Introductory text
Merchant Shipping
Made 1st December 2025
Laid before Parliament 2nd December 2025
Coming into force 1st January 2026
The Secretary of State is satisfied, for the purposes of section 47(2) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995f1, that it is necessary or expedient, in the interests of safety, to make Regulations in so far as they require ships to carry qualified seamen.
The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 47(1), (3), (4), (4A) and (4B), 85(1), (3) and (5) to (7), 86(1)(a) to (d), 128(5), 302(1), 306A and 307(1) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995f2, article 2 of the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution) (Law of the Sea Convention) Order 1996f3, and article 2 of the Merchant Shipping (Control of Pollution) (SOLAS) Order 1998f4, and with the consent of the Treasury.
The Secretary of State has consulted such persons in the United Kingdom as the Secretary of State considers will be affected by the exercise of powers in this instrument in accordance with sections 86(4) and 306(4) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.
Annotations
Footnotes
- f1
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1995 c. 21. For amendments, see footnote (b) below.
- f2
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Section 47(4A) and (4B) were inserted by the Marine Navigation Act 2013 (c. 23). Sections 85 and 86 were amended by the Merchant Shipping and Maritime Security Act 1997 (c. 28), sections 8 and 29(2) and Schedule 7. Section 85 was amended by the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 (c. 8), section 2(3). Section 306A was inserted by the Deregulation Act 2015 (c. 20), section 106. There are other amendments but none is relevant.
- f3
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S.I. 1996/282. Article 2 was amended by the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (c. 23), Schedule 4, Part 1, paragraph 3 and S.I. 2022/844. There is another amendment which is not relevant.
- f4