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The Merchant Shipping (Life-Saving Appliances and Arrangements) Regulations 2020

Type Statutory-Instrument

Publication 2020-05-18

State In force

Department King's Printer of Acts of Parliament

Source legislation.gov.uk

Reform history JSON API PDF

Made: at 9.49 a.m. on 18th May 2020

Laid before Parliament: at 2.00 p.m. on 18th May 2020

Coming into force: 9th June 2020

The Secretary of State, after consulting the persons referred to in section 86(4) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995[^f00001], and in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 85(1), (3)(a), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (j), (k), (l), (m), (n), (o), (p) and (q), and (5) to (7), 86(1)(a), (b), (c) and (d), 302(1) and 306A of that Act, and with the consent of the Treasury, makes the following Regulations.

PART 1 — Preliminary

Citation, commencement, amendments and revocations

1

(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Life-Saving Appliances and Arrangements) Regulations 2020 and come into force on 9th June 2020.

(2) The amendments listed in Part 1 of Schedule 1 have effect.

(3) The Regulations listed in the first column of the Table in Part 2 of Schedule 1 are revoked to the extent specified in the third column of that Table.

Interpretation

2

In these Regulations—

“Category A, B, C or D waters” means the waters specified as such in Merchant Shipping Notice 1837(M) Amendment 2[^f00002];

“Chapter III” means Chapter III in the Annex to the Convention (relating to life-saving appliances and arrangements)[^f00003];

“Convention” means the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974[^f00004];

“fishing vessel” means a ship used for catching fish, whales, seals, walrus or other living resources of the sea;

“international voyage” means a voyage between—a port in the United Kingdom and a port outside the United Kingdom; ora port in a Convention country (other than the United Kingdom) and a port in any other country or territory (whether a Convention country or not) which is outside the United Kingdom,and, for the purposes of paragraph (b), “Convention country” means a country or territory which is either a country the Government of which is party to the Convention or a territory to which the Convention extends whether or not it is subject to the amendments to, or reservations in respect of, the Convention;

“long international voyage” means an international voyage which is not a short international voyage;

“Merchant Shipping Notice” means a notice described as such and issued by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (an executive agency of the Department for Transport) and includes a reference to any document amending or replacing that notice which is considered by the Secretary of State to be relevant from time to time and is specified in a Merchant Shipping Notice;

“mile” means a nautical mile of 1,852 metres;

“new ship” means a ship the keel of which is laid, or which is at a similar stage of construction, on or after 1st July 1998;

“Part B of Chapter III” means Part B of Chapter III other than regulation 27 of that Part (information on passengers);

“passenger” is a person other than—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; ora child under 1 year of age;

“passenger ship” is a ship which carries more than 12 passengers;

“pleasure vessel” means—any vessel which at the time it is being used is—in the case of a vessel wholly owned by–an individual or individuals, used only for the sport or pleasure of the owner or the immediate family or friends of the owner; ora body corporate, used only for sport or pleasure and on which the persons on board are employees or officers of the body corporate, or their immediate family or friends; andon a voyage or excursion which is one for which the owner does not receive money for or in 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; orany vessel 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,where, in the case of any vessel referred to in paragraphs (a) or (b), no other payments 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 spouse or civil partner of the individual, and a relative of the individual or the individual’s spouse or civil partner; and “relative” means brother, sister, ancestor or lineal descendant;

“sea” includes any estuary or arm of the sea but does not include Category A, B, C or D waters;

“short international voyage” means an international voyage—in the course of which a ship is not more than 200 miles from a port or place in which the passengers and crew could be placed in safety; andwhich does not exceed 600 miles in distance between the last port of call in the country in which the voyage begins and the final port of destination,and, for the purposes of paragraph (b), the final port of destination is the last port of call in the scheduled voyage at which the ship commences its return voyage to the country in which the voyage began;

“similar stage of construction” means the stage at which—construction identifiable with a specific ship begins; andassembly of that ship has commenced comprising at least 50 tons or 1% of the estimated mass of all structural material, whichever is less.

Classification of ships

3

For the purposes of these Regulations, ships are classified as set out in Schedule 2.

General application

4

(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), these Regulations apply to—

(a) United Kingdom ships, wherever they may be; and

(b) non-United Kingdom ships while they are within United Kingdom waters.

(2) These Regulations do not apply to—

(a) passenger ships of Classes III, IV, V, VI and VI(A);

(b) ships of war and naval auxiliaries;

(d) wooden ships of primitive build;

(e) pleasure vessels of less than 13.7 metres in length;

(f) fishing vessels;

(g) ships solely navigating the Great Lakes of North America and the River St Lawrence as far east as a straight line drawn from Cap des Rosiers to West Point, Anticosti Island and, on the north side of Anticosti Island, the 63rd meridian;

(h) non-United Kingdom ships which are pleasure vessels of any size;

(i) high-speed craft to which the Merchant Shipping (High Speed Craft) Regulations 2022 apply.

