Anchors and Chain Cables Act, 1899

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ANCHORS AND CHAIN CABLES ACT 1899

CHAPTER XXIII.

An Act to simplify and amend the Law relating to the Testing and Sale of Anchors and Chain Cables.[¹] [9th August 1899.]

Obligation to prove Anchors and Chain Cables used for British Ships.

Anchors and chain cables sold or purchased for British ship to be proved.

1.—(1) A maker of or dealer in anchors or chain cables shall not sell or contract to sell, nor shall any person purchase or contract to purchase, for use on any British ship, any chain cable or any anchor exceeding in weight one hundred and sixty-eight pounds, unless it has been previously proved in accordance with this Act.

(2) If any person acts in contravention of this section, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.

Warranty on contract for sale of anchor or chain cable.

2.—(1) Every contract for the sale of a chain cable or of an anchor exceeding in weight one hundred and sixty-eight pounds shall, in the absence of an express stipulation to the contrary, be deemed to imply a warranty that the anchor or cable has before delivery been proved in accordance with this Act.

(2) The burden of proving the existence of any such express stipulation and the testing and stamping, shall, in case of dispute, lie on the seller.

Act not to relieve makers from responsibility.

3. No maker of or dealer in anchors or chain cables, and no shipowner or other person, shall by reason of this Act, or of anything done thereunder, be relieved from any responsibility in respect of any anchor or chain cable made, sold, or used by him to which, but for this Act, he would have been subject.

Inquiry as to anchors and chain cables where a ship is detained as unsafe.

57 & 58 Vict. c. 60.

4. Where a British ship is detained by the Board of Trade either provisionally or finally as an unsafe ship under Part V. of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, the Board may direct an inquiry into the condition of her anchors and cables, and, if they have not been proved in accordance with this Act, may make such further order previous to her release as they think requisite.

Licences to test Anchors and Chain Cables.

Licences to test anchors and chain cables.

5.—(1) The Board of Trade may grant a licence under this Act for the testing of anchors and chain cables with a view to their proof, to any of the bodies of persons mentioned in the First Schedule to this Act in respect of the testing establishments mentioned in that schedule, and also to any body of persons to whom they are for the time being authorised by Order in Council under this Act to grant such licences in respect of the testing establishment mentioned in the licence.

(2) Her Majesty may by Order in Council direct that licences may be granted by the Board of Trade to any public body other than those mentioned in the First Schedule to this Act, and also to any of the bodies of persons mentioned in the said schedule in respect of testing establishments other than those mentioned therein, and may revoke or alter any such Order.

(3) A licence under this section shall remain in force for one year, subject to revocation or suspension under this section, but may be renewed by the Board of Trade.

(4) A licence under this section may be at any time revoked or suspended by the Board of Trade.

(5) A licence under this section—

(a) shall not be granted in respect of any testing establishment unless the testing establishment and the apparatus and machinery used therein have been inspected by an inspector appointed under this Act and certified by him as proper and efficient for their purposes; and

(b) shall not be renewed in respect of any testing establishment unless the testing establishment and the apparatus and machinery used therein have been inspected within the year by an inspector appointed under this Act and certified by him as proper and efficient for their purposes.

(6) There shall be paid on every grant of a licence and on every renewal of a licence such fee, not exceeding fifty pounds, as the Board of Trade, with the concurrence of the Treasury, appoint.

Appointment of inspector.

6.—(1) The Board of Trade shall appoint a fit person to be inspector of testing establishments, under this Act, and may remove any person so appointed.

(2) An inspector so appointed shall conform in the execution of his duties to any regulations made by the Board of Trade, and shall receive such salary and allowances as may be fixed by the Board of Trade with the concurrence of the Treasury.

Mode of testing of Anchors and Chain Cables.

Obligation to test anchors and chain cables.

7.—(1) Every body of persons for the time being holding a licence under this Act for the testing of anchors and chain cables in respect of any testing establishment (in this Act referred to as a “licensed tester”) shall, with all reasonable despatch, test every anchor and chain cable that is brought to that testing establishment for the purpose of testing.

(2) Anchors and chain cables shall be tested in the order in which they are brought to the testing establishment, unless the persons interested agree to the contrary.

Tests.

8.—(1) The tensile strain and the breaking strain used for the purpose of testing anchors and chain cables shall be those specified in the Second Schedule to this Act, or such tests as are substituted by order of the Board of Trade under this section.

(2) Any test approved by the Board of Trade as a test equal or superior to either of the tests specified in the said schedule may be substituted by order of that Board for that test.

(3) Any test approved by the Board of Trade as a test superior to the tensile or breaking test for the time being in force may be used, if the Board of Trade approve, instead of that test in any particular case or class of cases; and in that case or class of cases anchors and chain cables tested according to the test so approved shall be deemed to be tested in accordance with this Act, and the test shall be noted on any certificate of the testing delivered under this Act.

