# The Merchant Shipping (Fire Protection) Regulations 2023, Regulation 5: General application


(1) Subject to paragraph (2), these Regulations apply to—
(a) United Kingdom ships, wherever they may be; and
(b) non-United Kingdom ships while they are within United Kingdom waters.
(2) These Regulations do not apply to—
(a) ships to which the Merchant Shipping (Fire Protection: Small Ships) Regulations 1998 apply;
(b) ships of war and naval auxiliary ships;
(c) ships owned or operated by a State and engaged only on governmental non-commercial service;
(d) fishing vessels;
(e) ships not propelled by mechanical means;
(f) wooden ships of primitive build;
(g) ships solely navigating the Great Lakes of North America and the River St Lawrence as far east as a straight line drawn from Cap des Rosiers to West Point, Anticosti Island and, on the north side of Anticosti Island, the 63rd meridian;
(h) non-United Kingdom ships which are pleasure vessels of 500 gross tons or above;
(i) any passenger ship to which the Merchant Shipping (Passenger Ships) (Safety Code for UK Categorised Waters) Regulations 2010 apply;
(j) high-speed craft to which the Merchant Shipping (High Speed Craft) Regulations 2022 apply;
(k) vessels to which the Merchant Shipping (Technical Requirements for Inland Waterway Vessels) Regulations 2010 apply.
(3) A non-United Kingdom ship flying the flag of a State which is not a party to the Convention is not subject to these Regulations if it would not have been in United Kingdom waters but for stress of weather or any other circumstances which the master, owner or charterer could not have prevented.
(4) Where persons are on board a ship as a consequence of—
(a) the circumstances described in paragraph (3); or
(b) an obligation laid upon the master to carry shipwrecked or other persons,
those persons are not to be taken into account for the purpose of determining the application to that ship of any provision of these Regulations.
(5) For the purposes of this regulation, “non-United Kingdom ship” means any ship other than a United Kingdom ship.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2023/9780348245554/regulation/5 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/draft-merchant-shipping-fire-protection-regulations-2023/regulation-5
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.