The Merchant Shipping (Seamen’s Documents) (Amendment) Regulations 1999

Statutory Instruments

1999 No. 3281

MERCHANT SHIPPING

MASTERS AND SEAMEN

The Merchant Shipping (Seamen’s Documents) (Amendment) Regulations 1999

Made

7th December 1999

Laid before Parliament

10th December 1999

Coming into force

1st January 2000

The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, after consulting with the organisations referred to in section 306(4) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995(1), in exercise of the powers conferred by section 80(1), (2) and (3) of the said Act of 1995(2), and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Seamen’s Documents) (Amendment) Regulations 1999 and shall come into force on 1st January 2000.

Amendment of Regulations

2.—(1) The Merchant Shipping (Seamen’s Documents) Regulations 1987(3) shall be amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 18(2), for sub-paragraph (b), there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraphs:

“(b) is, or has been employed—

(i) in a ship registered in the United Kingdom; or

(ii) if the person is a British citizen, in a ship registered outside the United Kingdom;

(bb) in respect of employment in a ship registered outside the United Kingdom, is otherwise unable, for whatever reason, to obtain a document containing substantially the same information as a discharge book from or acceptable to the ship’s flag State; and”.

(3) In regulation 20(1):

(a) paragraph (f) shall be omitted; and

(b) in paragraph (g), the words “an official of the Merchant Navy Establishment Administration,” shall be omitted.

(4) In regulation 22(1)(a):

(a) the word “or” shall be inserted before the words “the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen”; and

(b) the words “or an official of the Merchant Navy Establishment Administration” shall be omitted.

(5) For Schedule 4 there shall be substituted the following Schedule:

Regulation 16(1)(a)

“SCHEDULE 4 Countries referred to in regulation 16(1) (which relates to persons holding documents, containing substantially the same information as discharge books, issued by or under the authority of the Governments of certain countries).

• Bangladesh

• Barbados

• Canada

• Falkland Islands

• Fiji

• Ghana

• Guyana

• Hong Kong

• India

• Isle of Man

• Jamaica

• Kenya

• Kiribati

• Malaysia

• Malta

• Mauritius

• Nigeria

• Pakistan

• Papua New Guinea

• Republic of Ireland

• Saint Lucia

• Seychelles

• Sierra Leone

• Singapore

• South Africa

• Sri Lanka

• Tanzania

• Tonga

• Trinidad and Tobago

• Tuvalu

• Western Samoa

• Zambia”

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

Keith Hill

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State

Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions

7th December 1999

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the Merchant Shipping (Seamen’s Documents) Regulations 1987 (“the principal Regulations”) to allow the Secretary of State to issue discharge books to persons who are British Citizens within the meaning of the British Nationality Act 1981 and have the right of abode within the United Kingdom who are or have been employed in ships other than United Kingdom ships.

The Regulations also make minor amendments to the principal Regulations to omit references to the Merchant Navy Establishment Administration and to up-date the list of countries specified in Schedule 4.

(1)

1995 c. 21.

(2)

Section 80 was amended by section 18 of the Merchant Shipping and Maritime Security Act 1997 (c. 28).

(3)

S.I. 1987/408, amended by S.I. 1995/1900.