PART IV

Miscellaneous

19. —(1) The Minister may by regulations make such provision as he considers necessary or expedient for the purpose of ensuring the safety of fishing vessels and their crews.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations under this section may—

(a) require fishing vessels or specified classes of fishing vessels to comply with specified standards of seaworthiness (including stability),

(b) require fishing vessels or specified classes of fishing vessels to comply with specified standards of construction and maintenance,

(c) require fishing vessels or specified classes of fishing vessels to carry one or more of the following, that is to say, specified life-saving, fire-fighting, radio and navigation equipment,

(d) make provision for periodic surveys of fishing vessels or specified classes of fishing vessels and their equipment and the prohibition of the use for fishing of fishing vessels that have not been surveyed in accordance with the regulations or that, following such a survey, are declared by the person who carried it out to be unsafe for use for fishing, angling in the sea or angling in fresh water, and for appeals against such declarations and against other findings of such surveys, and

(e) make provision for ascertaining and testing the standards of competence of skippers and of any other members of the crews of fishing vessels or specified classes of fishing vessels, whether by examination, interview or otherwise, and the prohibition of those who do not reach such standards of competence as the Minister considers appropriate from working as skippers or, as the case may be, other members of the crews of such vessels and the prohibition of owners of such vessels from employing as skippers or other members of the crews of such vessels those who do not reach such standards as aforesaid.

(3) Regulations under this section may make provision for such consequential, incidental, ancillary and supplementary matters (including the enforcement of the regulations and, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, the charging of fees by the Minister) as the Minister considers necessary or expedient.

(4) Different provision may be made in regulations under this section for different classes of fishing vessels.

(5) If in respect of a fishing vessel there is a contravention of a regulation under this section, the owner and, if the vessel is in use for fishing, the skipper of the vessel shall each be guilty of an offence and shall each be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.

20. —(1) The Minister may by regulations make such provision as he considers necessary or expedient for the purpose of ensuring the safety of pleasure craft and their occupants.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations under subsection (1) may—

(a) require pleasure craft or specified classes of pleasure craft to comply with specified standards of seaworthiness (including stability),

(b) require pleasure craft or specified classes of pleasure craft to comply with specified standards of construction and maintenance,

(c) require pleasure craft or specified classes of pleasure craft to carry specified life-saving, fire-fighting, radio and navigation equipment, and

(d) make provision for periodic survey of specified classes of pleasure craft and their appliances and equipment and the prohibition of the use of specified classes of pleasure craft that have not been surveyed in accordance with regulations or that, following such a survey, are declared by the person who carried it out to be unsafe for use and for appeals against such declarations or against other findings of such surveys.

(3) Regulations under this section may make provision for such consequential, incidental, ancillary and supplementary matters (including the enforcement of the regulations and, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, the charging of fees by the Minister) as the Minister considers necessary or expedient.

(4) Different provision may be made in regulations under this section for different classes of pleasure craft.

(5) If in respect of a pleasure craft there is a contravention of a regulation under this section, the owner and (if the craft is in use) the master of the craft shall each be guilty of an offence and shall each be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

(6) In this section “pleasure craft” means vessels used otherwise than for profit and used wholly or mainly for sport or recreation but includes mechanically propelled vessels that are on hire pursuant to contracts or other arrangements that do not require the owners of the vessels to provide crews or parts of crews for them.

21. —(1) The owner of a vessel may appeal to the District Court against—

(a) a declaration in a declaration of survey,

(b) the refusal by a surveyor of ships or a radio surveyor to deliver a declaration of survey to the owner in respect of the vessel,

(c) the revocation or suspension of a certificate in respect of the vessel by the Minister,

(d) the refusal by the Minister to grant a certificate or a licence in respect of the vessel,

(e) a condition, restriction or requirement specified in a certificate or licence, or

(f) the revocation or suspension of a licence in respect of the vessel by the Minister.

(2) The jurisdiction conferred on the District Court by this section shall be exercised by the judges for the time being assigned to the district court district in which the vessel concerned is lying or where the owner concerned ordinarily resides or carries on any profession, business or occupation.

22. —(1) Where the owner of, or of a share in, a vessel is convicted on indictment of an offence referred to in section 8 (6) (c) or 15 (7) (c) or an offence under section 12 (2), 13 (3) (a) or 18 (5) (b) and the person has been convicted previously of any of those offences, the court concerned may, in addition to or instead of any penalty that it may impose under the provision concerned, order the vessel with its equipment, fittings and furnishings, or the appropriate share thereof, to be and to be adjudged forfeited to the State and may make such other orders as it considers necessary or expedient for the purpose of giving effect to the forfeiture.

