UK Offence Report

Penalties

regulation 13(1) of The Merchant Shipping (Accident Investigation)Regulations 1989

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

1 If a master, owner or officer fails without reasonable cause to report an accident as required by regulation 5, or if a master or owner so fails to provide information as required by regulation 6, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
failing to do something the instrument requires
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove that the conduct happened. This is a strict liability offence as drafted: the provision uses no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, so there is no need to show that a master meant to do it, knew about it, or was careless.

Intention, knowledge and carelessness are irrelevant to guilt. They may still matter a great deal to sentence.

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

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision.

What would breach regulation 13(1)?

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. Not doing what the provision requires under the Merchant Shipping (Accident Investigation)Regulations 1989, by the time it requires it to be done.
  2. Doing it, but not in the manner or to the standard the instrument specifies.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
£400
Standard scale
Level 3
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

this is the level 3 value when the instrument came into force (1989-08-07); the standard scale is keyed to the date the offence was committed, and for conduct today the same words mean £1000.

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
6 July 1989
In force from
7 August 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 give effect to section 33 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1988, which relates to the investigation of marine accidents. They define the accidents to which they apply; set out the purpose of investigation; lay down requirements for accidents to be reported; and make provisions for the ordering and conduct of investigations. The more serious accidents (as defined) must be reported to the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents, either directly or through a Department of Transport Marine Office or HM Coastguard. (A Merchant Shipping Notice will be issued giving further information on reporting). Any accident may be investigated if it involves a ship registered in the United Kingdom or any other ship in UK waters, and provision is made for the investigation of accidents to non-United Kingdom ships, outside UK waters, at the discretion of the Secretary of State. The Regulations apply to fishing vessels as well as to other ships; they also apply to pleasure craft except that such craft are excluded from the reporting requirements, as are lifeboats operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Hazardous incidents, defined broadly as incidents having the potential to lead to accidents, may also be investigated. On learning of an accident or hazardous incident, the Chief Inspector may call for such information as he considers necessary from the owner or master of the ship concerned, who must provide it to the best of his ability, before he decides whether an investigation by an inspector is required. If such an investigation is to be carried out, it shall be conducted as the inspector considers will best assist its aims, subject to his statutory powers which are laid down in section 27 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1979. The inspector’s findings, analysis and conclusions are to be submitted to the Chief Inspector, with any recommendations he thinks appropriate. In serious or important accidents, the Chief Inspector may order an Inspector’s Inquiry, at the conclusion of which he is to submit a report to the Secretary of State, which must include the inspector’s findings and his own observations. This report may, and in certain cases must, be published but safeguards are provided to prevent publication before any further legal proceedings under the Merchant Shipping Acts (which might be prejudiced by premature release of the report) are taken, or in other cases before a person who is adversely criticized in the report has the opportunity to rebut such criticism. Provision is also made for the production of summary reports of all investigations. Penalties are laid down for unreasonable failure to report an accident, to provide information, or to keep relevant documents and equipment for an inspector’s scrutiny. Penalties for obstructing an inspector or otherwise impeding his investigation are laid down in section 28 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1979.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

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 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”
Confidence
0.92 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