The Merchant Shipping (Fire Protection) Regulations 2003

Interpretation U.K.

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“length” in relation to a registered ship means registered length, and in relation to an unregistered ship means the length from the fore part of the stem to the aft side of the head of the stern post or, if no stern post is fitted to take the rudder, to the fore side of the rudder stock at the point where the rudder passes out of the hull;

“Maritime and Coastguard Agency” means the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, an executive agency of the Department for Transport;

“Merchant Shipping Notice” means a document described as such and issued by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, and includes a reference to any such document amending or replacing that document which is considered by the Secretary of State to be relevant from time to time;

“the MCA’s SOLAS 2002 Chapter II-2 Publication” means the document “Construction—Fire Protection, Fire Detection and Fire Extinction implementing SOLAS Chapter II-2, 2002” published by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in November 2003;

“passenger ship” means a ship carrying more than 12 passengers, and for the purposes of this definition a passenger is every person other than:

(a)

the master and the members of the crew or other persons employed or engaged in any capacity on board a ship on the business of that ship,

(b)

a child under one year of age, and

(c)

persons who are on board the ship by reason of force majeure or in consequence of the obligation laid upon the master to carry shipwrecked or other persons;

“pleasure vessel” means—

(a)

any vessel which is—

(i)

wholly owned by an individual or individuals and used only for the sport or pleasure of the owner or the immediate family or friends of the owner, or

(ii)

owned by a body corporate and used only for the sport or pleasure of employees or officers of the body corporate, or their immediate family or friends,

and is on a voyage which is one for which the owner is not paid for or in connection with operating a vessel or carrying any person, other than as a contribution to the direct expenses of the operation of the vessel incurred during the voyage, or

(b)

any vessel which is wholly owned by or on behalf of a members' club formed for the purpose of sport or pleasure which, at the time it is being used, is used only for the sport or pleasure of members of that club or their immediate family; and for the use of which any charges levied are paid into club funds and applied for the general use of the club,

and no payments other than those mentioned are made by or on behalf of users of the vessel, other than by the owner, and in this definition “immediate family” means in relation to an individual, the husband or wife of the individual, and a brother, sister, ancestor or lineal descendent of that individual or that individual’s husband or wife;

“the SOLAS Convention” means the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1974 M1 as amended in accordance with its Protocol of 1988 M2 and the resolution of the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organisation published by the International Maritime Organisation as Resolution MSC.99(73) of 5th December 2000;

“voyage” includes an excursion.

(2) In these Regulations a reference to a ship constructed on or after a specified date is a reference to a ship the keel of which is laid or which is at a similar stage of construction on or after that date, and “similar stage of construction” means the stage at which:

(a) construction identifiable with a specific ship begins, and

(b) assembly of that ship has commenced comprising at least 50 tonnes or one per cent of the estimated mass of all structural material, whichever is less.

Marginal Citations

M1 Cmnd 7874.

M2 Cm 4420.