Merchant Shipping Act 2010

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1. Short title and collective citation.

1.— (1) This Act may be cited as the Merchant Shipping Act 2010.

(2) The Merchant Shipping Acts 1894 to 2000, section 28 of the Sea Pollution (Hazardous Substances) (Compensation) Act 2005, the Maritime Safety Act 2005 (other than Parts 5 and 6) and this Act (other than section 93)may be cited together as the Merchant Shipping Acts 1894 to 2010.

2. Definitions.

2.— In this Act—

“Act of 1952” means Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Act 1952;

“Act of 1966” means Merchant Shipping Act 1966;

“Act of 1992” means Merchant Shipping Act 1992;

“Act of 2000” means Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Casualties) Act 2000;

“Act of 2005” means Maritime Safety Act 2005;

“bulk carrier rules” means rules made under section 14;

“cargo ship construction and survey rules” means rules made under section 3 of the Act of 1966;

“collision regulations” means regulations made under section 418 of the Principal Act;

“fire protection rules” means rules made under section 84;

“Irish ship” means a ship, other than a ship of war, known as such under section 9 of the Mercantile Marine Act 1955;

“master”, in relation to a ship, means the person having, for the time being, the command or charge of the ship;

“Merchant Shipping Acts” means Merchant Shipping Acts 1894 to 2010;

“Minister” means Minister for Transport;

“navigation and tracking rules” means rules made under section 18 of the Act of 1952;

“owner”, in relation to a ship, means the person registered in the State, as its owner or, if no person is so registered, the person who owns the ship, and includes any part owner, charterer, manager or operator of the ship;

“Principal Act” means Merchant Shipping Act 1894;

“radio rules” means rules made under section 15 of the Act of 1952;

“recognised organisation” means an organisation authorised by the Minister under the European Communities (Ship Inspection and Survey Organisations) Regulations 2003 (S.I. No. 301 of 2003) to carry out surveys or inspections;

“rules for life-saving appliances” means rules made under section 82;

“Safety Convention” has the meaning assigned to it by section 3(1) of the Act of 1952;

“surveyor of ships” means a person appointed under section 724 of the Principal Act to be a surveyor of ships for the purposes of that Act and includes a recognised organisation;

“survival craft” means a craft capable of sustaining the lives of persons in distress from the time of abandoning a ship.

3. Expenses.

3.— The expenses of the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of monies provided by the Oireachtas.

4. Offence by body corporate and summary proceedings.

4.— (1) Where an offence under this Act is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to, any neglect on the part of any person, being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person, as well as the body corporate, commits an offence and is liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

(2) The Minister may prosecute summarily an offence under this Act.

5. Laying of orders, regulations and rules before Houses of Oireachtas.

5.— Every order, regulation and rule made under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after they are made and, if a resolution annulling the order, regulation or rule is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the instrument is laid before it, the order, regulation or rule shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

PART 2 Construction, Radio, Navigation and Tracking and Bulk Carrier Rules and Categorisation of Vessels

6. Definitions — Act of 1952.

6.— (1) Section 3(1) (as amended by section 20(4)(a) of the Act of 1966) of the Act of 1952 is amended by—

(a) substituting for the definition of “ the Minister ” the following:

“ ‘ Irish ship ’ means a ship, other than a ship of war, known as such under section 9 of the Mercantile Marine Act 1955;

‘ master ’, in relation to a ship, means the person having, for the time being, the command or charge of the ship;

‘ Merchant Shipping Acts ’ means Merchant Shipping Acts 1894 to 2010;

‘ Minister ’ means Minister for Transport;

‘ navigation and tracking rules ’ means rules made under section 18;

‘ owner ’, in relation to a ship, means the person registered in the State, as its owner or, if no person is so registered, the person who owns the ship, and includes any part owner, charterer, manager or operator of the ship;”,

(b) deleting the definition of “rules for direction-finders”, and

(c) substituting for the definition of “the Safety Convention” the following:

“ ‘ Safety Convention ’ means the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea signed in London on behalf of the Government on 1 November 1974 together with the Protocol to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea signed in London on behalf of the Government on 17 February 1978 and the Protocol to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea signed in London on behalf of the Government on 11 November 1988 and any amendments made to it up to and including those adopted by the 85th session of the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organisation held between 26 November and 5 December 2008 and which have entered into force in respect of the State pursuant to Article VIII prior to the passing of the Merchant Shipping Act 2010;”.

(2) Subsection (2) of section 1 and paragraph (a) of section 2 of the Act of 1966 are repealed.