(4) Any reference in this Act to a tensile or breaking strain shall be construed as a reference to the tensile or breaking strain used in accordance with this section.

Mode of testing anchors and chain cables.

9.—(1) Where an anchor is brought to the testing establishment of any licensed tester for testing, he shall test it by subjecting it to the tensile strain.

(2) Where a chain cable is brought to a licensed tester for testing, he shall test every full length of fifteen fathoms of it by the breaking strain and the tensile strain as follows:—

(a) He shall select and cut out a piece of three links from each such length to be tested, and shall test that piece by subjecting it to the breaking strain;

(b) If the piece selected fails to withstand the breaking strain, he shall select and cut out another piece of three links from the same length, and shall test that piece in the same manner;

(c) If the first or second of such pieces withstands the breaking strain, the licensed tester shall then (but not otherwise) test the remaining portion of the length by subjecting it to the tensile strain.

(3) Any chain cable to be tested the length of which is less than fifteen fathoms, and any part of a chain cable to be tested which remains untested after the testing of any full lengths of fifteen fathoms, shall be tested in the same manner as a full length of fifteen fathoms.

Stamping of anchors and chain cables when proved.

10.—(1) The Board of Trade shall appoint for each testing establishment in respect of which a licence granted under this Act is in force a distinctive mark denoting that an anchor or chain cable has been proved at that establishment in accordance with this Act.

(2) An anchor or chain cable shall be deemed to be proved in accordance with this Act if—

(a) it has withstood the tensile strain and in the case of a chain cable also the breaking strain applied at a testing establishment in respect of which a licence is in force under this Act; and

(b) after the application of the test it is, in the opinion of the licensed tester, without flaw or material weakness.

(3) A licensed tester shall stamp on every anchor proved in accordance with this Act at his establishment and on every five fathoms of every chain cable so proved the distinctive mark appointed by the Board of Trade under this section, and shall not stamp that mark on any anchor or chain cable not so proved.

(4) The distinctive mark appointed by the Board of Trade under this section shall consist of a mark indicating that an anchor or chain cable has been proved with the addition of a mark indicating the testing establishment at which it has been so proved.

(5) The stamp or die for stamping the distinctive mark shall be provided by the licensed tester, and shall be approved by the Board of Trade.

(6) A licensed tester shall keep at his testing establishment a copy of the distinctive mark appointed by the Board of Trade for that establishment under this section, and the copy so kept shall be open to inspection at all reasonable hours by any person bringing an anchor or chain cable to be tested.

(7) Where a licensed tester stamps any anchor or chain cable with the distinctive mark denoting that it has been proved at his establishment, he shall, if requested within one month after it has been so stamped by the person on whose application the testing was made, deliver to that person, free of charge, a certificate in a form to be approved by the Board of Trade that the anchor or chain cable has been proved in accordance with this Act (in this Act referred to as a “certificate of proof”).

Scale of charges for testing anchors and chain cables.

11.—(1) A licensed tester may make such charges, not exceeding the scale of maximum charges for the time being authorised by the Board of Trade for his establishment, as he thinks fit for testing any anchor or chain cable and, if it is stamped as proved, for stamping it.

(2) Every licensed tester shall fix in some conspicuous part of his testing establishment, in such a manner as to be clearly legible, a table of charges showing the authorised scale of maximum charges, and also the actual charges made by him.

(3) A licensed tester may apply to the Board of Trade to sanction any alteration in the scale of maximum charges authorised for his establishment, but no such alteration shall be sanctioned unless notice of the intended alteration has been attached to the table of charges for at least three months in such a manner as to be clearly legible.

Power to enforce charges for testing.

12.—(1) A licensed tester may detain any anchor or chain cable tested by him until any charge due for testing or stamping is paid.

(2) If any such charge is not paid within three months of the testing, the licensed tester may cause the anchor or chain cable to be sold by auction, and may deduct from the proceeds of sale all the expenses of the sale and all other expenses incurred by the licensed tester with respect to the anchor or chain cable, including his charges for testing or stamping it, and shall pay the balance of the proceeds of the sale to the owner of the anchor or chain cable, or to the person on whose application it has been tested.

Offences.

Offences by licensed tester.

13.—(1) A licensed tester shall not—

(i) stamp any anchor or chain cable or any other chain or cable with the distinctive mark denoting that an anchor or chain cable has been proved in accordance with this Act or with any mark resembling that distinctive mark, or otherwise calculated to lead persons to suppose that the anchor, chain cable, or other chain or cable has been proved in accordance with this Act unless it is an anchor or chain cable which has been proved at his establishment in accordance with this Act; or

(ii) deliver a certificate of proof in respect of any anchor or chain cable other than an anchor or chain cable which has been proved by him at his establishment in accordance with this Act; or

(iii) make any false statement in a certificate of proof.