(3) A non-United Kingdom ship flying the flag of a State which is not a party to the Convention is not subject to these Regulations if it would not have been in United Kingdom waters but for stress of weather or any other circumstances which neither the master nor the owner or the charterer could have prevented.

(4) Where persons are on board a ship as a consequence of—

(a) the circumstances described in paragraph (3); or

(b) an obligation laid upon the master to carry shipwrecked or other persons[^f00006],

those persons are not to be taken into account for the purpose of determining the application to that ship of any provision of these Regulations.

(5) For the purposes of this regulation, “non-United Kingdom ship” means any ship other than a United Kingdom ship.

Ambulatory reference

5

(1) In these Regulations, any reference to Chapter III is to be construed—

(a) as a reference to Chapter III as modified from time to time; and

(b) as, if Chapter III is replaced, a reference to the replacement.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), Chapter III is modified or replaced if the modification or replacement takes effect in accordance with Article VIII of the Convention.

(3) A modification or replacement of Chapter III has effect at the time such modification or replacement comes into force in accordance with Article VIII of the Convention.

Approval and replacement of life-saving appliances and arrangements

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(1) Unless approved under the Merchant Shipping (Marine Equipment) Regulations 2025, life-saving appliances required by Part B of Chapter III or Merchant Shipping Notice 1676 (Amendment 1)[^f00008] and placed on board a United Kingdom ship must be approved by the Secretary of State, or any person authorised by the Secretary of State.

(2) Unless approved under the Merchant Shipping (Survey and Certification) Regulations 2015[^f00009], life-saving arrangements required by Part B of Chapter III or Merchant Shipping Notice 1676 (Amendment 1) on board a United Kingdom ship, must be approved by the Secretary of State, or any person authorised by the Secretary of State.

(3) The Secretary of State, or any person authorised by the Secretary of State, may grant an approval in relation to a United Kingdom ship for anything in Chapter III requiring to be—

(a) approved by the Administration of the State whose flag the ship is entitled to fly;

(b) done to the satisfaction of such Administration; or

(4) An approval given under paragraph (1), (2) or (3) may, on the giving of reasonable notice, be continued, altered or cancelled.

(5) Any approval given under paragraph (1), (2) or (3), or a continuation, alteration or cancellation under paragraph (4), must—

(a) be in writing;

(b) specify the date on which it takes effect; and

(6) The requirement that the approval referred to in paragraph (1), (2) or (3), or a continuation, alteration or cancellation under paragraph (4), be in writing is satisfied where the text of the approval is—

(a) transmitted by electronic means;

(b) received in legible form; and

(7) Subject to paragraph (8), any item of life-saving equipment marked with an expiry date—

(a) ceases to be approved for the purposes of these Regulations on the expiry date; and

(b) must be replaced on or before the expiry date.

(8) The emergency pack of an inflatable liferaft, which is inspected at the time of the annual servicing of the liferaft and has more than six months remaining before the expiry date at the time of that inspection, may be retained until the next annual service.

Equivalents

7

(1) Where Part B of Chapter III or Merchant Shipping Notice 1676 (Amendment 1) require that—

(a) a particular life-saving appliance or type of life-saving appliance (which may include any fitting, material or apparatus) be fitted on, or carried in, a ship;

(b) any particular life-saving arrangement be made on, or in relation to, a ship; or

the Secretary of State may approve any other life-saving appliance, life-saving arrangement or other provision if satisfied that it is at least as effective as that required by Part B of Chapter III or Merchant Shipping Notice 1676 (Amendment 1), as the case may be.

(2) Before giving approval to a novel life-saving arrangement, the Secretary of State must be satisfied that such arrangement has—

(a) successfully undergone an engineering analysis in accordance with regulation 38.3 of Chapter III (elements of engineering analysis), in the case of ships engaged on international voyages to which Part B of Chapter III applies; or

(b) successfully complied with the engineering analysis required by Merchant Shipping Notice 1676 (Amendment 1), in the case of ships engaged on international voyages to which Part B of Chapter III does not apply, and in the case of ships engaged on non-international voyages.

(3) An approval given under paragraph (1) may, on the giving of reasonable notice, be continued, altered or cancelled.

