S.I. No. 56/1998 - European Communities (Ship Inspection and Survey Organisations) Regulations, 1998


S.I. No. 56 of 1998.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (SHIP INSPECTION AND SURVEY ORGANISATIONS) REGULATIONS, 1998

I, MICHAEL WOODS, Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive 94/57/EC1 of 22 November 1994, on common rules and standards for ship inspection and survey organisations and for the relevant activities of maritime administrations (amended by Commission Directive 97/58/EC2 of 26 September 1997), hereby make the following Regulations:

1O.J. No. L319/20 of 12.12.94

2O.J. No. L274/8 of 7.10.97

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Ship Inspection and Survey Organisations) Regulations, 1998.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 2nd day of March, 1998.

2. (1) In these Regulations-

"authorisation" has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 4;

"the Council Directive " means Council Directive No. 94/57/EC of 22 November 1994 on common rules and standards for ship inspection and survey organisations and for the relevant activities of maritime administrations;

"functions" includes powers and duties;

"Irish ship" means a ship entitled to wear the proper national colours within the meaning of section 10 of the Mercantile Marine Act, 1955 (No. 29 of 1955);

"the Minister" means the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources;

"recognised organisation" includes an organisation recognised by the Minister under Regulation 3.

(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Council Directive, has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Council Directive.

(3) In these Regulations, a reference to-

(a) a Regulation is to a Regulation of these Regulations, and

(b) a paragraph is a reference to the paragraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.

3. (1) An organisation may submit an application in writing to the Minister for recognition in accordance with Article 4 of the Council Directive.

(2) An application under this Regulation shall contain such information as will satisfy the Minister that the organisation complies with the minimum criteria and the Minister may, for the purposes of the Council Directive and these Regulations, recognise the organisation concerned, if so satisfied.

(3) Where the Minister recognises an organisation in accordance with this Regulation he or she shall issue a certificate to the organisation concerned in that behalf and shall as soon as may be thereafter publish a list of the organisations recognised under this Regulation in Iris Oifigiuil.

(4) An organisation recognised under this Regulation shall perform the functions of a recognised organisation under the Council Directive.

(5) In this Regulation "minimum criteria" means the minimum critera for organisations referred to in Article 4 specified in the Annex to the Council Directive (as amended by Commission Directive 97/58/EC of 26 September 1997 amending Council Directive 94/57/EC on common rules and standards for ship inspection and survey organisations and for the relevant activities of maritime administrations).

4. (1) The Minister may grant an authorisation to a recognised organisation to carry out, subject to the Directive, surveys or inspections in respect of an Irish ship under one or more of the following:

(a) the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894,

(b) the Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Act, 1952 (No. 29 of 1952),

(c) the Merchant Shipping Act, 1966 (No. 20 of 1966),

(d) the Merchant Shipping (Load Lines) Act, 1968 (No. 17 of 1968),

(e) the Sea Pollution Act, 1991 (No. 27 of 1991),

for the purpose of ensuring compliance by such ship with such provisions of those enactments, or rules or regulations thereunder, as give effect to the international conventions.

(2) The Minister may grant an authorisation to a recognised organisation to issue, subject to the Directive, certificates in respect of an Irish ship under one or more of the enactments specified in paragraph (1) for the purpose of showing compliance by such ship with such provisions of the enactments concerned, or rules or regulations thereunder, as give effect to the international conventions.

(3) An authorisation under paragraph (1) or (2) of this Regulation may apply generally or with reference to a particular purpose, provision or ship.

(4) Where the Minister grants an authorisation under paragraph (1) or (2), the provisions of the enactments specified in paragraph (1), to which the authorisation relates, shall, in respect of a recognised organisation, apply with the necessary modifications.

5. (1) The Minister may, in accordance with Article 11 of the Council Directive, suspend an authorisation where he or she considers that the recognised organisation to which the authorisation has been granted should no longer be authorised to perform the functions specified therein.

(2) The Minister shall remove a suspension when requested to do so by the Commission.

(3) A recognised organisation, to which an authorisation has been granted, that purports to perform a function specified in such authorisation during a period when the authorisation is suspended under paragraph (1), shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding£1,500.

6. (1) A recognised organisation shall, for the purposes of Article 15.2 of the Council Directive, cooperate with the Minister.

(2) A recognised organisation that fails to comply with paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding£1,500.

7. (1) A recognised organisation that fails to provide the Minister with the relevant information referred to in Article 15.3 of the Council Directive, in respect of an Irish ship, shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) A recognised organisation that issues a certificate to which Regulation 4 applies, in respect of an Irish ship, in contravention of Article 15.4 of the Council Directive, shall be guilty of an offence.

(3) A recognised organisation guilty of an offence under this Regulation shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding£1,500.

8. (1) Where an offence under these Regulations 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 shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding£1,500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

(2) Proceedings for an offence under these Regulations may be brought and prosecuted by the Minister.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 27th day of February, 1998.

MICHAEL WOODS

Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations implement into Irish law two European Union Directives relating to classification societies.

The services of the Societies are availed of on occasion by official Maritime Administrations for survey and certification and the Directives provide for their regulation by Member States in the interests of maintaining minimum standards.