Regulation 2 Citation, commencement and interpretation

The Merchant Shipping (Registration of Submersible Craft) Regulations 1976^f1 shall be amended as follows:—

(a)

(i)

in regulation 1(2), for the definition of“submersible craft” there shall be substituted the following:—

““submersible craft” means any description of manned mobile submersible apparatus which is designed to maintain some or all of its occupants at or near atmospheric pressure including free, self-propelled, tethered, towed or bottom contact propelled apparatus and atmospheric diving suits. A diving bell is not a submersible craft for the purposes of these Regulations; and“diving bell” means any compression chamber which is capable of being manned and is used or designed for use under the surface of water in supporting human life being a chamber in which any occupant is or may be subjected to a pressure of more than 300 millibars above atmospheric pressure during normal operation;”;

(ii)

there shall be added at the end the following definition:—

““United Kingdom ship” means such a ship as is defined in section 21(2) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1979^f2”;

(b)

in regulation 2(1) for paragraph (b) the following shall be substituted:—

“(b)

launched, recovered, operated or supported from or comprises a United Kingdom ship”;

(c)

there shall be inserted after regulation 2(1) the following:—

“(1A)

These Regulations do not apply to submersible craft which are not used in the course of or in connection with any trade or business or by any person for hire or reward.”.

Annotations

Footnotes

f1: S.I. 1976/940, to which there is an amendment not relevant to these Regulations.
f2: 1979 c. 39. As to the meaning of “Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies” referred to in section 21(2), see now the British Nationality Act 1981 (c. 61), section 51(3).