The Merchant Shipping (Ro-Ro Passenger Ships) (Stability) Regulations 2004

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations:

“the Directive” means Directive 2003/25/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14th April 2003 on specific stability requirements for ro-ro passenger ships(1);

“EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17th March 1993(2);

“EEA State” means a State which is a Contracting Party to the EEA Agreement;

“existing ship” means a ship which is not a new ship,

“high speed craft” means a craft capable of a maximum speed in metres per second (m/s) equal to or exceeding: 3.7 ▽ ^0.1667 where ▽ = volume of displacement corresponding to the design waterline (m³), excluding craft the hull of which is supported clear above the water surface in non displacement mode by aerodynamic forces generated by ground effect,

“international voyage” means a sea voyage from a port of an EEA State to a port outside that Member State, or vice versa,

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

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

“new ship” means a ship the keel of which is laid or which is at a similar stage of construction on or after 1st October 2004,

“passenger” means every person other than 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 and other than a child under one year of age,

“regular service” means a series of ro-ro passenger ship crossings serving traffic between the same two or more ports, which is operated either –

(a)

according to a published timetable, or

(b)

with crossings so regular or frequent that they constitute a recognisable systematic series,

“regular scheduled service” means an advertised service which provides for the carriage of passengers at specific intervals along specified routes,

“ro-ro passenger ship” means a ship carrying more than 12 passengers, having ro-ro cargo spaces or special category spaces as defined in Regulation II-2/3 of the SOLAS Convention,

“significant wave height” is the average height of the highest third of wave heights observed over a given period,

“similar stage of construction” means the stage at which construction identifiable with a specific ship begins, and assembly of that ship has commenced comprising at least 50 tonnes or 1% of the estimated mass of structural material, whichever is less,

“the SOLAS Convention” means the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1974(3) as amended in accordance with its Protocol of 1988(4), “Stockholm Agreement” means the Agreement concluded at Stockholm on 27th and 28 February 1996 and set out in Merchant Shipping Notice M1673.

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations, Merchant Shipping Notice 1790 identifies:

(a) the sea areas crossed by ro-ro passenger ships operating a regular service to or from ports in the United Kingdom, and

(b) the values of the significant wave heights in those sea areas which are applicable:

(i) all year round, and

(ii) for any period, not exceeding six months in a year, during which a ro-ro passenger ship operates a regular seasonal service.

(1)

O.J. L 123, 17.5.2003, p22.

(2)

CM 2073 and CM 2183.

(3)

Cmnd 7874.

(4)

Cm 4420.