Merchant Shipping (Load Lines) Act , 1968

1 Interpretation.

1.—(1) In this Act, except in so far as the context otherwise requires—

“alteration” includes deterioration;

“clearance” includes a transire;

“the Convention of 1966” means the International Convention on Load Lines signed in London on the 5th day of April, 1966;

“Convention country” and “Contracting Government” have the meanings assigned to them by section 30 (2) of this Act;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Transport and Power;

“parent country”, in relation to a ship, means the country or territory in which the ship is registered, or, if the ship is not registered anywhere, means the country or territory whose flag the ship flies;

“registered ship” means a ship registered under the Mercantile Marine Act, 1955;

“valid Convention certificate” has the meaning assigned to it by section 13 (5) of this Act.

(2) In this Act, subject to the next following subsection, “international voyage” means a voyage between—

(a) a port in the State and a port outside the State, or

(b) a port in a Convention country (other than the State) and a port in any other country or territory (whether a Convention country or not) which is outside the State.

(3) In determining, for the purposes of the last preceding subsection, what are the ports between which a voyage is made, no account shall be taken of any deviation by a ship from her intended voyage which is due solely to stress of weather or any other circumstance which neither the master nor the owner nor the charterer (if any) of the ship could have prevented or forestalled; and for the purposes of that subsection any colony, protectorate or other dependency, any territory for whose international relations a Government is separately responsible, and any territory for which the United Nations are the administering authority, shall be taken to be a separate territory.

(4) In this Act “new ship” means a ship whose keel is laid, or which is at a similar stage of construction, on or after the material date, and “existing ship” means a ship which is not a new ship; and for the purposes of this subsection the material date—

(a) in relation to a ship whose parent country is a Convention country other than the State, is the date as from which it is declared under section 30 of this Act either that the Government of that country has accepted or acceded to the Convention of 1966 or that it is a territory to which that Convention extends, and

(b) in relation to any other ship, is the date of the commencement of this Act.

(5) Any reference in this Act to the gross tonnage of a ship shall be construed as a reference to the tonnage of the ship as ascertained in accordance with the tonnage regulations of the Mercantile Marine Act, 1955; and, where in accordance with those regulations alternative tonnages are assigned to a ship, the gross tonnage of the ship shall, for the purposes of this Act, be taken to be the larger of those tonnages.

(6) For the purposes of this Act the length of a ship shall be ascertained in accordance with regulations made by the Minister under this Act.

(7) Any reference in this Act to any provision of the Convention of 1966 shall, in relation to any time after that provision has been amended in pursuance of Article 29 of that Convention, be construed as a reference to that provision as so amended.

(8) Except in so far as the context otherwise requires, any reference in this Act to an enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or extended by or under any other enactment.

2 Ships to which Act applies.

2.—This Act applies to all ships except—

(a) ships of war;

(b) ships solely engaged in fishing; and

(c) pleasure yachts not engaged in trade.

3 Load line rules.

3.—(1) The Minister shall make rules in accordance with the following provisions of this Act (which shall be known as and are in this Act referred to as the load line rules), and in making those rules the Minister shall have regard in particular to the Convention of 1966.

(2) The load line rules shall make provision—

(a) for the surveying and periodical inspection of ships to which this Act applies;

(b) for determining freeboards to be assigned from time to time to such ships;

(c) for determining, in relation to any such ship, the deck which is to be taken to be the freeboard deck of the ship, and for requiring the position of that deck to be indicated on each side of the ship by a mark of a description prescribed by the rules; and

(d) for determining, by reference to that mark and the freeboards for the time being assigned to any such ship, the positions in which each side of the ship is to be marked with lines of a description prescribed by the rules, indicating the various maximum depths to which the ship may be loaded in circumstances prescribed by the rules.

(3) The load line rules shall include the following provisions, that is to say—

(a) provisions specifying such requirements in respect of the hulls, superstructures, fittings and appliances of ships to which this Act applies as appear to the Minister to be relevant to the assignment of freeboards to such ships;

(b) provisions whereby, at the time when freeboards are assigned to a ship in accordance with the load line rules, such particulars relating to those requirements as may be determined in accordance with the rules are to be recorded in such manner as may be so determined; and

(c) provisions for determining by reference to those requirements and that record whether, at any time after freeboards have been so assigned to a ship and while they continue to be so assigned, the ship is for the purposes of this Act to be taken to comply, or not to comply, with the conditions of assignment;

and those provisions shall be set out separately in the load line rules under the title of “rules as to conditions of assignment”.

