# The Merchant Shipping (Load Line) Regulations 1998, Regulation 5: Exemptions


(1) Subject to paragraph (4) below the Secretary of State may exempt from these Regulations—
(a) any ship which embodies features of a novel kind if the development of those features and their incorporation in ships engaged on international voyages might be seriously impeded if the ship had to comply with all the requirements of these Regulations.
(b) any ship plying on international voyages between near neighbouring ports if—
(i) in his opinion the sheltered nature and condition of the voyages makes it unreasonable or impracticable to apply these Regulations; and
(ii) he is satisfied the Government of the other country (or, as the case may be, of each of the other countries) concurs in that opinion.
(2) Subject to paragraph (4) below the Secretary of State may exempt from these Regulations:
(a) a ship which is not a Convention-size ship;
(b) any other ship which does not ply on international voyages.
(3) Subject to paragraph (4) below, where a United Kingdom ship does not normally ply on international voyages but is, in exceptional circumstances, required to undertake a single international voyage, the Secretary of State may exempt the ship while engaged on that voyage.
(4) Any exemption conferred under this regulation may be conferred subject to such conditions as the Secretary of State thinks fit; and, where any such exemption is conferred subject to conditions, the exemption shall not have effect unless those conditions are complied with.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/2241/regulation/5 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/merchant-shipping-load-line-regulations-1998/regulation-5
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.