S.I. No. 416/2002 - Merchant Shipping (Load Lines) (Exemption) Order 2002

I, DERMOT AHERN, Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources in the exercise of the powers conferred on me by Section 19 (2) of the Merchant Shipping (Load Lines) Act 1968 (No. 17 of 1968) and the Marine and Natural Resources (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2002 ( S.I. No. 307 of 2002 ) and having regard to the International Convention on Load Lines signed in London on the 5^th day of April 1966, as amended by the Protocol of 1988 hereby make the following order;-

1.   Citation and Commencement

This Order may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Load Lines) (Exemption) Order 2002.

2.         In this Order

“the Act” means the Merchant Shipping (Load Lines) Act 1968 (No. 17 of 1968);

“smooth waters” means waters which are defined as such in schedule 14 to the Merchant Shipping (Life-Saving Appliances) Rules 1993 ( S.I. No. 380 of 1993 ).

3.               (1) The following ships and vessels under eighty tons register engaged solely in the coastal trade shall be exempt from the provisions of the Act while not carrying cargo:

(a)    tugs and salvage ships;

(b)    ships engaged in the surveying of harbours or the approaches thereto;

(c)    hopper barges and dredgers;

(d)    ships which are pilot boats within the meaning of section 38 of the Pilotage Act 1913;

(e)    ships in respect of which a Passenger Steamer's Certificate, a Passenger Ship's Certificate or a Passenger Ship Safety Certificate has been issued for voyages solely within the State and which states the limits beyond which the passenger steamer or passenger ship may not ply, provided it operates solely within those limits;

(f)    a vessel in respect of which a Passenger Boat licence has been issued under the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act 1992 (No. 2 of 1992) which carries no more than twelve passengers on voyages which at any point are no more than fifteen miles (exclusive of any smooth waters) from the point of departure and no more than three miles from land.

(2)   Ships and vessels mentioned in paragraph (3)(e) and (3)(f) of this Order shall be exempt from the provisions of the Act while carrying cargo provided that the Passenger Steamer's Certificate Passenger Ship Certificate, Passenger Ship Safety Certificate or Passenger Boat Licence has been issued on the basis of provisions which fully authorise the carriage of cargo and the exemption conferred by this paragraph shall be conditional on full compliance with these provisions.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

(THIS NOTE IS NOT PART OF THE INSTRUMENT AND DOES NOT PURPORT TO BE A LEGAL INTERPRETATION)

This Order exempts from the provisions of the Merchant Shipping (Load Lines) Act, 1968 , certain classes of ships under 80 tons register engaged solely in the coastal trade.