(4) The load line rules shall also include provisions requiring such information relating to the stability of any ship to which freeboards are assigned thereunder, and such information relating to the loading and ballasting of any such ship, as may be determined in accordance with the rules to be provided for the guidance of the master of the ship in such manner as may be so determined.

(5) In relation to any matter authorised or required by this Act to be prescribed by the load line rules, those rules may make different provision by reference to (or to any combination of) any of the following, that is to say, different descriptions of ships, different areas, different seasons of the year and any other different circumstances.

(6) Except in so far as the context otherwise requires, in this Act “deck-line” means such a mark as is referred to in subsection (2) (c) of this section and “load lines” means such lines as are referred to in subsection (2) (d) of this section.

4 Compliance with load line rules by registered ships.

4.—(1) Subject to any exemption conferred by or under this Act, a ship to which this Act applies, being a registered ship, shall not proceed or attempt to proceed to sea 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 section 3 (4) of this Act is provided for the guidance of the master of the ship in the manner determined in accordance with the rules.

(2) If any ship proceeds or attempts to proceed to sea in contravention of the preceding subsection, the owner or master of the ship shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds and on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding two hundred pounds.

(3) Any ship which in contravention of subsection (1) of this section attempts to proceed to sea without being surveyed and marked as mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of that subsection may be detained until she has been so surveyed and marked.

(4) Any such ship as is mentioned in subsection (1) of this section which does not comply with the conditions of assignment shall be deemed to be unsafe for the purposes of section 459 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894.

5 Submersion of load lines on registered ships.

5.—(1) Where a ship to which this Act applies, being a registered ship, 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) If any ship is loaded in contravention of the preceding subsection, the owner and master of the ship shall (subject to subsection (5) of this section) each be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds and on conviction on indictment—

(a) to a fine not exceeding four hundred pounds, and

(b) to such additional fine, not exceeding an amount calculated in accordance with the next following subsection, as the court thinks fit to impose, having regard to the extent to which the earning capacity of the ship was increased by reason of the contravention.

(3) Any additional fine imposed under subsection (2) (b) of this section shall not exceed four hundred pounds for every complete inch, and for any fraction of an inch over and above one or more complete inches, by which—

(a) in a case falling within subsection (1) (a) of this section, the appropriate load line on each side of the ship was submerged, or

(b) in a case falling within subsection (1) (b) of this section, the appropriate load line on each side of the ship would have been submerged as therein mentioned;

and, if the amount by which that load line was or would have been submerged was less than a complete inch, any such additional fine shall not exceed four hundred pounds.

(4) If the master of a ship takes the ship to sea when she is loaded in contravention of subsection (1) of this section, or if any other person, having reason to believe that the ship is so loaded, sends or is party to sending her to sea when she is loaded in contravention of that subsection, then (without prejudice to any fine to which he may be liable in respect of an offence under subsection (2) of this section) he shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection and liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, and

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine of such amount as the court may consider proper.

(5) Where a person is charged with an offence under subsection (2) of this section, it shall be a defence to prove that the contravention was due solely to deviation or delay and that the deviation or delay was caused solely by stress of weather or other circumstances which neither the master nor the owner nor the charterer (if any) could have prevented or forestalled.

(6) Without prejudice to any proceedings under the preceding provisions of this section, any ship which is loaded in contravention of subsection (1) of this section may be detained until she ceases to be so loaded.

(7) For the purposes of the application of this section to a ship in any circumstances prescribed by the load line rules in accordance with section 3 (2) (d) of this Act, “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 Miscellaneous offences in relation to marks.

6.—Where a ship to which this Act applies, being a registered ship, is marked in accordance with any requirements as to marking imposed by or under this Act, then if—

(a) the owner or master of the ship fails without reasonable cause to keep the ship so marked, or

(b) any person conceals, removes, alters, defaces or obliterates, or causes or permits any person under his control to conceal, remove, alter, deface or obliterate, any mark with which the ship is so marked, except where he does so under the authority of a person empowered under the load line rules to authorise him in that behalf,

he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds and on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding two hundred pounds.

