Merchant Shipping Act 1995

Non-United Kingdom ships U.K. Valid Convention certificates

12 (1) This paragraph applies to any non-United Kingdom ship to which this Schedule applies which—

(a) is registered in a Convention country or, not being registered in any such country or elsewhere, flies the flag of a Convention country, and

(b) is either a pre-1966 Convention ship of not less than 150 tons gross tonnage or a post-1966 Convention ship of not less than 24 metres in length.

(2) The Secretary of State may, at the request of the Government of the parent country of a ship to which this paragraph applies, issue in respect of the ship a certificate in such form as may be prescribed by the load line rules, if the Secretary of State is satisfied that he could properly issue a certificate in respect of the ship under paragraph 6(1) of this Schedule if the ship were a United Kingdom ship.

(3) The load line rules shall make such provision as appears to the Secretary of State to be appropriate for securing that certificates which are issued as International Load Line Certificates (1966) in respect of ships to which this paragraph applies, and are so issued by Governments other than Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, shall be recognised for the purposes of this Schedule in such circumstances as may be prescribed by the rules.

(4) Certificates issued as mentioned in sub-paragraph (2) or (3) above shall be included among the certificates called “International Load Line Certificates (1966)”.

(5) In this Schedule “valid Convention certificate” means a certificate which either—

(a) has been issued under sub-paragraph (2) above and is for the time being in force, or

(b) having been issued as mentioned in sub-paragraph (3) above, is produced in circumstances in which it is required by the load line rules to be recognised for the purposes of this Schedule.

Compliance with load line rules U.K.

13 (1) Subject to sub-paragraph (2) below, and to any exemption conferred by or under this Schedule, no non-United Kingdom ship to which this Schedule applies shall proceed or attempt to proceed to sea from any port in the United Kingdom unless—

(a) the ship has been surveyed in accordance with the load line rules;

(b) the ship is marked with a deck-line and with load lines in accordance with those rules;

(c) the ship complies with the conditions of assignment; and

(d) the information required by those rules to be provided as mentioned in paragraph 2(4) of this Schedule is provided for the guidance of the master of the ship in the manner determined in accordance with the rules.

(2) Sub-paragraph (1) above does not apply to a ship in respect of which a valid Convention certificate is produced.

(3) If any ship proceeds or attempts to proceed to sea in contravention of the preceding provisions of this paragraph, the owner or master of the ship shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

(4) Any ship which in contravention of this paragraph attempts to proceed to sea without being surveyed and marked as mentioned in sub-paragraphs (1)(a) and (b) above may be detained until it has been so surveyed and marked.

(5) If any such ship as is mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) above, not being a ship in respect of which a valid Convention certificate is produced, does not comply with the conditions of assignment it shall be deemed to be dangerously unsafe for the purposes of sections 95, 96 and 97.

Submersion of load lines U.K.

14 (1) Where a non-United Kingdom ship to which this Schedule applies is within any port in the United Kingdom, and is marked with load lines, the ship shall not be so loaded that—

(a) if the ship is in salt water and has no list, the appropriate load line on each side of the ship is submerged, or

(b) in any other case, the appropriate load line on each side of the ship would be submerged if the ship were in salt water and had no list.

(2) Sub-paragraphs (2), (3), (5) and (6) of paragraph 4 of this Schedule shall have effect for the purposes of this paragraph as if any reference in those sub-paragraphs to sub-paragraph (1) of that paragraph, or to sub-paragraph (1)(a) or (b) of that paragraph, were a reference to sub-paragraph (1), or (as the case may be) to the corresponding provision of sub-paragraph (1) of this paragraph, subject, however, to sub-paragraph (3) below.

(3) In the case of a ship to which paragraph 12 of this Schedule applies, the ship shall not be detained, and no proceedings shall be brought by virtue of sub-paragraph (2) above, unless the ship has been inspected by a ship surveyor or engineer surveyor in pursuance of paragraph 17 of this Schedule.

(4) In relation to a ship in respect of which a valid Convention certificate is produced, “load line” in sub-paragraph (1) above means a line marked on the ship in the position of a load line specified in that certificate; and for the purposes of the application of the relevant provisions to such a ship in any circumstances for which a particular load line is specified in the certificate, the “appropriate load line” means the load line which, in accordance with the certificate, indicates the maximum depth to which the ship may be loaded in salt water in those circumstances.

