UK Offence Report

Penalties

regulation 8(3) of The Merchant Shipping (Pilot Transfer Arrangements) Regulations 1999

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 A responsible officer who fails to supervise as instructed by the master and required by regulation 6(2) shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to

a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for

a term not exceeding two years or

a fine or both.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 responsible officer
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 an responsible officer 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(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. On these words an offence is committed where an responsible officer fails to supervise as instructed by the master and required by regulation 6(2).
  2. Not doing what the provision requires under the Merchant Shipping (Pilot Transfer Arrangements) Regulations 1999, by the time it requires it to be done.
  3. 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
£5,000
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined
Maximum prison (on indictment)
2 years

expressed as the statutory maximum (the prescribed sum): the same words mean £5,000 in England and Wales and £10,000 in Scotland.

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
9 January 1999
In force from
10 February 1999
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 the Merchant Shipping (Pilot Ladders and Hoists) Regulations 1987, as amended. They implement Regulation 17 of Chapter V of the Safety of Life at Sea Convention 1974 (SOLAS). The detailed requirements relating to pilot ladders, accommodation ladders used in conjunction with pilot ladders, mechanical pilot hoists and access to deck are now contained in a Merchant Shipping Notice MSN 1716 (M+F) which includes International Maritime Organization Resolution (IMO) A.667(16) on Pilot Transfer Arrangements (which amplifies Regulation 17 of Chapter V of SOLAS). Other changes from the 1987 Regulations are that pre- and post-1994 ships are no longer treated differently, and that United Kingdom requirements in excess of SOLAS are removed. Merchant Shipping Notices can be obtained from distribution agents Eros Marketing Support Services Ltd, Unit B, Imber Court Trading Estate, Orchard Lane, East Molesey, Surrey KT8 0BN (Tel. 0181 957 5028). SOLAS, amendments to it, and IMO Resolutions may be obtained from IMO, 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR.

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”
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