(2) Whenever an order is made under this section, an authorised officer may, for the purpose of giving effect thereto—

(a) seize and detain the vessel concerned, and

(b) do such other things as are authorised by the order or are necessary for the purpose aforesaid.

23. —(1) This section applies to—

(a) the master of, or any seaman employed in, a vessel registered in the State, and

(b) the master of, or any seaman employed in, a vessel registered outside the State while in a port, harbour or other place in the State or within the territorial seas while proceeding to or from any such port or harbour or place.

(2) If a person to whom this section applies, while on board his vessel or in its immediate vicinity—

(a) does any act which causes or is likely to cause—

(i) the loss or destruction of or serious damage to his vessel or its machinery, navigation equipment or safety equipment,

(ii) the loss or destruction of or serious damage to any other vessel or any structure, or

(iii) the death of or serious injury to any person,

or

(b) omits to do anything required—

(i) to preserve his vessel or its machinery, navigation equipment or safety equipment from being lost, destroyed or seriously damaged,

(ii) to preserve any person on board his vessel from death or serious injury, or

(iii) to prevent his vessel from causing the loss or destruction of or serious damage to any other vessel or any structure, or the death of or serious injury to any person not on board his vessel,

and the act or omission was deliberate or amounted to a breach or neglect of duty or the person to whom this section applies was under the influence of alcohol or any other drug at the time of the act or omission, that person shall, subject to subsection (4), be guilty of an offence.

(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both, and

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.

(4) In proceedings for an offence under this section it shall be a defence to prove—

(a) that the accused person could have avoided committing the offence only by disobeying a lawful command, or

(b) that in all the circumstances the loss, destruction, damage, death or injury in question or, as the case may be, the likelihood of its being caused either could not reasonably have been foreseen by the accused person or could not reasonably have been avoided by him, or

(c) if the act or omission alleged against the accused person constituted a breach or neglect of duty, the accused person took all reasonable steps to discharge that duty.

(5) In this section—

“breach or neglect of duty”, except in relation to a master, includes any disobedience to a lawful command;

“duty”—

(a) in relation to a master or a seaman, means any duty falling to be discharged by him in his capacity as such, and

(b) in relation to a master, includes his duty with respect to the good management of his vessel and his duty with respect to the safety of operation of his vessel, its machinery and equipment;

“structure” means any fixed or movable structure (of whatever description) other than a vessel.

24. —(1) (a) The master of a vessel the subject of a certificate or licence may—

(i) refuse to permit to board the vessel a person who, in the opinion of the master, is, by reason of being under the influence of alcohol or any other drug, in such a condition or misconducts himself in such a manner, as to cause injury or substantial annoyance to persons on the vessel, to cause damage to the vessel or to obstruct, impede or molest a member of the crew of the vessel, or

(ii) put such a person ashore at any convenient place.

(b) A person who, under paragraph (a), has been refused permission to board, or been put ashore from, a vessel shall not be entitled to be repaid any fare paid by him in respect of any voyage or excursion to which his attempted boarding of, or presence on, the vessel related.

(2) If a master or another member of such a vessel as aforesaid is, while on duty, under the influence of alcohol or any other drug to such an extent that his ability to discharge his duties is impaired, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000.

25. —(1) An authorised officer may, on production (in the case of an officer of the Minister) of his authorisation if so requested by any person affected, for the purposes of the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1992, and any rules or regulations thereunder, board any vessel and—

(a) inspect and examine the vessel,

(b) inspect and take copies of, or of extracts from, the vessel's log (if any) and the vessel's manifest (if any) and any other records or documents pertaining to the vessel or its owner found on the vessel.

(2) An authorised officer may, for the purposes of his functions under this Act or regulations thereunder, stop a vessel and request any member of the crew of the vessel to furnish him with such information, and to produce to him such records and documents in his possession or within his procurement, as he may reasonably require for the purpose of such functions.

(3) A person who obstructs or interferes with an authorised officer in the exercise of his functions under this Act or who fails or refuses to comply with a request of an authorised officer under this Act shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

26. —(1) Section 459 (which provides for the detention of unsafe ships) of the Principal Act shall apply in relation to any vessel as respects which the Minister or a detaining officer (within the meaningof the said section 459) is of opinion that, owing to a contravention of this Act or of a regulation thereunder, the vessel is unfit to proceed on any voyage or excursion because of the danger to human life that the voyage or excursion would entail.

