UK Offence Report

Penalties

regulation 11(2) of The Merchant Shipping (Means of Access) Regulations 1988

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

2 Contravention of regulation 4, 7, 8 or 9 by a master shall be an offence punishable only on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding £1,000.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a master
Conduct
contravening a requirement of the instrument
Fault element
Mixed — some elements strict, some not
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove the conduct, and - for those elements the provision qualifies - the state of mind it names. The remaining elements carry no fault requirement, so they are strict.

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: the offence itself carries no fault word, but a duty it criminalises by cross-reference uses reasonably practicable; which element that governs was not determined.

What would breach regulation 11(2)?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. Doing the thing the provision prohibits under the Merchant Shipping (Means of Access) Regulations 1988, whatever the reason for doing it.
  2. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£1,000
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
21 September 1988
In force from
1 January 1989
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

These Regulations replace, and re-enact with amendments, the Merchant Shipping (Means of Access) Regulations 1981 as amended, which laid down requirements for the safe access to ships. These Regulations give effect in part to the Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards) Convention 1976 (International Labour Organisation Convention 147) (Cmnd. 7183) laid before Parliament on 24th April 1978 and ratified by the United Kingdom and which is in force internationally, and requires provisions to be made substantially equivalent to those of (amongst other Conventions) the Prevention of Accidents (Seafarers) Convention 1970 (International Labour Organisation Convention 134, Article 4) (Cmnd. 4800) which is in force but has not been ratified by the United Kingdom. The Regulations, with other provisions, will also allow ratification by the United Kingdom of the Convention, and implementation of a recommendation concerning occupational safety and health in dock work (International Labour Organisation Convention 152) (Cmnd. 8118) laid before Parliament in December 1980 and in force internationally. Exemptions can now be granted from all the provisions of the Regulations (regulation 3); there is now a general duty on the employer and master to ensure safe means of access to a ship (regulation 4(1)); the employer and master are required to take full account of the principles and guidelines set out in the revised Chapter 8 of the Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seamen set out in Merchant Shipping Notice M1343. (This Code contains much of the requirement formerly detailed in the Regulations with regard to equipment specifications and the way the equipment is to be used). There is a new regulation regarding the use of rope ladders (regulation 7(b) and (c)) and there is also an obligation on any person boarding a ship to use the access equipment provided (regulation 10). The penalties have been increased and the defences available to a person charged under the Regulations have been augmented. Merchant Shipping Notices are obtainable from the Department of Transport Marine Library, Sunley House, Holborn, London WC1V 6LP or from any Department of Transport Marine Office. The command papers containing I.L.O. Conventions 147 and 134, Cmnd. 7163 and Cmnd. 4800, are no longer in print, but photocopies of them may be obtained through Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. Copies of I.L.O. Conventions may also be obtained from the U.K. Office of the I.L.O., 96/98 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4YL.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

Other offences in the same instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.88.

Basis
the provision says the conduct “is an offence”; the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence
0.88 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source