(5) Where a valid Convention certificate is not produced in respect of a ship, then, for the purposes of the application of the relevant provisions to that ship in any circumstances prescribed by the load line rules in accordance with paragraph 2(2)(d) of this Schedule, “the appropriate load line” means the load line which, in accordance with those rules, indicates the maximum depth to which the ship may be loaded in salt water in those circumstances.

(6) In sub-paragraphs (4) and (5) above “the relevant provisions” means the provisions of sub-paragraph (1) above and any provisions of paragraph 4 of this Schedule as applied by sub-paragraph (2) above.

United Kingdom load line certificates U.K.

15 (1) Where a non-United Kingdom ship to which this Schedule applies has been surveyed and marked in accordance with the load line rules, then on the application of the owner of the ship a United Kingdom load line certificate shall be issued to him by the Secretary of State or by a person authorised for the purpose by the Secretary of State.

(2) Subject to sub-paragraph (3) below, paragraphs 7 and 8 of this Schedule shall have effect in relation to a certificate issued under sub-paragraph (1) above as they have effect in relation to a certificate issued under paragraph 6 of this Schedule.

(3) Any certificate issued under sub-paragraph (1) above in respect of a ship to which paragraph 12 of this Schedule applies shall be valid only so long as the ship is not plying on international voyages, and shall be cancelled by the Secretary of State if he has reason to believe that the ship is plying on international voyages.

Production of certificate to customs and excise officer U.K.

16 (1) Subject to any exemption conferred by or under this Schedule, before a non-United Kingdom ship to which this Schedule applies proceeds to sea from any port in the United Kingdom, the master of the ship shall produce the appropriate certificate to the officer of customs and excise from whom a clearance for the ship is demanded; and a clearance shall not be granted, and the ship may be detained, until the appropriate certificate is so produced.

(2) For the purposes of this paragraph the appropriate certificate—

(a) in the case of a ship to which paragraph 12 of this Schedule applies, where a clearance for the ship is demanded in respect of an international voyage, is a valid Convention certificate;

(b) in the case of any such ship, where a clearance for the ship is demanded in respect of any other voyage, is either a valid Convention certificate or a United Kingdom load line certificate for the time being in force in respect of the ship; and

(c) in any other case, is a United Kingdom load line certificate for the time being in force in respect of the ship.

Provisions as to inspection U.K.

17 (1) Subject to the following provisions of this paragraph, a ship surveyor or engineer surveyor may inspect any non-United Kingdom ship to which this Schedule applies while the ship is within any port in the United Kingdom.

(2) Any such surveyor may go on board any ship to which paragraph 12 of this Schedule applies, while the ship is within any port in the United Kingdom, for the purpose of demanding production of any International Load Line Certificate (1966) or United Kingdom load line certificate for the time being in force in respect of the ship.

(3) If on any such demand a valid Convention certificate is produced to the surveyor in respect of the ship, the powers of the surveyor under sub-paragraph (1) above shall be limited to seeing—

(a) that the ship is not loaded beyond the limits allowed by the certificate;

(b) that lines are marked on the ship in the positions of the load lines specified in the certificate;

(c) that no material alterations have taken place in the hull or superstructures of the ship which affect the position in which any of those lines ought to be marked; and

(d) that the fittings and appliances for the protection of openings, the guard rails, the freeing ports and the means of access to the crew’s quarters have been maintained on the ship in as effective a condition as they were in when the certificate was issued.

(4) If on an inspection of a ship under this paragraph the ship is found to have been so materially altered in respect of the matters referred to in sub-paragraph (3)(c) or (d) above that the ship is manifestly unfit to proceed to sea without danger to human life, it shall be deemed to be dangerously unsafe for the purposes of sections 95, 96 and 97.

(5) Where a ship is detained under the provisions of this Act as applied by sub-paragraph (4) above, the Secretary of State shall order the ship to be released as soon as he is satisfied that the ship is fit to proceed to sea without danger to human life.