(4) Any approval given under paragraph (1), or a continuation, alteration or cancellation under paragraph (3), must—

(a) be in writing;

(b) specify the date on which it takes effect; and

(5) The requirement that the approval referred to in paragraph (1), or a continuation, alteration or cancellation under paragraph (3), be in writing is satisfied where the text of the approval is—

(a) transmitted by electronic means;

(b) received in legible form; and

Exemptions

8

(1) Subject to paragraph (3), the Secretary of State may exempt from any provision of Part B of Chapter III or Merchant Shipping Notice 1676 (Amendment 1)—

(a) a ship or class of ship which, during a voyage, does not proceed more than 20 miles from the nearest land, and where the Secretary of State is satisfied that the sheltered nature and conditions of such a voyage makes it unreasonable or unnecessary to apply the provisions of Part B of Chapter III or Merchant Shipping Notice 1676 (Amendment 1);

(b) a ship employed in special trades[^f00011] for the carriage of large numbers of special trade passengers (such as the pilgrim trade) where—

(i) the Secretary of State is satisfied that it is impracticable to enforce compliance with the requirements of Part B of Chapter III or Merchant Shipping Notice 1676 (Amendment 1); and

(ii) the ship complies with–

(aa) the rules annexed to the Special Trade Passenger Ships Agreement, 1971[^f00012]; and

(bb) the rules annexed to the Protocol on Space Requirements for Special Trade Passenger Ships, 1973[^f00013];

(c) a ship which does not normally engage on international voyages but is, in exceptional circumstances, required to undertake a single international voyage;

(d) a ship which embodies features of a novel kind if research into the development of those features and their incorporation in ships engaged on international voyages may be seriously impeded if the ship had to comply with the requirements of Part B of Chapter III or Merchant Shipping Notice 1676 (Amendment 1).

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), the Secretary of State may, in exceptional circumstances not provided for in paragraph (1), exempt from any of the provisions of Part B of Chapter III or Merchant Shipping Notice 1676 (Amendment 1) a ship or class of ship if satisfied that compliance with such provision is either impracticable or unreasonable in the case of that ship or class of ship.

(3) An exemption under paragraph (1) or (2) may be granted subject to such safety requirements as the Secretary of State thinks fit to ensure the overall safety of the ship.

(4) An exemption granted under paragraph (1) or (2) may, on the giving of reasonable notice, be altered or cancelled.

(5) An exemption granted under paragraph (1) or (2), or an alteration or cancellation under paragraph (4), must—

(a) be in writing;

(b) specify the date on which it takes effect; and

(6) The requirement that an exemption granted under paragraph (1) or (2), or an alteration or cancellation under paragraph (4), be in writing is satisfied where the text of the approval is—

(a) transmitted by electronic means;

(b) received in legible form; and

(7) Where an exemption is granted subject to safety requirements, the exemption ceases to have effect if those requirements are not complied with.

PART 2 — Requirements for ships constructed before 1st July 1998 and engaged on international voyages

Application

9

This Part applies to ships of Classes I, II, VII, VII(A), VII(T), VIII, VIII(T), IX, XI and XII, the keels of which were laid, or which were at a similar stage of construction, before 1st July 1998, and engaged on international voyages.

Compliance by ships constructed before 1st July 1998

10

(1) A ship to which this Part applies must comply with each requirement applicable to that ship prescribed by Merchant Shipping Notice 1676 (Amendment 1).

(2) Except for ships of Classes XI and XII, a ship to which this Part applies must comply with each provision of Part B of Chapter III that applies to it[^f00014].

(3) For the purposes of paragraph (1), where there is a conflict between the requirements of Merchant Shipping Notice 1676 (Amendment 1) and Part B of Chapter III, the latter takes precedence.

Replacement of life-saving appliances and arrangements

11

(1) This regulation does not apply to ships of Classes XI and XII.

(2) Subject to paragraphs (3) and (4), on a ship to which this Part applies, where—

(a) life-saving appliances or arrangements are replaced; or

(b) the ship undergoes repairs, alterations or modifications of a major character which involves replacement of, or any addition to, its life-saving appliances or arrangements,

the replacement or additional life-saving appliances or arrangements must, so far as is reasonably practicable, comply with the requirements of Part B of Chapter III.

(3) Any life-saving appliance or arrangement complying with the requirements of Part B of Chapter III is not required to comply with the requirements of Merchant Shipping Notice 1676 (Amendment 1) which would otherwise apply.

(4) Where—

(a) a survival craft, other than an inflatable liferaft, is replaced but its launching appliance is not; or

(b) a launching appliance for a survival craft, other than an inflatable liferaft, is replaced but the survival craft is not,

the survival craft or the launching appliance (as the case may be) must be of the same type as that replaced.

(5) For the purposes of paragraph (4), “survival craft” means a craft capable of sustaining the lives of persons in distress from the time of abandoning the ship.

PART 3 — Requirements for ships constructed before 1st July 1998 and engaged on non-international voyages

Application

12

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