Merchant Shipping Act 1894

Life-saving Appliances.

427 Rules as to life-saving appliances.

(1) The Board of Trade may make rules (in this Act called rules for life-saving appliances) with respect to all or any of the following matters; namely,—

(a) The arranging of British ships into classes, having regard to the services in which they are employed, to the nature and duration of the voyage, and to the number of persons carried;

(b) The number and description of the boats, life-boats, life-rafts, life-jackets, and life-buoys to be carried by British ships, according to the class in which they are arranged, and the mode of their construction, also the equipments to be carried by the boats and rafts, and the methods to be provided to get the boats and other life-saving appliances into the water which methods may include oil for use in stormy weather; and

(c) The quantity, quality, and description of buoyant apparatus to be carried on board British ships carrying passengers, either in addition to or in substitution for boats, life-boats, life-rafts, life-jackets, and life-buoys.

(2) All such rules shall be laid before Parliament so soon as may be after they are made, and shall not come into operation until they have lain for forty days before both Houses of Parliament during the session of Parliament; and on coining into operation shall have effect as if enacted in this Act.

(3) Rules under this section shall not apply to any fishing boat for the time being entered in the fishing boat register under Part IV. of this Act.

428 Duties of owners and masters as to carrying life-saving appliances.

It shall be the duty of the owner and master of every British ship to see that his ship is provided, in accordance with the rules for life-saving appliances, with such of those appliances as, having regard to the nature of the service on which the ship is employed, and the avoidance of undue encumbrance of the ship's deck, are best adapted for securing the safety of her crew and passengers.

429 Appointment of consultative committee for framing rules.

(1) For the purpose of preparing and advising on the rules for life-saving appliances, the Board of Trade may appoint a committee, the members of which shall be nominated by the Board in accordance with the Seventeenth Schedule to this Act.

(2) A member of the committee shall hold office for two years from the date of his appointment, but shall be eligible for re-appointment.

(3) There shall be paid to the members of the committee, out of the Mercantile Marine Fund, such travelling and other allowances as the Board of Trade may fix.

(4) Her Majesty may, by Order in Council, alter the Seventeenth Schedule to this Act.

430 Penalty for breach of rules.

(1) In the case of any ship—

(a) if the ship is required by the rules for life-saving appliances to be provided with such appliances and proceeds on any voyage or excursion without being so provided in accordance with the rules applicable to the ship; or

(b) if any of the appliances with which the ship is so provided are lost or rendered unfit for service in the course of the voyage or excursion through the wilful fault or negligence of the owner or master ; or

(c) if the master wilfully neglects to replace or repair on the first opportunity any such appliances lost or injured in the course of the voyage or excursion ; or

(d) if such appliances are not kept so as to be at all times fit and ready for use;

then the owner of the ship (if in fault) shall for each offence be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, and the master of the ship (if in fault) shall for each offence be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

(2) Nothing in the foregoing enactments with respect to life-saving appliances shall prevent any person from being liable under any other provision of this Act, or otherwise, to any other or higher fine or punishment than is provided by those enactments, provided that a person shall not be punished twice for the same offence.

(3) If the court before whom a person is charged with an offence punishable under those enactments thinks that proceedings ought to be taken against him for the offence under any other provision of this Act, or otherwise, the court may adjourn the case to enable such proceedings to be taken.

431 Survey of ship with respect to life-saving appliances.

(1) A surveyor of ships may inspect any ship for the purpose of seeing that she is properly provided with life-saving appliances in conformity with this Act, and for the purpose of that inspection shall have all the powers of a Board of Trade inspector under this Act.

(2) If the said surveyor finds that the ship is not so provided, he shall give to the master or owner notice in writing pointing out the deficiency, and also pointing out what in his opinion is requisite to remedy the same.

(3) Every notice so given shall be communicated in the manner directed by the Board of Trade to the chief officer of customs of any port at which the ship may seek to obtain a clearance or transire, and the ship shall be detained until a certificate under the hand of any such surveyor is produced to the effect that the ship is properly provided with life-saving appliances in conformity with this Act.