The Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) (Amendment) Regulations 2002

Statutory Instruments

2002 No. 504

MERCHANT SHIPPING

The Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) (Amendment) Regulations 2002

Made

6th March 2002

Laid before Parliament

8th March 2002

Coming into force

1st April 2002

The Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 205(5) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995(1) hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) (Amendment) Regulations 2002 and shall come into force on 1st April 2002.

Amendment of the Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) Regulations 1997

2.  Part II of Schedule 2 to the Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) Regulations 1997(2) shall be amended as follows:

(a) in paragraph 1(1)(a), for “£202 plus a payment of £21” there shall be substituted “£190 plus a payment of £20”;

(b) in paragraph 1(1)(b), for “£114” there shall be substituted “£110”; and

(c) in paragraph 3(1), for the words “and to paragraph (2) below,” to the end there shall be substituted:

• “, to a maximum charge of £16,000 per voyage and to paragraph (2) below, the amount of light dues per voyage shall be 40 pence per ton.”

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions

David Jamieson

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State

Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions

6th March 2002

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) Regulations 1997.

The Regulations reduce the amounts of the annual payment for tugs and fishing vessels from £202 to £190, and from £21 to £20 for each metre of length in excess of 10 metres. Where instead of an annual payment, two equal payments are made, these are reduced from £114 to £110 (Regulation 2(a) and (b)).

The Regulations also reduce the amount of light dues payable per voyage in respect of ships other than tugs, fishing vessels and pleasure vessels, from 41 pence per ton to 40 pence per ton. They further provide that the maximum charge for such light dues will now be £16,000 per voyage (Regulation 2(c)).

The decreases overall represent in the order of a 5% reduction in charges. This has been made possible by the increased efficiency of the General Lighthouse Authorities.

(1)

1995 c. 21.

(2)

S.I. 1997/562, to which there is an amendment not relevant to these Regulations.