Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Act 1949
1949 c.43
An Act to enable effect to be given to an International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, signed in London on the tenth day of June, nineteen hundred and forty-eight; to amend the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1948, relating to the construction of passenger steamers, to life-saving appliances, wireless and radio navigational aids and to other matters affected by the said Convention, and to amend the provisions of those Acts relating to fees.
[14th July 1949]

Whereas a Convention (in this Act referred to as “the Safety Convention”) was signed on behalf of the government of the United Kingdom in London on the tenth day of June, nineteen hundred and forty-eight, for promoting safety of life at sea by establishing in common agreement uniform principles and rules thereto:
Act amended by Merchant Shipping Act 1964 (c. 47), s. 1 and Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Act 1977 (c. 24), ss. 1(2), 4
Functions of Minister of Transport and Board of Trade under this Act now exercisable by Secretary of State by virtue of S.I. 1965/145, art.2, Sch. 1, 1966/1410, art.2, 1970/1537, art.2 and S.I. 1983/1127, art. 2(4)
Act extended by S.I. 1981/584, regs. 2–5
Act amended by S.I. 1983/708, regs. 1(3)(4)(b), 2
Act modified by Merchant Shipping Act 1988 (c. 12, SIF 111), s. 47(2)(b), (with s. 58(4), Sch. 8 para. 1) and by S.I. 1989/1991, art. 10
Act excluded by S.I. 1989/1991, arts. 11–14
Act not in force at Royal Assent see s. 37(1); Act wholly in force at 19. 11. 1952.
And whereas it is intended that the Safety Convention shall replace the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1929, which is set out in the First Schedule to the Merchant Shipping (Safety and Load Line Conventions) Act 1932:
And whereas it is expedient to enable effect to be given to the Safety Convention, and to amend the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1948, relating to the construction of passenger steamers, to life-saving appliances, wireless and radio navigational aids and to other matters affected by the Safety Convention, and to amend the provisions of those Acts relating to fees:

Construction and Equipment

1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ss. 1-6 repealed (1.5.1994) by 1993 c. 22, s. 8(4), Sch. 5 Pt.II; S.I. 1993/3137, art. 3(2), Sch.2.

2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ss. 1-6 repealed (1.5.1994) by 1993 c. 22, s. 8(4), Sch. 5 Pt.II; S.I. 1993/3137, art. 3(2), Sch.2.

3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ss. 1-6 repealed (1.5.1994) by 1993 c. 22, s. 8(4), Sch. 5 Pt.II (subject to a saving for s. 3(5)(6) at the end of Sch. 5 Pt. II); S.I. 1993/3137, art. 3(2), Sch.2.

4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ss. 1-6 repealed (1.5.1994) by 1993 c. 22, s. 8(4), Sch. 5 Pt.II; S.I. 1993/3137, art. 3(2), Sch.2.

5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ss. 1-6 repealed (1.5.1994) by 1993 c. 22, s. 8(4), Sch. 5 Pt.II; S.I. 1993/3137, art. 3(2), Sch.2.

6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ss. 1-6 repealed (1.5.1994) by 1993 c. 22, s. 8(4), Sch. 5 Pt.II; S.I. 1993/3137, art. 3(2), Sch.2.

Certificates

7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 7 repealed (1.6.1995 with effect as mentioned in reg. 1(5) of the amending S.I.) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)

8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 8 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)

9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 9 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)

10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 10 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)

11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 11 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)

12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 12 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)

13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 13 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)

Safety Convention Ships not registered in the United Kingdom

14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 14 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)

15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 15 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)

16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 14(2), 16 repealed by S.I. 1981/568, reg. 4, Sch. 1

17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 17 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)

Miscellaneous Provisions for furthering Safety of Life at Sea

18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ss. 18, 20 repealed by Merchant Shipping (Load Lines) Act 1967 (c. 27), s. 33, Sch. 2

19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 19 repealed (1.5.1994) by 1993 c. 22, s. 8(4), Sch. 5 Pt.II; S.I. 1993/3137, art. 3(2), Sch.2.

