Application
4.—(a) Subject to paragraph (c), these Regulations apply to—
(i)sea-going United Kingdom cargo ships of 500 tons or over wherever they may be;
(ii)to other sea-going cargo ships of 500 tons or over, while they are within the United Kingdom waters, when engaged on international voyages; and
(iii)to other sea-going cargo ships of 500 tons or over when not engaged on international voyages, while they are within United Kingdom national waters.
(b)United Kingdom ships which undergo repairs, alterations or modifications of a major character shall meet the requirements applying to a ship constructed at that time in so far as the Secretary of State deems reasonable and practicable.
(c)Nothing in these Regulations shall apply to—
(i)a ship by reason of her being within the United Kingdom or the territorial waters thereof if she would not have been therein but for stress of weather or any other circumstances that the master, or owner, or the charterer (if any), could have prevented;
(ii)high-speed craft to which the Merchant Shipping (High-Speed Craft) Regulations 1996(1) apply.
S.I. 1996/3188.