UK Offence Report

k regulation 33(4) is an offence by the owner of the ship,

regulation 42(1)(k) of The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution by Sewage and Garbage from Ships) Regulations 2008

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

k regulation 33(4) is an offence by the owner of the ship,

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
breaching the provision
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 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 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 is a defence for the person charged to prove that that person took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to ensure that the regulation in question was complied with. 2 Without prejudice to paragraph (1), in any proceedings in respect of a ship for an offence under regulation 42(1)(e) or (

What would breach regulation 42(1)(k)?

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 what the provision prohibits, or failing to do what it requires under the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution by Sewage and Garbage from Ships) Regulations 2008.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Either way — magistrates’ court or Crown Court
Maximum fine
Unlimited
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

'to a fine' with no stated maximum.

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
18 December 2008
In force from
1 February 2009
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 Annexes IV (Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Sewage) and V (Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Garbage) of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating to that Convention (“the Convention”). Annex IV came into force internationally on 27th September 2003, and a revised Annex IV came into force on 1st August 2005. Annex V came into force internationally on 31st December 1988. In relation to Annex IV, the Regulations make provision for the surveys to be carried out and Sewage Certificates to be issued (regulations 7 to 19). They also provide for surveys of United Kingdom ships to be carried out voluntarily, where the ships are not subject to the requirements but the owners request a survey (regulation 20). They also provide for ships to have certain equipment (regulations 21 and 22). The discharge of sewage into the sea is prohibited, apart from in controlled and regulated circumstances (regulations 23 to 25). In relation to Annex V, the Regulations prohibit the disposal of plastics into the sea (regulation 26), and prohibit the disposal of other garbage except in certain circumstances (regulations 27 to 29). United Kingdom ships are restricted from entering the Antarctic area (as defined in regulation 2) unless they have sufficient capacity for the retention of garbage on board (regulation 30), and requirements are imposed for the carrying of placards relating to the disposal of garbage (regulation 31). Ships are required to have a garbage management plan (regulation 32). Requirements are also imposed in relation to keeping a garbage record book (regulations 33 to 35). Part 7 of the Regulations makes provision in relation to powers of inspection and detention of ships. This Part also contains provision for offences, defences, and provisions for enforcement. Provision is also made for jurisdiction over offences committed outside the United Kingdom (regulation 45) and for suspension of proceedings at flag state request (regulation 46). An Impact Assessment has been prepared and copies may be obtained from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (“the MCA”), Spring Place, 105 Commercial Road, Southampton SO15 1EG. A copy has also been placed in the library of each House of Parliament. The Impact Assessment may also be accessed on the OPSI website www.opsi.gov.uk. Merchant Shipping Notices are published by the MCA and copies may be obtained from Mail Marketing (Scotland), MCA, PO Box 87, Glasgow G14 0JF (telephone number 0141 300 4906; fax 0141 950 2726; e-mail orders mca@promo-solution.com). They may also be accessed via the MCA’s website http://www.mcga.gov.uk), which also has details of any amendments or replacements. Copies of the Convention and its Protocols and amendments, and of the Convention on Dumping and the Tonnage Convention and of resolutions of the Marine Environment Protection Committee or the STCW Conference, 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

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 0.62.

Basis
the provision says an offence is committed “if” something happens
Confidence
0.62 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