UK Offence Report

Penalties

regulation 86(1) of The Merchant Shipping (Life-Saving Appliances For Ships Other Than Ships Of Classes III To VI(A)) Regulations 1999 (revoked)

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 ship proceeds or attempts to proceed to sea or on any voyage, or arrives within United Kingdom waters, without complying with the requirements of these Regulations, the owner and master of the ship shall each be guilty of an offence in respect of each case of non-compliance 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
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 86(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 (Life-Saving Appliances For Ships Other Than Ships Of Classes III To VI(A)) Regulations 1999, 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
£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
30 September 1999
In force from
29 October 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 revoke and replace the Merchant Shipping (Life-Saving Appliances) Regulations 1980 and the Merchant Shipping (Life-Saving Appliances) Regulations 1986, and their amendments. They will apply from [ 1999] to ships of Classes 1, II, II(A), VII, VII(A), VII(T), VIII, VIII(A), VIII(A)(T), VIII(T), IX, IX(A), IX(A)(T), XI and XII. These Regulations deal separately with ships constructed before 1st July 1986 (Part II), ships constructed on or after 1st July 1986 and before 1st July 1998 (Part III) and ships constructed on or after 1st Julu 1998 (Part IV). A number of the detailed technical requirements and specifications are not contained in Merchant Shipping Notices MSN 1676(M) and 1677(M). The principal changes from the previous Regulations include changes concerning— recent amendments to the SOLAS Convention revising the performance specifications of radar transponders, satellite emergency position indicator radar beacons and two-way VHF radiotelephones; substitution of parachute rocket signals for the obsolescent red star distress signal; the requirement of EC Directive 92/29/EEC on the contents of a first-aid kit; the provision of public address systems on passenger ships; liferafts to be served by marine evacuation systems or launching appliances; certain survival craft may be replaced by a marine evacuation system; provision of float-free stowage arrangements and boarding ramps for liferafts; provision of automatic self-righting and canopied reversible liferafts; provision of fast rescue boats and launching appliances; lifejackets to be stowed in vicinity of assembly stations and provision of lifejacket lights; provision of a “a means of rescue”; provision of lifejacket lights on Class II and II(A) vessels; provision of helicopter landing and pick-up areas on Class I, II and II(A) vessels; amendment term “muster station” to “assembly station” on Class I, II and II(A) on Class I, II and II(A) ro-ro passenger ships; and replacement of lifejacket lights with improved performances. A compliance cost assessment has been prepared and copies can be obtained from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Spring Place, 105 Commercial Road, Southampton SO15 1EG. A copy has been placed in the library of each House of Parliament. Merchant Shipping Notices referred to in these Regulations are obtainable from distribution agents Eros Marketing Support Services Ltd, Delta House, Imber Court Trading Estate, Orchard Land, East Molesey, Surrey KT8 0BN (Telephone Number: 0181 957 5028). The SOLAS Convention, its Protocol and amendments, IMO Resolutions and Publications and the Codes and Guidelines referred to in the Regulations are obtainable from the International Maritime Organisation, 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR. Copies of the British Standard specifications and International Standards referred to in these Regulations may be obtained from any of the sale outlets operated by the British Standards Institution, or by post from the British Standards Institution at Linford Wood, Milton Keynes MK14 6LE (Telephone Number: Milton Keynes (STD 01908) 320066). Copies of the table “Life-Saving Signals and Rescue Methods, SOLAS No. 1” referred to in these Regulations may be obtained from The Stationery Office Limited, Publications Centre at PO Box 276, London SW8 5DT.

Read the full note and every offence in this 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