(2) Where a vessel is found by a detaining officer (within the meaning aforesaid) anywhere in the State and the vessel is a vessel to which, in the opinion of the officer, the said section 459 applies, the officer may detain the vessel at the place where it is found or take it to the nearest convenient port or other place (including a port or other place on a river or lake) and detain it there.

27. —(1) Where an authorised officer has reasonable grounds for believing that a person is committing or has committed an offence under section 20 standing prescribed for the time being, he may give to the person a notice in the prescribed form or in a form to the like effect stating—

(a) that the person is alleged to have committed the offence,

(b) that the person may, during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice, make to the Minister at the address specified in the notice a payment of £100 accompanied by the notice,

(c) that a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will not be instituted during the period specified in the notice and, if the payment specified in the notice is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will be instituted.

(2) Where a notice is given under subsection (1)—

(a) a person to whom the notice applies may, during the period specified in the notice, make to the Minister at the address specified in the notice the payment specified in the notice, accompanied by the notice,

(b) the Minister may receive the payment, issue a receipt for it and retain the money so paid for disposal in such manner as may be prescribed and no payment so received shall in any circumstances be recoverable by the person who made it,

(c) a prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall not be instituted in the period specified in the notice, and, if the payment specified in the notice is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall be instituted.

(3) In a prosecution for an offence referred to in subsection (1), the onus of showing that a payment pursuant to a notice under this section has been made shall lie on the defendant.

(4) The Minister may by regulations vary the amount standing specified for the time being in subsection (1) and subsection (1) shall have effect in accordance with the terms of any such regulations.

28. —(1) Section 7 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1947 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

“(1) Where the Government of another state provides for the holding of examinations for the grant of certificates of competency as deck officers, engineer officers or engine operators on board ship or as skippers, second hands or engineer officers on board fishing vessels and the Minister is satisfied that the certificates so granted are granted on such principles as to show qualifications of competency which are adequate qualifications for service in Irish-registered ships or Irish-registered fishing vessels, as may be appropriate, the Minister may by order provide that certificates so granted shall be of the same force within the State as if they had been granted by the Minister under (as may be appropriate) Part II or section 414 of the Principal Act or section 3 or 8 of the Merchant Shipping (Certification of Seamen) Act, 1979 , and such certificates shall have effect within the State and may, as respects their effect within the State, be suspended or cancelled accordingly.”.

(2) An order made under subsection (1) of the said section 7 and in force immediately before the commencement of this section shall continue in force as if made under the said section 7 as amended by this section and may be amended or revoked accordingly.

29. —The reference in section 10 (1) of the Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Act, 1952 , to passenger steamers registered in the State shall include and be deemed always to have included a reference to other passenger steamers while in the territorial seas or elsewhere in the State.

30. —(1) The owner of a vessel who applies to the Minister for the issue of a certificate or the grant of a licence in respect of the vessel shall furnish the Minister with such information as he may reasonably require for the purposes of his functions under this Act.

(2) The Minister may refuse to issue a certificate or grant a licence if the owner of the vessel concerned contravenes subsection (1).

(3) A person who, pursuant to a requirement under this Act, furnishes information to the Minister that is to his knowledge false or misleading in a material particular shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

31. —(1) (a) There shall be paid to the Minister by the owner of the vessel concerned in respect of the issue of a certificate or the grant of a licence a fee of such amount as may be prescribed with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

(b) There shall be paid to a surveyor and a radio surveyor by the owner of the vessel concerned in respect of a survey for the purposes of Part II a fee of such amount as may be prescribed with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

(c) There shall be paid to an authorised person by the owner of the vessel concerned in respect of an inspection by the authorised person for the purposes of Part III a fee of such amount as may be prescribed with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

(d) Fees of different amounts may be prescribed under this section in respect of the issue of certificates for, and surveys of, vessels of different sizes for the purposes of Part II and in respect of the grant of licences for, and inspections of, vessels of different classes for the purposes of Part III .

(2) The Minister may refuse to issue a certificate or grant a licence if the appropriate fee in respect of the issue or grant and the appropriate fee in respect of the relevant survey or inspection has not been paid.

(3) A fee payable under this section may be recovered by the person to whom it is payable from the person by whom it is payable as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(4) The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in relation to a fee under this section.

32. —(1) Where an offence under this Act is committed by a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent or connivance of or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of any person, being a director, manager, secretary or other officer of the body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

(2) In a prosecution for an offence under Part III , if it is proved that on the occasion concerned passengers were being carried on a vessel or were on board the vessel for the purposes of carriage, it shall be presumed until the contrary is proved that the carriage concerned was for reward.

(3) Proceedings for a summary offence under this Act may be brought and prosecuted by the Minister.