S.I. No. 347/1994 - Merchant Shipping (Safe Manning Document) Regulations, 1994.

S.I. No. 347 of 1994.

MERCHANT SHIPPING (SAFE MANNING DOCUMENT) REGULATIONS, 1994.

I, DAVID ANDREWS, Minister for the Marine, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 11 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1947 (No. 46 of 1947), as amended by the Merchant Shipping Act, 1947 (Section 11) (Amendment) Order, 1994 ( S.I. No. 346 of 1994 ), and the Communications (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order, 1987 ( S.I. No. 91 of 1987 ), hereby make the following Regulations:—

1 Citation and Commencement.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Safe Manning Document) Regulations, 1994.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 15th day of November, 1994.

2 Definitions.

2. In these Regulations:

"fishing vessel" means a vessel for the time being employed in sea fishing but does not include a vessel used otherwise than for profit;

"grt" means gross registered tonnage and the gross registered tonnage of a ship having alternative gross registered tonnages shall be taken to be the lower of those tonnages;

"Irish ship" has the same meaning as in section 9 of the Mercantile Marine Act, 1955 (No. 29 of 1955);

"Marine Notice" means a notice described as such, issued by the Minister;

"the Minister" means the Minister for the Marine;

"owner" in relation to a ship, includes:

(i) where the ship is chartered by demise, the demise charterer,

(ii) where the ship is managed by a ship management company, the manager.

"pleasure craft" means a vessel primarily used for sport or recreation;

"Safe Manning Document" means a document issued, in the case of an Irish ship, by the Minister and, in the case of any other ship, by or on behalf of the government of the State whose flag the ship is entitled to fly and, in either case, in force and complying with the requirements of the Schedule hereto.

3 Application.

3. Subject to Regulation 4 of these Regulations, these Regulations apply to Irish ships of 500 grt or more grt which go to sea beyond the limits of smooth or partially smooth waters (within the meaning of the 14th Schedule to the Merchant Shipping (Life-Saving Appliances) Rules, 1993 (No. 380 of 1993)), and to other ships of 500 grt or more grt while they are within the State or the territorial seas thereof, other than fishing vessels and pleasure craft.

4 Provision of Safe Manning Document.

4. (1) Upon application to the Minister in that behalf by the owner of an Irish ship to which these Regulations apply and upon the furnishing to the Minister by such owner of such information as the Minister may reasonably require to satisfy himself or herself that the ship is safely manned, the Minister shall issue to the owner a Safe Manning Document in respect of the ship.

(2) The owner of a ship to which these Regulations apply shall ensure that a current valid Safe Manning Document in respect of the ship or a copy thereof is kept on board the ship—

( a ) in case it is an Irish ship, at all times while it is in port or at sea, and

( b ) in case it is not an Irish ship, at all times while it is within the State or the territorial seas of the State.

(3) The master of an Irish ship to which these Regulations apply shall ensure that the ship does not proceed to sea unless there is on board a current valid Safe Manning Document in respect of the ship or copy thereof and the master of any other ship to which these Regulations apply shall ensure that it does not proceed to sea from a port or place in the State unless there is on board a current valid Safe Manning Document in respect of the ship or a copy thereof.

(4) If the owner or master of a ship fails to comply with this Regulation, he or she shall be guilty of an offence.

5 Inspection of ships.

5. (1) A person duly authorised by the Minister may board a ship to which these Regulations apply while it is in a port or other place in the State or the territorial seas of the State and inspect and take copies of, or of extracts from, the Safe Manning Document (if any) pertaining to the ship.

(2) A person who obstructs or interferes with a person duly authorised by the Minister in the exercise of his or her functions under this Regulation shall be guilty of an offence.

SCHEDULE

Contents of Safe Manning Document

The following information shall be included in the Safe Manning Document. If the language used is not English the information given shall include a translation into English.

1. A clear statement of the ship's name, its port of registry and its distinctive number or letters;

2. a table showing the numbers and grades of the personnel required to be carried, together with any special conditions or other remarks;

3. a formal statement by the authority issuing it that, having regard to the principles and guidelines set out in International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Resolution A481 (XII), the ship named in the document is considered to be safely manned if, whenever it proceeds to sea, it carries not less than the numbers and grades of personnel shown in the document, subject to any special conditions stated therein;

4. a statement as to any limitations on the validity of the document by reference to particulars of the individual ship and the nature of service upon which it is engaged;

5. the date of issue and any expiry date of the document together with a signature on behalf of the authority issuing it.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 15th day of November, 1994.

DAVID ANDREWS,

Minister for the Marine.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Regulations give effect to an amendment to Regulation 13 of Chapter V of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 (SOLAS).

The Regulations require Irish ships and other ships while in the territorial waters of the State, of 500 gross registered tonnage or over, to possess a valid Safe Manning Document.