UK Offence Report

Contravention of The Dangerous Goods in Harbour Areas Regulations 2016

the instrument as a whole of The Dangerous Goods in Harbour Areas Regulations 2016

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

Contravening this instrument is an offence under section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The instrument itself contains no offence-creating words.

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 This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.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
Not determined

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.

Classifier’s reasoning: contravention offences of this kind are strict as to the breach; the fault position is governed by the parent Act and was not read from it.

What would breach the instrument as a whole?

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 Dangerous Goods in Harbour Areas Regulations 2016.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Set by another provision — the instrument states the penalty by reference to an Act or to another regulation
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

The instrument does not state a penalty itself. It sets one by reference to section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

the penalty is in the parent Act, not in this instrument.

No penalty was determined from this instrument. It may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence. Absence of a figure here is not evidence that the offence carries no penalty.

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
7 July 2016
In force from
1 October 2016
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 modernise the control of carriage and the handling of dangerous goods in harbour areas in England, Scotland and Wales and replace the Dangerous Substances in Harbour Areas Regulations 1987. The Regulations are divided into 6 parts. In addition to defining the terms used (regulations 2-4), the Regulations are applied to harbour areas in Great Britain and to those parts of harbour areas which are within the territorial waters adjacent to Great Britain (regulation 5). A person who intends to bring dangerous goods into a harbour area, either from inland or from the sea, is required to give the harbour master advance notice (regulation 6). The harbour master is empowered to prohibit, require the removal of, or regulate the handling, movement or position of the dangerous goods the harbour area if it appears that the condition of the goods, their container or of the vehicle or vessel carrying the goods, is such as to create risk to health or safety (regulation 7). Vessels carrying certain dangerous goods, specified in Schedule 1, are required to show a red flag during the day and, when moored or anchored, a red light at night (regulation 8). The flag specifications are set out in Schedule 2. These regulations require each harbour authority to prepare an emergency plan for dealing with emergencies involving dangerous goods (regulation 10). Berth operators are also required to take safety precautions when dangerous goods are being handled or carried at the berth (regulation 11). Duties are imposed on masters of vessels and berth operators to notify any untoward incident involving dangerous goods which might create a risk to the health and safety of any person or a risk to the safety of the vessel (regulation 12). Regulation 13 requires berth operators, or where that is not reasonably practicable, harbour authorities, to designate suitable parking areas for road vehicles carrying dangerous goods. The regulations in this Part prohibit (regulation 14), with exceptions, explosives from being brought into or handled in the harbour area unless such activities are covered by an explosives licence (regulation 15) granted by the Health and Safety Executive, or where relevant the Office for Nuclear Regulation. An explosives licence is also required for the loading on board or unloading from a vessel of explosives when this occurs on any part of the coast or in the tidal waters of Great Britain or within the territorial waters adjacent to Great Britain. The procedure for application (regulations 16-19) and grant of explosives licences is set out in Schedule 3. The regulations also impose requirements relating to security, safety and record keeping in relation to explosives (regulations 20-24). These regulations empower harbour authorities to make byelaws relating to dangerous goods (regulation 25). The procedure for making byelaws requires the consent of the Secretary of State and is set out in Schedule 4. The regulations provide that the harbour authority is responsible for enforcing regulations 6, 7, 8, 9, 13(3) and 21 which relate to operations within the harbour area. The Health and Safety Executive, or where relevant the Office for Nuclear Regulation, is responsible for enforcing the remaining regulations (regulation 26). In order to avoid the commission of an offence under the Regulations or the byelaws made under them, they provide for a defence of due diligence (regulation 27). Exemptions may be granted by the Secretary of State or the Health and Safety Executive (regulation 28). The regulations continue in effect emergency plans prepared, exemptions and explosives licences granted and byelaws made under the Dangerous Substances in Harbour Areas Regulations 1987 (regulation 29-32). These Regulations revoke the Dangerous Substances in Harbour Areas Regulations 1987 (regulation 33) and make consequential amendments in Schedule 5 (regulation 34). Regulation 35 requires the Secretary of State to review the operation and effect of these Regulations and publish a report within five years after they come into force and every five years after that. Any changes made as a result of the review would require a further instrument. A full impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business, charities, the voluntary sector and the public is available from the website www.legislation.gov.uk and a copy has been placed in the Library of each House of Parliament.

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 0.70.

Basis
the penalty comes from the enabling Act rather than from this instrument
Confidence
0.70 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