The Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) (Amendment) Regulations 1991

Made: 6th March 1991

Laid before Parliament: 8th March 1991

Coming into force: 1st April 1991

The Secretary of State for Transport, in exercise of powers conferred on him by section 5(2) of the Merchant Shipping (Mercantile Marine Fund) Act 1898[^f00001] and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) (Amendment) Regulations 1991 and shall come into force on Ist April 1991.

• (2) The Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) (Amendment) Regulations 1990[^f00002] are hereby revoked.

2

The Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) Regulations 1990[^f00003] shall be amended in the Schedule thereto as follows:—

• (a) in paragraph 1(1) of Part I (Scale of Payments):

• for “£50” substitute “£53”;

• for “30 pence” (in both places) substitute “32 pence”;

• for “60 pence” substitute “64 pence”;

• (b) for paragraphs 1(2) and (3) of Part I substitute the following—

(2) Where a ship has paid dues under paragraph 1(1) in respect of a voyage it shall not be required to pay dues in respect of any subsequent voyage in any period of one month commencing with the last preceding relevant date. (3) (a) For this purpose, subject to sub-paragraph (b) below the relevant date means the date on which a ship arrives at or departs from a port or place on a voyage in respect of which light dues were paid or payable. In the case of a coastwise voyage the date of arrival shall determine the relevant date. (b) There shall be no relevant date before 1st April 1991. (4) In the year commencing 1 April 1991 a ship shall not be required to make payments on account of light dues for more than six voyages in total and in any subsequent year the said yearly limit shall be seven voyages. (5) A voyage of a ship shall be reckoned from port to port, and a voyage which begins and ends at the same port without a call being made at any other port shall count as a single voyage.

• (c) in paragraph 2 of Part I:—

(i) in sub paragraph (1)(a) — for “£180” and “£18” substitute “£192” and “£19” respectively; (ii) in sub-paragraph (1)(b), for “£100” and “£10” substitute “£107” and “£11” respectively; (iii) in sub-paragraphs (2) and (3), amend the minimum payments from “£50” to “£53” in each case; (iv) in sub-paragraph (4), for “£60” substitute “£66”; and for “£20” substitute “£22”; (v) in sub-paragraph (5) — for “£20” substitute “£22”;

• (d) in paragraph 5(b) of Part II (Rules) add at the end:—

except in paragraph 1 of the scale where it means a month commencing with the relevant date

• (e) in paragraph 5(f) of Part II, for sub-paragraph (ii) substitute the following—

(ii) which operates on regular advertised ferry services primarily available to accompanied motor vehicles or unaccompanied trailers on payment of an advertised fare or similar tariff charge; and (iii) which is employed on such a service whereby the voyages of the ship to or from any one port take place no less frequently than once in every seven days.

Signed

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Transport

Patrick McLoughlin — Parliamentary Under Secretary of State — Department of Transport — 6th March 1991

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations provide for an increase of about 6.7% (after rounding) in the scale of light dues payable under the Merchant Shipping (Mercantile Marine Fund) Act 1898, as set out in the Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) Regulations 1990 (as amended). They further provide for all ships liable to pay dues on a per voyage basis

• (a) not to be required to pay dues on more than one voyage a month (instead of two for ships under 25,000 tons), and

• (b) for a second year a reduction in the number of liable voyages from seven to six.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1898 c. 44; section 5(2) was substituted by the Merchant Shipping Act 1979 (c. 39), section 36(2).

[^f00002]: S.I. 1990/866.

[^f00003]: S.I 1990/364, amended by S.I. 1990/866.