Merchant Shipping Act 1995

130 Regulation of transfers between ships in territorial waters

(1) The Secretary of State may by regulations make, in relation to the transfer of cargo, stores, bunker fuel or ballast between ships while within United Kingdom waters, such provision as he considers appropriate for preventing pollution, danger to health or to navigation, or hazards to the environment or to natural resources.

(2) Regulations under this section may, in particular, do any of the following things—

(a) prohibit transfers of any specified description or prohibit transfers if, or unless, carried out in specified areas, circumstances or ways;

(b) make provision about—

(i) the design of, and standards to be met by, ships and equipment,

(ii) the manning of ships, including the qualifications and experience to be possessed by persons of any specified description employed on board, and

(iii) the qualifications and experience to be possessed by persons (whether masters or not) controlling the carrying out of transfers or operations ancillary thereto;

(c) provide for proposed transfers to be notified to and approved by persons appointed by the Secretary of State or another person, and for the supervision of transfers, and the inspection of ships and equipment, by persons so appointed;

(d) provide—

(i) for the procedure to be followed in relation to the approval of transfers to be such as may be prescribed by any document specified in the regulations, and

(ii) for references in the regulations to any document so specified to operate as references to that document as revised or re-issued from time to time;

(e) provide for the making and keeping of records about ships and equipment, the issuing of certificates, and the furnishing of information;

(f) provide for the granting by the Secretary of State or another person of exemptions from specified provisions of the regulations, on such terms (if any) as the Secretary of State or that other person may specify, and for altering or cancelling exemptions;

(g) limit any provision of the regulations to specified cases or kinds of case.

(3) Regulations under this section may provide—

(a) that a contravention of the regulations shall be an offence punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding £25,000 and on conviction on indictment by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine or both;

(b) that any such contravention shall be an offence punishable only on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding £25,000 or such lower amount as is prescribed by the regulations;

(c) that, in such cases as are prescribed by the regulations, such persons as are so prescribed shall each be guilty of an offence created by virtue of paragraph (a) or (b) above.

(4) Regulations under this section may—

(a) make different provision for different classes or descriptions of ships and for different circumstances; and

(b) make such transitional, incidental or supplementary provision as appears to the Secretary of State to be necessary or expedient.