The Port of London Authority Harbour Revision Order 2003

Byelaws

5.—(1) Section 162 (Thames byelaws) of the 1968 Act shall be amended as follows—

(a) in subsection (1), after paragraph (i) there shall be inserted—

“(j) to regulate the licensing of vessels for the purpose of sections 124 to 129 of this Act;

(k) for regulating the equipment of vessels and requiring vessels to carry specified equipment in the interests of safety;

(l) in relation to any vessels other than pleasure vessels, to impose requirements as to the standards of competence and experience required by persons navigating or working vessels, and requirements as to the number, competence and experience of its crew;”; and

(b) after subsection (2) there shall be inserted—

“(3) Byelaws made under subsection (1) of this section may impose different requirements in relation to different vessels or types of vessels, different parts of the Thames and different types of activity or movement.

(4) Byelaws made under sub-section (1)(l) of this section may authorise the imposition of reasonable charges by the Port Authority for assessing standards of competence and experience and for issuing any relevant certificates and endorsements required by such byelaws.”

(2) For section 164 (Watermen and lightermen byelaws) there shall be substituted the following—

“Watermen and lightermen byelaws

164.— (1) Subject to subsection (2) of this section, and without prejudice to the generality of section 162 (Thames byelaws) of this Act, byelaws made under subsection 1(l) of section 162 for the purpose of imposing requirements as to the standards of competence and experience required by persons navigating or working vessels may include provision for defining and varying the qualification required for a waterman’s or lighterman’s licence and the conditions on which such licences are to be granted and renewed, and by virtue of subsection (3) of section 162 such byelaws may provide for different qualifications to be required and different licences granted in different circumstances.

(2) No such byelaw shall authorise the granting of a waterman’s or lighterman’s licence to a person who has not demonstrated to the Port Authority such a level of knowledge about, and experience of navigating in, the Thames as the Port Authority reasonably considers appropriate.”