UK Offence Report

Penalties

regulation 7(3) of The Merchant Shipping (Compulsory Insurance of Shipowners for Maritime Claims) Regulations 2012

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 master who fails to comply with regulation 6(4) is guilty of an offence and is liable on summary conviction to

a 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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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 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 7(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 a master fails to comply with regulation 6(4).
  2. Not doing what the provision requires under the Merchant Shipping (Compulsory Insurance of Shipowners for Maritime Claims) Regulations 2012, 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
Unlimited
Standard scale
Level 5
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

level 5 is unlimited in England and Wales for offences committed on or after 12 March 2015 (LASPO 2012 s.85, S.I. 2015/664).

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 September 2012
In force from
Not determined
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 transpose Directive 2009/20/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23rd April 2009 on the insurance of shipowners for maritime claims (O.J. L.131, 28.5.2009, p.128). The effect of these Regulations is to require shipowners to insure their seagoing ships of 300 gross tonnes or more (regulation 3). The insurance must cover maritime claims of the type described as subject to limitation under the 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, adopted by the International Maritime Organisation, as amended by the 1996 Protocol (regulation 4). Special provision is made regarding the liability for delay. Where a shipowner relies on insurance other than insurance by way of a contract of insurance, the shipowner must obtain the written approval of the Secretary of State before a ship of that shipowner relying on that form of insurance enters United Kingdom waters (regulation 5). The documentation proving the existence of the insurance must be carried on board the ship and be produced on demand (regulation 6). It is an offence to fail to comply with the regulations (regulation 7) and the ship may be detained (regulation 9). Where the validity of a detention is questioned the matter may be referred to arbitration (regulation 10) and compensation awarded (regulation 11). Where an EEA state has issued an expulsion order in accordance with the Directive the Secretary of State must refuse that ship entry to any port in the United Kingdom (regulation 8). These Regulations require the Secretary of State to review the operation and effect of these Regulations and publish a report setting out the conclusions of that review within five years after they come into force and every five years after that. Following a review it will fall to the Secretary of State to consider whether the Regulations should remain as they are, or be revoked or be amended. A further instrument will be needed to revoke these Regulations or to amend them. A full impact assessment of the effect these Regulations will have on the costs of the business and the voluntary sector is available from the Maritime Trade and Liability Branch at the Department for Transport, 33 Horseferry Road, London SWIP 4DR. A copy has also been placed in the library of each House of Parliament. The impact assessment and a transposition note are also annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside these Regulations at www.legislation.gov.uk . A copy has been place in the library of both Houses. International Maritime Organisation publications can be purchased from the IMO Publishing Web Shop www.imo.org or from authorised distributors world wide (email info@ imo.org).

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 states liability on summary conviction
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