Regulation 3 Meaning of “accident”

(1)

For the purpose of these Regulations and of section 267 of the Act, “accident” means any occurrence on board a ship or involving a ship whereby—

(a)

there is loss of life or major injury to any person on board, or any person is lost or falls overboard from, the ship or one of its ship’s boats;

(b)

the ship—

(i)

causes any loss of life, major injury or material damage,

(ii)

is lost or is presumed to be lost,

(iii)

is abandoned,

(iv)

is materially damaged by fire, explosion, weather or other cause,

(v)

grounds,

(vi)

is in collision,

(vii)

is disabled, or

(viii)

causes significant harm to the environment; or

(c)

any of the following occur—

(i)

a collapse or bursting of any pressure vessel, pipeline or valve,

(ii)

a collapse or failure of any lifting equipment, access equipment, hatch-cover, staging or boatswain’s chair or any associated load-bearing parts,

(iii)

a collapse of cargo, unintended movement of cargo or ballast sufficient to cause a list, or loss of cargo overboard,

(iv)

a snagging of fishing gear which results in the vessel heeling to a dangerous angle,

(v)

a contact by a person with loose asbestos fibre except when full protective clothing is worn, or

(vi)

an escape of any harmful substance or agent,

if the occurrence might have caused serious injury or damage to the health of any person.

(2)

In this regulation—

“disabled” means not under command for a period of more than 12 hours, or for any lesser period if, as a result, the vessel needs assistance to reach port; and
“grounds” means making involuntary contact with the ground, except for touching briefly so that no damage is caused.