Merchant Shipping Act 1995

94 Meaning of “dangerously unsafe ship”. U.K.

(1) For the purposes of sections 95, 96, 97 and 98 a ship [F1 in port] is “dangerously unsafe” if, having regard to the nature of the service for which it is intended, the ship is, by reason of the matters mentioned in subsection (2) below, unfit to go to sea without serious danger to human life.

F2 [(1A) For the purposes of those sections a ship at sea is “dangerously unsafe” if, having regard to the nature of the service for which it is being used or is intended, the ship is, by reason of the matters mentioned in subsection (2) below, either—

(a) unfit to remain at sea without serious danger to human life, or

(b) unfit to go on a voyage without serious danger to human life.]

(2) Those matters are—

(a) the condition, or the unsuitability for its purpose, of—

(i) the ship or its machinery or equipment, or

(ii) any part of the ship or its machinery or equipment;

(b) undermanning;

(c) overloading or unsafe or improper loading;

(d) any other matter relevant to the safety of the ship;

and are referred to in those sections, in relation to any ship, as “the matters relevant to its safety”.

(3) Any reference in those sections to “going to sea” shall, in a case where the service for which the ship is intended consists of going on voyages or excursions that do not involve going to sea, be construed as a reference to going on such a voyage or excursion.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 94(1) inserted (23.3.1997) by 1997 c. 28, s. 9, Sch. 1 para. 1(2); S.I. 1997/1082, art. 2, Sch.

F2 S. 94(1A) inserted (23.3.1997) by 1997 c. 28, s. 9, Sch. 1 para. 1(3); S.I. 1997/1082, art. 2, Sch.

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 94 applied (with modifications) (31.3.2023) by The Merchant Shipping (Watercraft) Order 2023 (S.I. 2023/35), arts. 1(1), 7