The Merchant Shipping (Mandatory Surveys for Ro-Ro Ferry and High Speed Passenger Craft) Regulations 2001

Prevention of Operation notice

9.—(1) Subject to regulation 10, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency shall serve on a company operating a vessel a prevention of operation notice preventing the operation on a regular service of the vessel where:

(a) compliance with articles 4 and 5 of the Directive in relation to the vessel cannot be demonstrated,

(b) deficiencies in relation to the vessel are found during the surveys referred to in articles 6 and 8 of the Directive which pose an immediate danger to life, or to the vessel, its crew and passengers,

(c) there is an established failure in relation to the vessel to comply with the instruments listed in Annex II to the Directive which poses an immediate danger to life, or to the vessel, its crew and passengers, or

(d) the flag State of the vessel has not consulted the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on the matters referred to in article 13(1) or (5) of the Directive.

(2) A prevention of operation notice served in accordance with paragraph (1) above shall:

(a) specify the matters in relation to which the notice has been served,

(b) direct that the vessel shall not be operated on a regular service unless the matters so specified have been remedied, and

(c) take immediate effect.

(3) A prevention of operation notice served in accordance with paragraph (1) shall be treated as a prohibition notice for the purposes of 264 to 266 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, and those sections shall apply as if:

(a) for section 264(1) of that Act there were substituted:

“(1) Any question as to whether the notice was required to be issued in accordance with regulation 9 of the Merchant Shipping (Mandatory Surveys for Ro-Ro Ferries and High Speed Passenger Craft) Regulations 2001 shall, if the person on whom the notice was served so requires by a notice given to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency within 21 days from the service of the notice, be referred to a single arbitrator appointed by agreement between the parties for that question to be expeditiously decided by him.”,

(b) for section 264(3) of that Act there were substituted:

“(3) Where on a reference under this section the arbitrator decides as respects any matter to which the reference relates, that in all the circumstances there was no requirement to issue the prohibition notice—

(a) in whole, or

(b) in part,

he shall either cancel the notice or affirm it with such modifications as he may in the circumstances think fit, and in any other case the arbitrator shall affirm the notice in its original form.”,

(c) for section 265(1) of that Act there were substituted:

“(1) If on a reference under section 264 relating to a prevention of operation notice issued in accordance with regulation 9 of the Merchant Shipping (Mandatory Surveys for Ro-Ro Ferries and High Speed Passenger Craft) Regulations 2001 the arbitrator decides to cancel the notice or affirm it with modifications he may award the person on whom the notice was served such compensation in respect of any loss suffered by him in consequence of the service of the notice as the arbitrator thinks fit.”, and

(d) section 265(2) and (3) were omitted.

(4) The Maritime and Coastguard Agency shall ensure that a prevention of operation notice served in accordance with paragraph (1) is not withdrawn until it has established that the matters in relation to which the notice was served have been met.