UK Offence Report

Citation, commencement and interpretation

regulation 3 of The Fishing Vessels (Safety Training) 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

3 If a person goes to sea on a fishing vessel registered in the United Kingdom in contravention of regulation 2 – a that person shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale or, if he is the skipper or an owner of the vessel, level 5 on the standard scale ; and b the skipper and each owner of the vessel (except in respect of a contravention of regulation 2 by himself) shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 person
Conduct
contravening a requirement of the instrument
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 person 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 3?

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 Fishing Vessels (Safety Training) Regulations 1989, 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
Summary only — tried in a magistrates’ court
Maximum fine
£100
Standard scale
Level 2
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

this is the level 2 value when the instrument came into force (1989-03-01); the standard scale is keyed to the date the offence was committed, and for conduct today the same words mean £500.

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
30 January 1989
In force from
1 March 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 require every fisherman born on or after 1st March 1954 or employed or engaged on a fishing vessel registered in the United Kingdom (other than a certificated deck officer or certificated engineer officer) to undergo training in basic survival at sea, basic fire fighting and prevention and basic first aid at an establishment approved by the Secretary of State. Holders of Skipper and Second Hand certificates issued under section 414 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 (who will have received training in first aid), if they were born on or after 1st March 1954 will be required to undergo approved training courses in basic survival at sea and basic fire-fighting and prevention. For fishermen born on or after 1st March 1954 already employed on fishing vessels registered in the United Kingdom the date by which training must be completed varies according to the age-group of the fisherman. New entrants must complete the required training before going to sea. The Regulations, which are made under sections 21 and 22 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1979, originated with section 7 of the Safety at Sea Act 1986. Merchant Shipping Notices are obtainable from the Department of Transport Marine Library, Sunley House, 90 High Holborn, London WC1V 6LP and from any Department of Transport Marine Office.

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 0.96.

Basis
the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”
Confidence
0.96 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