7. Construction rules.

7.— (1) The Act of 1952 is amended by substituting for section 10 the following:

“10.— (1) The Minister may make rules (‘ construction rules’ ) prescribing the—

(a) requirements that the hull, superstructure, subdivision and stability, electrical installations, equipment and machinery of and fuel used in passenger steamers registered in the State, or other passenger steamers while in the territorial seas or elsewhere in the State, must comply with, and

(b) requiring such steamers to be surveyed to such extent and in such manner and at such intervals, as may be prescribed.

(2) In making construction rules the Minister may categorise passenger steamers into different classes, where appropriate, having regard to one or more of the following:

(a) the size, shape, speed or configuration of such steamers;

(b) the service for which such steamers are to be employed;

(c) the nature and duration of voyages to be undertaken;

(d) the number of passengers or other persons, or both, that such steamers are designed to carry on board;

(e) such other matter or matters that the Minister considers appropriate to take into account in the circumstances;

(f) the type of cargo carried, including dangerous goods;

(g) the age and date of construction of steamers.

(3) Different construction rules may be made in respect of different classes of passenger steamers and in relation to different classes of passenger steamers for different circumstances and for different areas of operation.

(4) Construction rules shall include such requirements as appear to the Minister to be necessary to implement the provisions of the Safety Convention prescribing the requirements that the hull, superstructure, subdivision and stability, electrical installations, equipment and machinery of and fuel used in passenger steamers must comply with, except so far as those provisions are implemented by rules for life-saving appliances, radio rules, navigation and tracking rules, collision regulations or fire protection rules.

(5) Construction rules may require the provision in ships to which this section applies—

(a) of plans exhibited as provided by or under the rules, and of other information, relating to the boundaries of watertight compartments, the openings in them, the means of closing such openings and the arrangements for correcting any list due to flooding, and

(b) of information necessary for the guidance of the master in maintaining sufficient stability to enable the ship to withstand damage.

(6) Any survey carried out on a steamer to which this section applies in accordance with rules made under subsection (1)(b) is a survey for the purpose of sections 271(1) and 272 of the Principal Act.

(7) The powers conferred on the Minister by this section are in addition to the powers conferred by any other enactment enabling him or her to prescribe the requirements that passenger steamers must comply with.

(8) In this section, other than subsection (1)(b) ‘ passenger steamer ’ includes a ‘ passenger ship ’ within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Act of 1992.”.

(2) Section 9 of the Act of 1966 and section 29 of the Act of 1992 are repealed.

8. Radiocommunications rules.

8.— (1) The following section is substituted for section 15 of the Act of 1952:

“15.— (1) The Minister, after consultation with the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, may make rules (‘ radio rules’ ) requiring—

(a) ships to which this section applies to be provided with a radio installation, other than a radio navigational aid, of such a nature as may be prescribed by the rules,

(b) to maintain such a radio service and to carry such number of persons, of such grades and possessing such qualifications, as may be prescribed, and

(c) such ships to be surveyed to such extent and in such manner and at such intervals, as may be prescribed.

(2) Radio rules may contain provisions for preventing so far as practicable electrical interference with the radio installation by other apparatus on board.

(3) Any survey carried out on a ship to which this section applies in accordance with rules made under subsection (1)(c) is a survey for the purposes of section 271(1) and 272 (as applied by section 27(2) of the Act of 1952 and section 3(4) of the Act of 1966) of the Principal Act.

(4) This section applies to all ships registered in the State and to other sea-going ships while they are within any port in the State.

(5) In making radio rules the Minister may categorise ships into different classes, where appropriate, having regard to one or more of the following:

(a) the service for which such ships are to be employed;

(b) the nature and duration of voyages to be undertaken;

(c) the number of passengers or other persons, or both, that such ships are designed to carry on board;

(d) such other matter or matters that the Minister considers appropriate to take into account in the circumstances.

(6) Different radio rules may be made in respect of different classes of ships and in relation to different classes of ships for different circumstances and different areas of operation.

(7) Radio rules shall include such requirements as appear to the Minister to be necessary to implement the provisions of the Safety Convention relating to radiocommunications.

(8) Radio rules may prescribe requirements for such portable radio apparatus as boats, survival craft or life-rafts may be required to carry by the rules for life-saving appliances.

(9) Without prejudice to the generality of the preceding provisions of this section, radio rules may—

(a) prescribe the duties of radio personnel, including the duty of keeping a radio log-book;

(b) apply to any radio log-book required to be kept under the rules any of the provisions of section 242 of the Principal Act (which provides for the delivery of the official log-book to the superintendent) and of section 256 of that Act (which provides among other things for the custody of the official log-book);

(c) require the master of a ship to cause to be entered in the official log-book such particulars relating to the operation of the radio installation, and the maintenance of the radio service, as may be specified in the rules;

(d) require the notification to the Minister of such details as the Minister may require in relation to radio installations.