20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ss. 18, 20 repealed by Merchant Shipping (Load Lines) Act 1967 (c. 27), s. 33, Sch. 2

21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 21 repealed (1.5.1994) by 1993 c. 22, s. 8(4), Sch. 5 Pt.II (subject to a saving at the end of Sch. 5 Pt. II); S.I. 1993/3137, art. 3(2), Sch.2

22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 22 repealed (1.1.1996) by 1995 c. 21, ss. 314(1), 316(2), Sch. 12 (with s. 312(1), Sch. 14 para. 1)

23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 23 repealed (1.5.1994) by 1993 c. 22, s. 8(4), Sch. 5 Pt. II; S.I. 1993/3137, art. 3(2), Sch.2

24 Carriage of grain.
(1) Where grain is loaded on board any British ship registered in the United Kingdom, or is loaded within any port in the United Kingdom on board any ship, all necessary and reasonable precautions shall be taken to prevent the grain from shifting; and if such precautions as aforesaid are not taken, the owner or the master of the ship, or any agent of the owner who was charged with the loading or with sending the ship to sea laden with the grain, shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection, and the ship shall be deemed for the purposes of Part V of the principal Act to be unsafe by reason of improper loading.
S. 24(1)(2) amended by Merchant Shipping Act 1979 (c. 39), s. 43(2), Sch. 6 Pt. V
(2) Where any ship, having been loaded with grain outside the United Kingdom without the taking of all necessary and reasonable precautions to prevent the grain from shifting, enters any port in the United Kingdom so laden, the owner or master of the ship shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection, and the ship shall be deemed for the purposes of Part V of the principal Act to be unsafe by reason of improper loading:
Provided that this subsection shall not have effect if the ship would not have entered any such port but for stress of weather or any other circumstance that neither the master nor the owner nor the charterer (if any) could have prevented or forestalled.
(3) Without prejudice to the generality of the two preceding subsections, any particular precaution prescribed by rules made by the Minister under this subsection, in relation to the loading of ships generally or of ships of any class, as being a precaution to be treated for the purposes of those subsections as a necessary or reasonable precaution to prevent grain from shifting, shall be so treated in the case of ships generally, or of ships of that class, as the case may be:
Provided that this subsection shall not apply where a ship is loaded in accordance in all respects with any provisions approved by the Minister as respects the loading in question other than rules made under this subsection.
(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 24(4) repealed by Merchant Shipping Act 1979 (c. 39), Sch. 7 Pt. II
(5) On the arrival at a port in the United Kingdom from a port outside the United Kingdom of any ship carrying a cargo of grain, the master shall cause to be delivered to the proper officer of Customs in the United Kingdom, together with the report required by section 35 of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979, a notice stating—
(a) the draught of water and freeboard, as defined by Part V of the principal Act, of the said ship after the loading of her cargo was completed at the final port of loading; and
(b) the following particulars of the grain carried, namely,
(i) the kind of grain and the quantity thereof, stated in cubic feet, quarters, bushels, or tons weight;
(ii) the mode in which the grain is stowed, and
(iii) the precautions taken to prevent the grain from shifting;
and if the master fails to deliver any notice required by this subsection, or if in any such notice he makes any statement that he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly makes any statement that is false in a material particular, he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scalein the case of a failure and level 4 on the standard scalein the case of a false statement.
Words substituted by Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (c. 2), Sch. 4 para. 12 Table Pt. I
1979 c. 2.
Words substituted by Merchant Shipping Act 1979 (c. 39) Sch. 6 Pt. VI para. 14
Words substituted by virtue of (E.W.) Criminal Justice Act 1982 (c. 48, SIF 39:1), s. 46; (S.) Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (c. 21, SIF 39:1), s. 289G and (N.I.) S.I. 1984/703 (N.I. 3), art. 5
(6) Any person having a general or special authority in that behalf from the Minister may, for securing the observance of the provisions of this section, inspect any grain, and the mode in which it is stowed, and for that purpose shall have all the powers of a Ministry of Transport inspector under the principal Act.
(7) In this section the expression “grain” includes wheat, maize, oats, rye, barley, rice, pulses and seeds whether in natural or processed form, . . . .
Words inserted by Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Act 1977 (c. 24), ss. 1(5)(a), 4
Words repealed by Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Act 1977 (c. 24), ss. 1(5)(b), 4
S. 24 repealed by S.I. 1980/536, regs. 1(3), 2, 5 and S.I. 1981/576, reg. 2 (by reg. 2 of S.I. 1980/536, as amended by S.I. 1981/576, reg. 2(2) it was provided that the 1980 regulations applied in relation to: (a)sea-going United Kingdom ships, and (b)other sea-going ships while they are within the United Kingdom or the territorial waters thereof, when loaded with grain in bulk; and by S.I. 1985/1217, regs. 1(3), 2, S.I. 1980/536 was revoked as therein mentioned)

