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:
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:
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1Act amended by Merchant Shipping Act 1964 (c. 47), s. 1 and Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Act 1977 (c. 24), ss. 1(2), 4
C2Functions 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)
C3Act extended by S.I. 1981/584, regs. 2–5
C4Act amended by S.I. 1983/708, regs. 1(3)(4)(b), 2
C5Act 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
C6Act excluded by S.I. 1989/1991, arts. 11–14
Commencement Information
I1Act not in force at Royal Assent see s. 37(1); Act wholly in force at 19. 11. 1952.
Textual Amendments
F1Ss. 1-6 repealed (1.5.1994) by 1993 c. 22, s. 8(4), Sch. 5 Pt.II; S.I. 1993/3137, art. 3(2), Sch.2.
Textual Amendments
F2Ss. 1-6 repealed (1.5.1994) by 1993 c. 22, s. 8(4), Sch. 5 Pt.II; S.I. 1993/3137, art. 3(2), Sch.2.
Textual Amendments
F3Ss. 1-6 repealed (1.5.1994) by 1993 c. 22, s. 8(4), Sch. 5 Pt.II (subject to a saving for s. 3(5)(6) at the end of Sch. 5 Pt.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.
Textual Amendments
F4Ss. 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.
Textual Amendments
F5Ss. 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.
Textual Amendments
F6Ss. 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.
Textual Amendments
F7S. 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)
Textual Amendments
F8S. 8 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)
Textual Amendments
F9S. 9 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)
Textual Amendments
F10S. 10 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)
Textual Amendments
F11S. 11 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)
Textual Amendments
F12S. 12 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)
Textual Amendments
F13S. 13 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)
Textual Amendments
F14S. 14 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)
Textual Amendments
F15S. 15 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)
Textual Amendments
F17S. 17 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)
Textual Amendments
Textual Amendments
F19S. 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.
Textual Amendments
Textual Amendments
F21S. 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
Textual Amendments
F22S. 22 repealed (1.1.1996) by 1995 c. 21, ss. 314(1), 316(2), Sch. 12 (with s. 312(1), Sch. 14 para. 1)
Textual Amendments
F23S. 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
(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.
(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). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F25
(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 [F26section 35 of the M1Customs 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 [F27[F28level 3 on the standard scale]in the case of a failure and [F28level 4 on the standard scale]in the case of a false statement].
(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 [F29whether in natural or processed form], . . . F30.]
Textual Amendments
F24S. 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)
F25S. 24(4) repealed by Merchant Shipping Act 1979 (c. 39), Sch. 7 Pt. II
F26Words substituted by Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (c. 2), Sch. 4 para. 12 Table Pt. I
F27Words substituted by Merchant Shipping Act 1979 (c. 39) Sch. 6 Pt. VI para. 14
F28Words 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
F29Words inserted by Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Act 1977 (c. 24), ss. 1(5)(a), 4
F30Words repealed by Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Act 1977 (c. 24), ss. 1(5)(b), 4
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C7S. 24(1)(2) amended by Merchant Shipping Act 1979 (c. 39), s. 43(2), Sch. 6 Pt. V
Marginal Citations
Textual Amendments
F31S. 25 repealed (1.1.1996) by 1995 c. 21, ss. 314(1), 316(2), Sch. 12 (with s. 312(1), Sch. 14 para. 1)
Textual Amendments
F32S. 26 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)
Textual Amendments
F33Ss. 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
Textual Amendments
F34S. 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.).
Textual Amendments
F35Ss. 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
Textual Amendments
F36Ss. 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
Textual Amendments
F37S. 31 repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)
Textual Amendments
F38S. 32 repealed (1.1.1996) by 1995 c. 21, ss. 314(1), 316(2), Sch. 12 (with s. 312(1), Sch. 14 para. 1)
Textual Amendments
F39S. 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.).
Textual Amendments
F40S. 34 repealed (1.1.1996) by 1995 c. 21, ss. 314(1), 316(2), Sch. 12 (with s. 312(1), Sch. 14 para. 1)
F41(1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
F42(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F43
F44(4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
F42(5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
F44(6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Textual Amendments
F41S. 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)
F42S. 35(2)(5) repealed (1.6.1995) by S.I. 1995/1210, reg. 1(4)(d)(5)
F44S. 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.
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C8The “said Act of 1932” means Merchant Shipping (Safety and Load Line Conventions) Act 1932 (c. 9)
Textual Amendments
F45S. 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)
Textual Amendments
F46S. 37 repealed (1.1.1996) by 1995 c. 21, ss. 314(1), 316(2), Sch. 12 (with s. 312(1), Sch. 14 para. 1)
Section 32.
F471U.K.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Textual Amendments
F47Sch. 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—4.U.K.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F48
Textual Amendments
F48Sch. 1 paras. 2–4 repealed by Merchant Shipping Act 1964 (c. 47), s. 18(4) (e)
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Textual Amendments
F49Sch. 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
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Textual Amendments