R&O 72/2003
Merchant Shipping
(Categorisation of Registries of Relevant British Possessions) Order 2003
Sanctioned by Order of Her Majesty in
Council 8th May 2003
In force date 10th June 2003
Registered in the
Royal Court 1st
August 2003
HER
MAJESTY, in
exercise of the powers conferred on Her by section 18 of the Merchant
Shipping Act 1995 and of all other powers enabling her in that behalf, is
pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is
hereby ordered, as follows –
1 Citation, commencement and revocation
(1) This
Order may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Categorisation of Registries of
Relevant British Possessions) Order 2003 and shall come into force on 10th June 2003.
(2) The
Merchant Shipping (Categorisation of
Registries of Overseas Territories) Order 1992 and the Merchant Shipping (Categorisation of
Overseas Territories) (Gibraltar) Order 1996 are hereby revoked.
2 Interpretation
(1) In
this Order –
“passenger ship”
means a ship carrying more than 12 passengers, and for the purposes of
this definition a passenger is every person other than:
(a) the
master and the members of the crew or other persons employed or engaged in any
capacity on board a ship on the business of that ship,
(b) a
child under one year of age, and
(c) persons
who are on board the ship by reason of force majeure or in consequence of the
obligation laid upon the master to carry shipwrecked or other persons;
“pleasure
vessel” means –
(a) any
vessel which is –
(i) wholly
owned by an individual or individuals and used only for the sport or pleasure
of the owner or the immediate family or friends of the owner, or
(ii) owned
by a body corporate and used only for sport or pleasure of employees or
officers of the body corporate, or their immediate family or friends,
and is on a voyage or
excursion which is one for which the owner is not paid for or connection with
operating the vessel or carrying any person, other than as a contribution to
the direct expenses of the operation of the vessel incurred during the voyage
or excursion, or
(b) any
vessel which is wholly owned by or on behalf of a members’ club formed
for the purpose of sport or pleasure which, at the time it is being used, is
used only for the sport or pleasure of members of that club or their immediate
family; and for the use of which any charges levied are paid into club funds
and applied for the general use of the club;
and no payments other than
those mentioned above are made by or on behalf of users of the vessel, other
than by the owner, and in this definition, “immediate family”
means, in relation to an individual, the husband or the wife of the individual,
and a brother, sister, ancestor or lineal descendant of that individual or that
individual’s husband or wife;
“tons” means
gross tonnage and a reference to tons –
(a) in
relation to a ship having alternative gross tonnages under paragraph 13 of
Schedule 5 to the Merchant Shipping (Tonnages) Regulations 1982, permitted to be used pursuant to regulation 12(1) of the Merchant Shipping (Tonnages)
Regulations 1997, is a reference to the larger
of those tonnages, and
(b) in
relation to a ship having its tonnage determined both under Part II and
regulation 12(1) of those 1997 Regulations is a reference to its gross
tonnage as determined under regulation 12(1).
3 Application
This Order applies to the
registration in relevant British possessions of ships other than small ships or
fishing vessels.
4 Establishment
of categories of registry
(1) For
the purposes of section 18 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995
(regulation of registration of ships in British possessions by reference to
categories of registry) there are hereby established the categories of registry
specified in column (2) of the table in the Schedule to this Order.
(2) Each
category of registry shall be known by the designation specified in relation to
it in column (1) of that table.
(3) Each
relevant British possession specified in column (4) of that table is
hereby assigned to the category specified in relation to that possession in
column (2).
5 Restrictions
on registration
(1) Subject
to regulation 6, a ship to which this Order applies, and which is subject
to a restriction on registration specified in column (3) of the table in
the Schedule, shall not be registered under the law of any possession assigned
to category 2.
(2) Paragraph (1)
shall be without prejudice to the operation of any provision for the time being
in force under the law of any such possession by virtue of which the
registration of ships in that possession is, or may be, further restricted.
6 Exemptions
from restrictions on registration
(1) In
relation to a relevant British possession assigned to category 2, a ship
is exempted from the restrictions on registration in column (3) of the
table in the Schedule, in the following circumstances.
(2) The
circumstances are that:
(a) the
ship is:
(i) a
passenger ship which is not intended for, and is not used on, international
voyages,
(ii) a
pleasure vessel of less than 400 tons, or
(iii) a
ship of such importance in the special local circumstances that the Secretary
of State, with the advice of the Governor or Lieutenant Governor, as the case
may be, is satisfied that it would not be appropriate for that ship to be
registered elsewhere than in the relevant British possession;
and
(b) there
are in force arrangements between the Secretary of State and the Governor or
the Lieutenant Governor, as the case may be, that any ship to which
sub-paragraph (a) applies will be surveyed and inspected to the standards
of regulations, relating to the safety of ships and persons on them and to the
protection of health of persons on them and to the prevention of pollution,
that would apply to the ship if it were registered in the United Kingdom, to
the extent set out in the arrangements.
(3) For
the purposes of this article, “international voyage” means a voyage
from a port in a country or relevant British possession to a port outside that
country or possession.
A.K.
Galloway
Clerk of the Privy Council.