UK Offence Report

Offences and penalties

regulation 13(1) of The Merchant Shipping (Safe Loading and Unloading of Bulk Carriers) Regulations 2003

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 Where the master of

a bulk carrier, or

a terminal operator or terminal representative, contravenes any of these Regulations, that person shall be guilty of an offence, punishable only on summary conviction by

a maximum 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 bulk carrier
Conduct
contravening a requirement of the instrument
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
Legal burden on the defendant

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 bulk carrier 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 gives a defence the defendant must prove, on the balance of probabilities. A legal burden of that kind can be read down to a merely evidential one under section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 where placing it on the defendant would be disproportionate (R v Lambert [2001] UKHL 37; Sheldrake v DPP [2004] UKHL 43).

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

The defence, as drafted

In any proceedings for an offence under these Regulations, it shall be a defence for a person to prove that all reasonable steps had been taken by that person to ensure compliance with these Regulations. 3 Where the commission by any person of an offence under these Regulations is due to the act or default of some other person, that other person shall be guilt

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. Doing the thing the provision prohibits under the Merchant Shipping (Safe Loading and Unloading of Bulk Carriers) Regulations 2003, 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
£5,000
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

this is the level 5 value when the instrument came into force (2004-03-01); the standard scale is keyed to the date the offence was committed, and for conduct today the same words mean an unlimited fine.

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
5 August 2003
In force from
1 March 2004
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 implement in the United Kingdom Directive 2001/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 December 2001 (establishing the harmonised requirements and procedures for the safe loading and unloading of bulk carriers). They also implement Directive 2002/84/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 November 2002 (amending the Directives on maritime safety and the prevention of pollution from ships), in so far as that Directive relates to the 2001 Directive. The Regulations provide for their application generally to all terminals in the United Kingdom or in United Kingdom waters visited by bulk carriers, and to all bulk carriers which are United Kingdom ships or which call at a terminal to which the Regulations apply (regulation 4). The Regulations impose requirements in relation to terminal operators satisfying themselves as to the operational suitability of bulk carriers for loading and unloading solid bulk cargoes (regulation 5). They impose requirements on terminal operators in relation to the suitability of terminals, but provide for the MCA to grant exemptions in some cases (regulation 6). Responsibilities and requirements are imposed on masters of bulk carriers (regulation 7), and on terminal representatives (regulation 8). Both masters and terminal representatives are required to follow certain procedures (regulation 9), and have duties where damage occurs during loading or unloading (regulation 10). The MCA has the role of verifying compliance with certain requirements (regulation 11). The Regulations include provision to avoid duplicating requirements which already exist in other Regulations (regulation 12). Non-compliance with the requirements is made an offence, punishable with a fine (regulation 13). Section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 is cited as an enabling power, in addition to sections 85 and 86 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. This is because the requirements imposed under regulation 11 may oblige the MCA to intervene where this is required in the interests of the marine environment, whether or not this is also in the interests of safety. A Regulatory Impact Assessment and a Transposition Note have been prepared and copies may 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 can be obtained from Marl Marketing (Scotland), Unit 6, Bloomsgrove Industrial Estate, Norton Street, Nottingham NG7 3JG (telephone 0115 901 3336; fax 0115 901 3334; e-mail orders mca@promo-solution.com). They may also be accessed via the MCA’s website http://www.mcga.gov.uk. The MCA publication “Safe Loading and Unloading of Bulk Carriers 2003, Implementing EC Directive 2001/96/EC (establishing harmonised requirements and procedures for the safe loading and unloading of bulk carriers)” will be obtainable from The Stationery Office on or before 1st March 2004, when these Regulations come into force. In the meantime, copies may be obtained from the MCA on payment of the photocopying fee. A copy will also be available (free of charge) on the MCA’s website, which the MCA intends to keep up to date with any amendments. Copies of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, together with the Protocols and amendments thereto, and of the Code of Practice for the Safe Loading and Unloading of Bulk Carriers, may be obtained from the International Maritime Organization at 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR.

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