Government of Jersey

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A decision made 26 September 2013:

Decision Reference: MD-E-2013-0091
Decision Summary Title :	Shipping Safety Code		Date of Decision Summary:	25 September 2013
Decision Summary Author:	Registrar of Shipping		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	n/a
Written Report Title :	SHIPPING (Safety Code – Yachts and small ships) (JERSEY) REGULATIONS 201-		Date of Written Report:	25 September 2013
Written Report Author:	Registrar of Shipping		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Shipping – Replacement of existing Safety Codes Order
Decision(s): The Economic Development Minister decided to lodge au Greffe the Shipping (Safety Codes – Yachts and Small Ships) (Jersey) Regulations 201-.
Reason(s) for Decision: The Shipping (Safety Codes) (Jersey) Order 2005 needs to be re-issued as Regulations of the States and extended so as to cover large yachts as well as to reflect the introduction of a new passenger yacht code allowing the carriage of more than 12 passengers and to make other minor amendments. The draft Regulations are now ready to be lodged au Greffe.
Resource Implications: The associated additional survey and certification work which is expected to arise will be carried out by approved Recognised Organisations or within existing Shipping Registry resources. The work is carried out on a fee basis and there are no anticipated additional resource implications arising from this decision.
Action required: The Greffier of the States to be requested to arrange for the draft Regulations to be lodged 'au Greffe' for consideration by the States".
Signature: Senator A J H Maclean		Position: Minister
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Shipping (Safety Codes - Yachts and Small Ships) (Jersey) Regulations 201-

SHIPPING (Safety Code – Yachts and small ships) (JERSEY) REGULATIONS 201-

Report

Background

The Shipping (Safety Codes) (Jersey) Order 2005 has provided a good safety regime for small [1] commercial ships and larger pleasure craft for the last eight years. It was primarily introduced to provide an appropriate Code of Safety Practice against which surveyors could certify pleasure craft on charter and small work boats.

The United Kingdom has recently passed a new Categorisation Order - The Merchant Shipping (Categorisation of Relevant British Possessions) (Amendment) Order 2013. This will allow Jersey to register commercial vessels which are not small ships and which have a tonnage up to 400gt instead of the current limit of150gt.

Considerations

Commercial Yachts

The change in the UK Categorisation Order will allow Jersey to register Large Yachts [2] operating as charter vessels. By amendment to Jersey’s existing legislation, an established international Code known as the Large Yacht Code could apply to ensure appropriate safety survey and certification.

In a similar way amendment will allow the application of a Code for Passenger Yachts where the vessel has been built explicitly to carry more than twelve passengers but nor more than 36.

Recognition of these vessel types has thus been included in the draft Regulations.

Large Pleasure Vessels

The current Order requires large pleasure vessels to comply with provisions of a Memorandum of Understanding that is out-of-date. In the draft Regulations this reference has been removed. Instead, owners will have an up-to-date Marine Guidance Note issued. The requirements remain for owners to keep an annual safety equipment check list. The vessels themselves will continue to be subject to inspection and potential detention if found to be dangerously unsafe.

Legal Advice

The powers provided in the Shipping (Jersey) Law 2002 for the purpose of making Regulations and Orders differ slightly in relation to safety. Legal advice is that for the Code as referred to in Regulation 3(1), to have full legal effect, the existing Order (made under a delegated power which is arguably too narrow for the purpose) would be best replaced by Regulations (made directly under the powers in Article 49 of the Law). As a result, the amendments described above have been applied in the form of Regulations and if passed by the States these will revoke the Order.

Resource Implications

The associated additional survey and certification work which is expected to arise will be carried out by approved Recognised Organisations or within existing Shipping Registry resources. The work is carried out on a fee basis and there are no anticipated additional financial or manpower resource implications arising from this decision.

16 September 2013

[1] A Small Ship is normally defined as one that is less than 24 metres in length but older vessels, built before 1968, have a tonnage limit of 150 tons instead of this length limit.

[2] A Large Yacht is one that is over 24m or over 150gt if built before 1968.