The Merchant Shipping (Registration of Fishing Vessels) Regulations 1988

PART I GENERAL

Citation, Commencement and Interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Fishing Vessels) Regulations 1988 and shall come into force on 1st December 1988.

(2) In these Regulations:—

“the 1894 Act” means the Merchant Shipping Act 1894(1);

“application for registration” includes, except where otherwise stated, application for registration of a vessel or share therein, application for re-registration of a vessel or share therein and application for registration of a transfer or transmission of a vessel or share therein but not application for renewal of registry;

“appropriate attestation” means attestation in a form approved by the Secretary of State;

“appropriate person” means, in relation to a port outside the British Islands:—

(a)

any British consular officer within whose consular district the port lies; or

(b)

where Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom is represented in that country by a High Commissioner, any member of the High Commissioner’s official staff nominated by him for the purposes of these Regulations; or

(c)

where that country is a colony, the Governor of the colony or any person appointed by him for those purposes;

and in this definition “High Commissioner” includes an acting High Commissioner and “Governor” includes an acting Governor;

“Authorised Measurer” means the Secretary of State or any person authorised pursuant to the Merchant Shipping (Fishing Vessels—Tonnage) Regulations 1988(2) to carry out the measurement of fishing vessels for the purposes of those regulations;

“British sea-fisheries officer” means any person who is a British sea-fisheries officer by virtue of section 7(1) of the Sea Fisheries Act 1968(3);

“Certificate of Registry” means a certificate of registration under Part II of the Act;

“Declaration of British Character” means a declaration complying with the provisions of regulation 13;

“Inspector of Marks” means an Authorised Measurer or any person authorised by the Secretary of State to verify the carving and marking of a vessel pursuant to these Regulations;

“local office” means an office of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland or the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland, listed in the list published by the Department of Transport and entitled “List of Local Offices for Fishing Vessel Registration”;

“owner” means, in relation to a vessel or share therein, the person owning the vessel or, as the case may be, a share therein, whether or not registered as owner;

“a Part I register” means a register established under Part I of the 1894 Act and kept by a Registrar of British Ships in the United Kingdom;

“port of registry” means a port listed in Schedule 3 hereto;

“Port Letters and Number” means in relation to a vessel the letters for the port of registry and the number within that port allocated to the vessel under regulation 18, or transferred with the vessel to the Register pursuant to Part VII of these Regulations;

“qualified person”, “qualified company” and “relevant percentage” have the same meanings as in section 14 of the Act;

“RSS number” means a register number allocated to a vessel under regulation 18;

“the Register” means the Register of Fishing Vessels established under regulation 2;

“the registered particulars” means in relation to a vessel the particulars recorded in respect of the items numbered 1 to 13 inclusive in Schedule 5 hereto;

“representation” means probate, administration, confirmation, or other instrument constituting a person the executor, administrator, or other legal representative of a deceased person, including a certificate of confirmation relating to a vessel.

“salmon coble” means a vessel under 10 metres in overall length used for fishing for profit only in connection with private rights of fishing for salmon or migratory trout;

“the Scottish Act” means the Sea Fishing Boats (Scotland) Act 1886(4) and “a Scottish Register” means a register established under that Act;

“simple registration” and “full registration” have the meanings given to them by regulation 3;

“transfer of a vessel” includes, except where the context otherwise requires, transfer of a share in a vessel;

“the Transitional Period” means the period specified in regulation 66.

(1)

1894 c. 60.

(2)

S.I. 1988/1909.

(3)

1968 c. 77.

(4)

1886 c. 53.