Vessel traffic services outside territorial seas
7.—(1) Paragraph (2) applies to—
(a)a United Kingdom ship; and
(b)a non-United Kingdom ship which is bound for a port in the United Kingdom.
(2) The master of a ship referred to in paragraph (1) shall ensure that, when the ship enters a VTS area outside the territorial sea of an EEA State and that VTS is operated in accordance with the IMO guidelines by—
(a)an EEA State ; or
(b)co-operating States,
the ship shall participate in, and comply with, the rules of that VTS.
(3) The master of a non-United Kingdom ship which is not bound for a port in the United Kingdom shall ensure that, when the ship enters a VTS area outside the territorial sea of the United Kingdom and that VTS is operated by—
(a)the United Kingdom; or
(b)two or more States one of which is the United Kingdom,
the ship shall follow the rules of that VTS whenever possible.
(4) If the MCA is of the opinion that a non-United Kingdom ship has failed substantially to comply with paragraph (3), the MCA shall report that failure to the flag State of the ship in question.
(5) In this regulation, “co-operating States” and “rules”, in relation to a VTS, have the same meaning as they have in regulation 6.