(10) If the master of a ship fails to cause an entry to be made in the log-book of the ship in contravention of rules made under paragraph (c), or if any person contravenes any rules made under paragraph (a), of subsection (9), he or she commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €1,000.

(11) If radio rules are contravened in any other respect in relation to any ship, the owner or master of the ship commits an offence and is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €5,000, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €100,000.

(12) A surveyor of ships may board and inspect—

(a) any ship, for the purpose of seeing that it is properly provided with a radio installation and radio personnel, and

(b) any boat or life-raft on board the ship, for the purposes of seeing that it carries the required portable radio apparatus,

in conformity with radio rules.

(13) If a surveyor of ships in making an inspection under subsection (12) finds that—

(a) the ship is not provided with radio installation or personnel, or

(b) a boat, survival craft or life-raft on board does not carry portable radio apparatus,

in conformity with radio rules he or she shall give to the owner or master notice in writing pointing out the deficiency.

(14) A surveyor of ships may board and inspect any ship for the purposes of seeing that a deficiency has been remedied in accordance with a notice under subsection (13).

(15) A surveyor of ships may for the purposes of an inspection make such tests (either on the ship or ashore or at dock) ask such questions, inspect such documents or records and have access to such installation or other apparatus as he or she considers appropriate for that purpose.

(16) If a ship, in respect of which a notice has been given to its owner or master under subsection (13) which requires the deficiency to be remedied before the ship proceeds to sea, proceeds or attempts to proceed to sea without the deficiency being remedied as required in the notice, then the master or owner (as the case may be) commits an offence and is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €5,000, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €100,000.”.

(2) The Act of 1952 is amended—

(a) in section 16(2), by substituting “Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources” for “Minister for Posts and Telegraphs”,

(b) in section 17(1) by substituting “radiocommunications installation” for “radio telegraph installation”,

(c) in sections 23(1), (2)(a) and (3), 26(1)(b)(ii), 27(3) and (4), 30(3) and 31(2)(b), by substituting “radiocommunications” for “radiotelegraphy, radiotelephony”, and

(d) in section 28(3) by substituting for paragraphs (c) and (d) the following:

“(c) except where such certificate states that the ship is wholly exempt from the provisions of the Safety Convention relating to radiocommunications, that the number, grades and qualifications of personnel on board correspond with those shown in the certificate; or

(d) that any conditions on which such a certificate, being the equivalent of an exemption certificate, is issued are complied with.”.

(3) Sections 11 and 12 of the Act of 1966 are repealed.

(4) Section 7 of the Act of 1992 is amended by substituting “radiocommunications” for “radiotelegraph or radiotelephone”.

9. Navigation and tracking rules.

9.— (1) The following section is substituted for section 18 of the Act of 1952:

“18.— (1) The Minister may make rules (‘ navigation and tracking rules’ ) requiring ships to which this section applies to be provided with navigation and tracking systems and equipment of such a nature as may be prescribed by the rules including requirements relating to their position and method of fitting and to maintain such systems as may be so prescribed.

(2) This section applies to all ships registered in the State and to other ships while they are within any port in the State.

(3) In making navigation and tracking rules the Minister may categorise ships into different classes, where appropriate, having regard to one or more of the following:

(a) the size, shape, speed or configuration of such ships;

(b) the service for which such ships are to be employed;

(c) the nature and duration of voyages to be undertaken;

(d) the number of passengers or other persons, or both, that such ships are designed to carry on board;

(e) such other matter or matters that the Minister considers appropriate to take into account in the circumstances.

(4) Different rules may be made in respect of different classes of ships and in relation to different classes of ships for different circumstances and different areas of operation.

(5) Navigation and tracking rules shall include such requirements as appear to the Minister to be necessary to implement the provisions of the Safety Convention relating to navigation and tracking systems and equipment.

(6) Without prejudice to the generality of the preceding provisions of this section, navigation and tracking rules may require notification to the Minister of the identity, the position, the date and time, and other relevant details regarding a ship on which such systems and equipment are positioned.

(7) If navigation and tracking rules are contravened in any respect in relation to any ship, the owner or master of the ship commits an offence and is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €5,000, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €100,000.

(8) A surveyor of ships may board and inspect—

(a) any ship, for the purpose of seeing that it is properly provided with the required systems, and

(b) any boat, survival craft or life-raft on board the ship, for the purposes of seeing that it carries the required systems,

in conformity with navigation and tracking rules.