- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As enacted)
There are outstanding changes not yet made by the legislation.gov.uk editorial team to Merchant Shipping Act 1995. Any changes that have already been made by the team appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.![]()
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
This section lists the changes and effects yet to be applied to the whole Act, associated Parts and Chapters where applicable. This includes any insertions of whole new Parts, Chapters or provisions yet to be inserted into this Act. These effects are included in this view as they may be (but won’t necessarily be) relevant to the specific provision that you are viewing.
Whole provisions yet to be inserted into this Act (including any effects on those provisions):
This section lists the commencement orders yet to be applied to the whole Act. These effects are included in this view as they may be (but won’t necessarily be) relevant to the specific provision that you are viewing. Where applicable the commencement orders are listed under two headings, firstly those that bring some part of the Act you are viewing into force and secondly, those that bring into force legislation that affects some part of the legislation you are viewing. If you are viewing a prospective version or there is a prospective version available there may be commencement orders listed here that are relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Commencement Orders bringing legislation that affects this Act into force:
(1)It shall be the duty of the owner of a ship to which this section applies to take all reasonable steps to secure that the ship is operated in a safe manner.
(2)This section applies to—
(a)any United Kingdom ship; and
(b)any ship which—
(i)is registered under the law of any country outside the United Kingdom, and
(ii)is within United Kingdom waters while proceeding to or from a port in the United Kingdom,
unless the ship would not be so proceeding but for weather conditions or any other unavoidable circumstances.
(3)If the owner of a ship to which this section applies fails to discharge the duty imposed on him by subsection (1) above, he shall be liable—
(a)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £50,000;
(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine, or both.
(4)Where any such ship—
(a)is chartered by demise, or
(b)is managed, either wholly or in part, by a person other than the owner under the terms of a management agreement within the meaning of section 98,
any reference to the owner of the ship in subsection (1) or (3) above shall be construed as including a reference—
(i)to the charterer under the charter by demise, or
(ii)to any such manager as is referred to in paragraph (b) above, or
(iii)(if the ship is both chartered and managed as mentioned above) to both the charterer and any such manager,
and accordingly the reference in subsection (1) above to the taking of all reasonable steps shall, in relation to the owner, the charterer or any such manager, be construed as a reference to the taking of all such steps as it is reasonable for him to take in the circumstances of the case.
(5)No proceedings for an offence under this section shall be instituted—
(a)in England and Wales, except by or with the consent of the Secretary of State or the Director of Public Prosecutions;
(b)in Northern Ireland, except by or with the consent of the Secretary of State or the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Whole Act without Schedules you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
The Schedules only you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.
Would you like to continue?
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made):The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include: