UK Offence Report

Penalties

regulation 8(1) of The Merchant Shipping (Compulsory Insurance: Ships Receiving Trans-shipped Fish) Regulations 1998

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 there is any contravention of regulation 4, the owner, charterer and master shall each be guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction by

a fine not exceeding £50,000.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
an owner
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 an owner 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 8(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. Doing the thing the provision prohibits under the Merchant Shipping (Compulsory Insurance: Ships Receiving Trans-shipped Fish) Regulations 1998, 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
£2,500
Standard scale
Level 4
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

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
3 February 1998
In force from
6 April 1998
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 make insurance, or another form of financial security, compulsory for any ship in respect of which a trans-shipment licence issued under section 4A of the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967 is in force. These trans-shipment licences are issued to all ships involved in trans-shipment operations in respect of pelagic fish in United Kingdom waters, whether the ship is used to process fish or to store and refrigerate it. The insurance or security must cover the liabilities specified in regulation 5. In addition, it must satisfy the requirements specified in Merchant Shipping Notice No. MSN 1711; and documentary evidence of compliance with the Regulations, in the form specified in that Notice, must be carried on board the ship. A compliance cost assessment has been prepared, and copies can be obtained from Shipping Policy Directorate, the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, Zone 4-12, Great Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DR, (Tel. 0171 271 3893). A copy has been placed in the Library of each House of Parliament. Copies of Merchant Shipping Notice No. MSN 1711 may be obtained from Eros Marketing Support Services, Unit B, Imber Court Trading Estate, Orchard Lane, East Molesey KT8 0BN.

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 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”; the provision says the conduct is “punishable”
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