25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 25 repealed (1.1.1996) by 1995 c. 21, ss. 314(1), 316(2), Sch. 12 (with s. 312(1), Sch. 14 para. 1)

Supplemental

26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 26 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)

27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ss. 27-30 repealed (1.5.1994) by 1993 c. 22, s. 8(4), Sch. 5 Pt.II; S.I. 1993/3137, art. 3(2), Sch.2

28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 28 repealed (1.5.1994) by 1993 c. 22, s. 8(4), Sch. 5 Pt.II (subject to a saving at the end of Sch. 5 Pt. II); S.I. 1993/3137, art. 3(2), Sch.2 (but s. 28(1) remains in force for the sole purpose specified by Sch. 2, Appendix para. 2(c) to that S.I.).

29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ss. 27-30 repealed (1.5.1994) by 1993 c. 22, s. 8(4), Sch. 5 Pt.II; S.I. 1993/3137, art. 3(2), Sch.2

30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ss. 27-30 repealed (1.5.1994) by 1993 c. 22, s. 8(4), Sch. 5 Pt.II; S.I. 1993/3137, art. 3(2), Sch.2

31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 31 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)

32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 32 repealed (1.1.1996) by 1995 c. 21, ss. 314(1), 316(2), Sch. 12 (with s. 312(1), Sch. 14 para. 1)

33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 33 repealed (1.5.1994) by 1993 c. 22, s. 8(4), Sch. 5 Pt.II; S.I. 1993/3137, art. 3(2), Sch.2 (but s. 33(2) remains in force for the sole purpose specified by Sch. 2, Appendix para. 2(d) to that S.I.).

34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 34 repealed (1.1.1996) by 1995 c. 21, ss. 314(1), 316(2), Sch. 12 (with s. 312(1), Sch. 14 para. 1)

35 Consequential amendments of Merchant Shipping Acts.
(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 35(1) repealed (1.1.1996) by 1995 c. 21, ss. 314(1), 316(2), Sch. 12 (with s. 312(1), Sch. 14 para. 1)
(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 35(2)(5) repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)
(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ss. 35(3), 37(5) repealed by Statute Law Revision Act 1953 (2 & 3 Eliz. 2 c. 5)
(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 35(4)(6) repealed (1.5.1994) by 1993 c. 22, s. 8(4), Sch. 5 Pt. II; S.I. 1993/3137, art. 3(2), Sch. 2.
(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The “said Act of 1932” means Merchant Shipping (Safety and Load Line Conventions) Act 1932 (c. 9)

36 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 36 (so far as unrepealed) repealed (1.1.1996) by 1995 c. 21, ss. 314(1), 316(2), Sch. 12 (with s. 312(1), Sch. 14 para. 1)

37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S. 37 repealed (1.1.1996) by 1995 c. 21, ss. 314(1), 316(2), Sch. 12 (with s. 312(1), Sch. 14 para. 1)

SCHEDULES

FIRST SCHEDULE Transitional Provisions
Section 32.
1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sch. 1 para. 1 repealed (1.1.1996) by 1995 c. 21, ss. 314(1), 316(2), Sch. 12 (with s. 312(1), Sch. 14 para. 1)
2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sch. 1 paras. 2–4 repealed by Merchant Shipping Act 1964 (c. 47), s. 18(4) (e)
SECOND SCHEDULE
Sch. 2 repealed (1.5.1994) by 1993 c. 22, s. 8(4), Sch. 5 Pt.II; S.I. 1993/3137, art. 3(2), Sch. 2
THIRD SCHEDULE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sch. 3 repealed by Statute Law Revision Act 1953 (2 & 3 Eliz. 2 c. 5)