7 Issue of load line certificates.

7.—(1) Where a ship to which this Act applies, being a registered ship, has been surveyed and marked in accordance with the load line rules, the appropriate certificate shall be issued to the owner of the ship on his application.

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

(a) in the case of an existing ship of not less than one hundred and fifty tons gross tonnage, and in the case of a new ship of not less than twenty-four metres in length, is a certificate which shall be called and is in this Act referred to as an International Load Line Certificate (1966), and

(b) in the case of any other ship, is a certificate which shall be called and is in this Act referred to as an Irish load line certificate.

(3) Subject to the next following subsection, any certificate required by subsection (1) of this section to be issued—

(a) shall be issued by the Minister or by a person authorised in that behalf by the Minister, and

(b) shall be in such form, and shall be issued in such manner, as may be prescribed by the load line rules.

(4) The Minister may request the Government of a Contracting State other than the State to issue an International Load Line Certificate (1966) in respect of any ship to which this Act applies which is a registered ship and falling within subsection (2) (a) of this section; and the following provisions of this Act shall have effect in relation to such a certificate so issued, which contains a statement that it has been issued at the request of the Minister, as they have effect in relation to an International Load Line Certificate (1966) issued by the Minister.

8 Effect of load line certificate.

8.—Where a certificate, issued in pursuance of section 7 of this Act and for the time being in force, is produced in respect of the ship to which the certificate relates—

(a) the ship shall be deemed to have been surveyed in accordance with the load line rules, and

(b) if lines are marked on the ship corresponding in number and description to the deck-line and load lines as required by the load line rules, and the positions of those lines so marked correspond to the positions of the deck-line and load lines as specified in the certificate, the ship shall be deemed to be marked as required by those rules.

9 Duration, endorsement and cancellation of load line certificates.

9.—(1) The load line rules shall make provision for determining the period during which any certificate issued under section 7 of this Act is to remain in force, including—

(a) provision enabling the period for which any such certificate is originally issued to be extended within such limits and in such circumstances as may be prescribed by the rules, and

(b) provision for cancelling any such certificate in such circumstances as may be so prescribed.

(2) While any such certificate is in force in respect of a ship, there shall be endorsed on the certificate such information relating to—

(a) periodical inspections of the ship in accordance with the load line rules, and

(b) any extension of the period for which the certificate was issued,

as may be prescribed by the rules.

10 Ships not to proceed to sea without load line certificate.

10.—(1) Subject to any exemption conferred by or under this Act, no ship to which this Act applies, being a registered ship, shall proceed or attempt to proceed to sea unless the appropriate certificate is in force in respect of the ship.

(2) Before any such ship proceeds to sea, the master of the ship shall produce the appropriate certificate to the officer of customs 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.

(3) If any ship proceeds or attempts to proceed to sea in contravention of this section, the master of the ship shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds and on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding two hundred pounds.

(4) In this section “the appropriate certificate” means the certificate which is the appropriate certificate for the purposes of section 7 of this Act.

11 Publication of load line certificate and entry of particulars in official log-book.

11.—(1) Where a certificate is issued in respect of a ship under section 7 of this Act—

(a) the owner of the ship shall forthwith on receipt of the certificate cause it to be framed and posted up in some conspicuous place on board the ship, and shall cause it to be kept so framed and posted up and legible so long as the certificate remains in force and the ship is in use, and

(b) the master of the ship, before making any other entry in any official log-book relating to the ship, shall enter in it the particulars as to the positions of the deck-line and the load lines which are specified in the certificate.

(2) Before any ship to which this Act applies, being a registered ship, leaves any dock, wharf, harbour or other place for the purpose of proceeding to sea, the master of the ship—

(a) shall enter in the official log-book such particulars relating to the depth to which the ship is for the time being loaded as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this Act, and

(b) subject to the next following subsection, shall cause a notice, in such form and containing such of those particulars as may be specified in the regulations for the purposes of this paragraph, to be posted up in some conspicuous place on board the ship;

and, where such a notice has been posted up, the master of the ship shall cause it to be kept so posted up and legible until the ship arrives at some other dock, wharf, harbour or place.

(3) The regulations may exempt home trade ships, or any class of home trade ships specified in the regulations, from the requirements as to notices contained in the last preceding subsection.

(4) If a person fails to comply with any requirement imposed on him by the preceding provisions of this section, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

12 Inspection of ships.