(2) If a licensed tester acts in contravention of this section, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.

Penalty for placing marks, or delivering certificate, resembling distinctive marks or a certificate of proof.

14.—(1) A person, other than a licensed tester, shall not—

(a) place on any anchor or chain cable or on any chain or cable any distinctive mark appointed by the Board of Trade for any testing establishment under this Act, or any mark resembling that distinctive mark or otherwise calculated to lead persons to suppose that the anchor, chain cable, chain, or cable has been proved in accordance with this Act; or

(b) deliver any certificate or other document of a like character relating to the proof or testing of any anchor or chain cable or other chain or cable, which resembles a certificate of proof delivered by a licensed tester, or is otherwise calculated to lead persons to suppose that the anchor, chain cable, chain, or cable in respect of which it is delivered has been proved in accordance with this Act.

(2) If any person acts in contravention of this section he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.

Provisions as to marks and certificates of private testing.

15.—(1) Any person delivering a certificate or other document of a like character relating to the proof or testing of any anchor or chain cable, or other chain or cable shall, unless it is either an anchor or chain cable which has been proved in accordance with this Act, or a chain or cable (not being a chain cable) which has been proved at a testing establishment in respect of which a licence granted under this Act was in force at the time of proof, place in some conspicuous part of the certificate or document, in such a manner as to be clearly legible, the words “privately tested.”

(2) A person shall not place on any anchor or chain cable, or other chain or cable, any marks, or deliver in relation thereto any certificate or other document of a similar character, which would be calculated to lead persons to suppose that the anchor or chain cable, or other chain or cable, has been tested, unless it has been actually so tested.

(3) If any person fails to comply with, or acts in contravention of, this section, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.

Sale or delivery of anchor or chain cable wrongfully marked.

16. If any person knowing that any anchor or chain cable or other chain or cable has been stamped or marked in contravention of this Act, sells it to any other person, or delivers it for use by any other person, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.

Miscellaneous.

Fees and expenses.

17.—(1) Any fees payable in pursuance of this Act shall be paid into the Exchequer.

(2) All expenses of the Board of Trade incurred under this Act, including the salary and allowances payable to an inspector appointed under this Act, shall be paid out out of moneys provided by Parliament.

Saving for Admiralty or War Department contracts.

18. Nothing in this Act shall affect any contracts made by the Admiralty for the supply of any chain cables or anchors to any of Her Majesty’s dockyards or for the use of any of Her Majesty’s ships, or any contracts made for the supply of any chain cables or anchors for the use of the War Department.

Definitions.

19. The expressions “anchor” and “chain cable” include any shackle attached to or intended to be used in connexion with the anchor or chain cable.

20. [Repeal of Acts.]

. . . . For the purposes of this Act—

(a) any anchor or chain cable tested or stamped under any enactment repealed by this Act shall be deemed to have been tested or stamped under this Act; and

(b) any . . . . licence, or certificate made or granted under any enactment repealed by this Act shall be deemed to have been made or granted under this Act; and

(c) any inspector appointed under any enactment repealed by this Act shall be deemed to have been appointed under this Act.

Short title.

21. This Act may be cited as the Anchors and Chain Cables Act, 1899.

SCHEDULES.

FIRST SCHEDULE

Sect. 5 .

The Committee of Lloyd’s Register of British and Foreign Shipping for testing establishments at London, Bristol, Tipton, Netherton, Saltney, Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, and Low Walker, or elsewhere.

The Committee of the Liverpool Underwriters’ Association for testing establishments at Liverpool.

The Mersey Docks and Harbour Board for testing establishments at Liverpool and Birkenhead or at any other place on the Mersey.

The Tyne Improvement Commissioners for testing establishments at Low Walker or any other place on the Tyne.

The River Wear Commissioners for testing establishments at Sunderland and Monkwearmouth.

The Clyde Navigation Trust for testing establishments at Glasgow or at any other place on the Clyde within the jurisdiction of the Trust.

The Municipal Corporation of Glasgow for testing establishments at Glasgow.

The Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of Bristol for testing establishments at Bristol.

The Undertakers under the Bute Docks Act, 1865, and the Bute Docks Act, 1866, for testing establishments at Cardiff.

The Trustees of the Port and Harbour of Greenock for testing establishments at Greenock.

The Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of Kingston-upon-Hull for testing establishments at Hull.

The Tees Conservancy Commissioners for testing establishments at Stockton and Middlesbrough, or elsewhere upon the Tees.

The Trustees of Swansea Harbour for testing establishments at Swansea.

SECOND SCHEDULE.

Sect. 8 .

Anchors.

Tensile Strain.