UK Offence Report

The Merchant Shipping (Distress Messages) Regulations 1998

UK Statutory Instrument 1998 No. 1691 — creates 1 criminal offence.

1offences created
0recorded in force
1revoked
Made
6 July 1998
In force from
10 August 1998
Extent
Not stated
Subject
Transport: maritime, aviation, rail and harbours
Made under
Merchant Shipping Act 1995

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — published with the instrument by the department that made it. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

These Regulations modify section 93 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 by omitting from that section provision made in respect of persons on or from a ship in distress at sea. These provisions are re-enacted in these Regulations with amendments. The Regulations implement Chapter V, regulation 10 of the Annex to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1974 (SOLAS) as amended by the Conference of the Contracting Governments to SOLAS on 29 November 1995. The Regulations place a duty on masters of ships to respond to distress alerts in relation to persons on or from a ship in distress at sea. Other than minor amendments to the provision made by section 93, the changes of substance provide that the duty on masters arises in relation to any signal or information that persons are in distress at sea and also make provision for the role of HM Coastguard and other search and rescue services. A compliance cost assessment has been produced and a copy placed in the library of both Houses of Parliament. Copies can be obtained from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Bay 2/21b Spring Place, 105 Commercial Road, Southampton SO15 1EG, (telephone 01703-329 144). Copies of SOLAS and the MERSAR Manual may be obtained from the International Maritime Organisation, 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR.

Offences created by this instrument

What Parliament said about it

Hansard was searched for this instrument by name and returned nothing. That is the ordinary outcome: an instrument laid under the negative procedure is usually never debated, and becomes law without a word said about it in either House.

How Parliament handled it

Parliament's Statutory Instruments service records procedure from May 2017 onwards, and this instrument predates it. That is a limit of the source, not a statement that nothing happened.

Check the source