (regulation 5(2)(b)),

  • take steps to provide the worker with precise information on the weight and centre of gravity where it is practicable to so (regulation 5(2)(c)), and

  • provide workers who will be involved in a manual handling operation with proper training and information (regulation 5(2)(d)).

The obligation placed on the employer can be extended to another person if the employer is not in control of the matter because he does not have responsibility for the operation of the ship (regulation 4).

An obligation is placed on the worker to make full use of any system of work provided by the employer to reduce the risk to the lowest level that is reasonably practicable (regulation 6).

The Regulations make contravention of the requirement on the employer (or, if appropriate, another person in control of the matter) an offence with a maximum penalty of £5,000 (regulation 7(1)), and contravention of the requirement on the worker an offence with a maximum penalty of £500 (regulation 7(2)).

Provision is made for offences by a corporate body or a Scottish partnership (regulation 8) and the burden of showing that failure to comply with a duty in these Regulations was not reasonably practicable is on the defendant (regulation 9).

Inspection and detention of United Kingdom and non-United Kingdom ships are separately provided for (regulations 10 and 11) and sections in the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 dealing with arbitration and compensation are applied (regulation 13).

These Regulations are made under powers contained in the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 except in respect of their application to government ships (regulation 2(2)) and in respect of the revocations (regulation 1(2)).