The Merchant Shipping (Categorisation of Registries of Overseas Territories) Order 1992

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order revokes and replaces the Merchant Shipping (Categories of Registries of Overseas Territories) Order 1991 which was made under section 11 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1988. The section enables Orders in Council to establish categorisation of registry by reference to which registration of ships in the relevant overseas territories — i.e. Crown Dependencies and dependent territories — may be regulated.

This Order extends the category of overseas territories in which there is a restriction of registration of ships, creating the category 2: Limited tonnage and type. No ship of more than 150 tons, and no passenger ship, may be registered in such territories. There is a saving, until 1st January 1994, for ships already registered. There is an exception for fishing vessels, passenger ships and ships of local significance, where suitable arrangements for safety surveys are in place.

The territories assigned to the new category are Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Falkland Islands, Montserrat, St. Helena and Turks and Caicos Islands, as well as Guernsey and Jersey, in which there were already certain restrictions in force.