The New Severn Bridge (Restriction of Navigation) Regulations 1993

Made: 3rd February 1993

Laid before Parliament: 4th February 1993

Coming into force: 1st March 1993

The Secretary of State for Transport, in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 31 and 37(5) of the Severn Bridges Act 1992[^f00001] and of all other enabling powers and after consulting the Gloucester Harbour Trustees, hereby makes the following Regulations:—

Citation and commencement

1

These Regulations may be cited as the New Severn Bridge (Restriction of Navigation) Regulations 1993 and shall come into force on 1st March 1993.

Interpretation

2

In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—

• “approved classification society” means Bureau Veritas, American Bureau of Shipping, Norske Veritas, Polski Rejestr, Registro Italiano and Germanischer Lloyd;

• “deadweight”— in relation to a vessel recorded in Lloyd’s Register of Ships, means the deadweight of the vessel in tonnes given in that register; in relation to a vessel not falling within paragraph (a) above being a ship, as respects which information as to its stability has been provided in the form of a statement which complies with the requirements of rule 30 of and Schedule 7 to the Merchant Shipping (Load Line) Rules 1968[^f00002], means the deadweight of the ship in tonnes to the summer load line as given in that statement; and in relation to any vessel not falling within paragraphs (a) or (b) above, means the weight in tonnes of cargo, stores, fuel, passengers and crew carried by the vessel when submerged to its maximum permissible draught;

• “Lloyd’s Register of Ships” means the register of ships published by the society known as Lloyd’s Register of Shipping;

• “the river” means the river Severn;

• “the Shoots” means that part of the deep navigation channel in the river known as the Shoots, through which vessels will be able to pass under the central span of the new bridge and which is encompassed by the navigation beacons situated at North Mixoms, Lady Bench, Old Man’s Head and Lower Shoots;

• “vessel” includes craft of any description.

Prohibition of navigation

3

• (1) No person shall navigate or cause or permit to be navigated any vessel within any part of the river, other than the Shoots, situated within 250 metres on either side of the centre line of the new bridge, except—

• (a) a vessel whilst it is in use for the purposes of or in connection with the construction or maintenance of the new bridge;

• (b) a vessel having a deadweight of less than 100 tonnes;

• (c) a survey or rescue vessel authorised by the Gloucester Harbour Trustees; or

• (d) a vessel less than 24 metres long.

• (2) No person shall navigate or cause or permit to be navigated any vessel in the Shoots except—

• (a) a vessel falling within any of sub-paragraphs (a) to (d) of paragraph (1) above;

• (b) a vessel less than 47.5 metres long and used for fishing or for sport or recreation;

• (c) a vessel which is recorded in Lloyd’s Register of Ships and is either—

• (i) not given an Ice Class special features notation and is recorded as having a deadweight not exceeding 8000 tonnes; or

• (ii) is given one of the Ice Class special features notations referred to in column (1) of the table below and is recorded as having a deadweight not exceeding that specified opposite that notation in column (2) of the table:—

; and

• (d) a vessel which is recorded in a register kept by an approved classification society and which the Secretary of State has accepted in writing as having, in all material respects, characteristics equivalent to those of a vessel falling within sub-paragraph (c) of this paragraph.

Consent to navigation

4

• (1) Subject to the provisions of this regulation the Secretary of State may, notwithstanding the provisions of regulation 3 above, consent to any vessel (“the relevant vessel”) being navigated in any part of the river where its navigation would otherwise be prohibited by regulation 3.

• (2) The consent of the Secretary of State under paragraph (1) above—

• (a) shall be given in writing;

• (b) shall not be given retrospectively;

• (c) may be given subject to such conditions as he thinks fit;

• (d) shall not be given unless the Secretary of State is satisfied that, if the relevant vessel were to collide with the new bridge in a part of the river where he consented to its being navigated, the risk of damage to the bridge would be no greater than the risk of damage from a vessel which could be navigated in accordance with these Regulations in that part without his consent; and

• (e) shall not be given unless, at least three months (or such shorter period as the Secretary of State may specify) before the date on which it is intended that the relevant vessel will be navigated in the river,—

• (i) the Secretary of State has received a written application for his consent and has been furnished with all such information as he may require for the purpose of determining the application; and

• (ii) notice of the application has been given to the Gloucester Harbour Trustees.

Signed

Kenneth Carlisle — Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, — Department of Transport — 3rd February 1993

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations are made pursuant to sections 31 and 37(5) of the Severn Bridges Act 1992 for the purpose of protecting the second Severn bridge from ship impact both during and after its construction and restrict the vessels which may be navigated within the vicinity of the new bridge. Within a zone 500 metres wide centred on the new bridge, but excluding the Shoots channel, the only vessels permitted are those specified in regulation 3(1). Within the Shoots channel the permitted vessels are vessels of the kinds specified in regulation 3(1), fishing boats and pleasure boats less than 47.5 metres long and vessels either recorded in Lloyd’s Register of Shipping and meeting specified criteria or recorded in registers kept by certain other classification societies and accepted by the Secretary of State as having equivalent characteristics. Provision is made in regulation 4 for the Secretary of State to consent to vessels being navigated when they would otherwise be prohibited.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 1992 c. 3.

[^f00002]: S.I. 1968/1053, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.