# The Merchant Shipping (International Load Line Convention) (Amendment) Regulations 2018, Regulation 23: Control of non-United Kingdom ships holding a valid Convention certificate

Extent: E+W+S+N.I.

(1) A non-United Kingdom ship holding a valid Convention certificate is subject to the control of officers authorised by the Secretary of State when it is in a United Kingdom port.
(2) So far as is reasonable and practicable, the control that authorised officers may exercise over a non-United Kingdom ship purporting to hold a valid Convention certificate when such ship is in a United Kingdom port is for the purpose of verifying whether or not there is on board that ship a valid Convention certificate relating to it.
(3) If there is a valid International Load Line Convention Certificate on board the ship, such control must be limited to the purpose of determining that—
(a) the ship is not loaded beyond the limits allowed by the certificate;
(b) the position of the load line of the ship corresponds with the certificate; and
(c) the ship has not been so materially altered in respect of the matters set out in article 19(9)(a), (b) and (d) of the 1966 Convention that the ship is manifestly unfit to proceed to sea without danger to human life.
(4) If there is a valid International Load Line Exemption Certificate on board the ship, the control exercised must be for the purpose of determining that any conditions stipulated in that certificate are complied with.
(5) If control is exercised to determine the matters described under paragraph (3)(c), it must only be exercised in so far as it may be necessary to ensure that the ship does not sail until it can proceed to sea without danger to passengers or the crew.
(6) In the event of the control provided for in this regulation giving rise to intervention of any kind, the Secretary of State must immediately inform the ship’s flag administration or diplomatic representative of the ship’s flag State in writing of the intervention and of all the circumstances in which the intervention was deemed necessary.
(7) The requirement that the notification referred to in paragraph (6) should be in writing is satisfied where the text of a notification is—
(a) transmitted by electronic means,
(b) received in legible form, and
(c) capable of being used for subsequent reference.

---
Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/155/regulation/23 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/merchant-shipping-international-load-line-convention-amendment-regulations-2018/regulation-23
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.