# The Merchant Shipping (Accident Reporting and Investigation) Regulations 2026, Regulation 10: Preservation of evidence


(1) Following an accident which is reportable under regulation 6, the persons mentioned in paragraph (2) must so far as is reasonably practicable ensure that—
(a) all—
(i) charts,
(ii) log books,
(iii) recorded information relating to the period preceding, during and after an accident, however recorded or retained, including information from an electronic chart display and information system or a voyage data recorder and video recorders, and
(iv) documents or other records which might reasonably be considered relevant to the accident,
are kept and that no alteration is made to any recordings or entries in them,
(b) all information from a voyage data recorder or recording system relating to the circumstances of an accident is saved and preserved, in particular by taking steps where necessary to prevent such information from being overwritten, and
(c) any other equipment, item, object or other evidence which might reasonably be considered relevant to the investigation of the accident is so far as reasonably practicable left undisturbed.
(2) The persons referred to in paragraph (1) are—
(a) the master of the ship or, if the master has not survived, the ship’s senior surviving officer;
(b) the ship’s owner, unless the ship’s owner has ascertained to their satisfaction that the master or senior surviving officer has taken the action in question;
(c) any other person served with a notice by the Chief Inspector that they are subject to the duty in paragraph (1).
(3) The duty under paragraph (1) continues until—
(a) 30 days have passed since the Chief Inspector received notification of an accident under regulation 6(2) and the Chief Inspector has not published notice of a safety investigation under regulation 8(5),
(b) 30 days have passed since a notice was served under paragraph (2)(c) and the Chief Inspector has not published notice of a safety investigation under regulation 8(5), or
(c) the Chief Inspector or an inspector carrying out the investigation gives notice that the evidence concerned is no longer required.
(4) Following an accident involving or occurring on board a ship which is exempt from the reporting duties under regulation 7, the persons mentioned in paragraph (2) must comply with the requirements of paragraph (1) if required to do so by or on behalf of the Chief Inspector.
(5) An inspector may, pending investigation, prohibit persons from gaining access to, or interfering with, any ship, ship’s boat or other equipment involved in an accident.
(6) Paragraph (7) applies if, following an accident involving or occurring on board a ship, the Chief Inspector has reasonable grounds for concern that, if the ship continues its voyage, access to it, to any member of the crew, or to any evidence on board in connection with a safety investigation may subsequently be denied to the Chief Inspector or any inspector conducting the investigation.
(7) Where this paragraph applies, the Chief Inspector may require the master of the ship or, if the master has not survived, the ship’s senior surviving officer and the ship’s owner, to ensure that a ship is accessible to any inspector engaged in investigation of the accident for such period as the Chief Inspector reasonably considers necessary for the purpose of collection or preservation of evidence in connection with a safety investigation (including any activities under regulation 8(2)) relating to the accident.
(8) Any evidence described in this regulation which is required by an inspector to be produced under this regulation for the purposes of a safety investigation (whether on board the ship involved or otherwise) may be retained by the inspector until the safety investigation is completed.
(9) For the purposes of this regulation, “access” means the process of embarking on or disembarking from a ship, by whatever means employed, and “accessible” is to be construed accordingly.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/430/regulation/10 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/merchant-shipping-accident-reporting-and-investigation-regulations-2026/regulation-10
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.