Article 4 Licensing of vessels

For sections 124 (Registration of craft) to 132 (Charges in relation to craft and boats for hire) of the 1968 Act there shall be substituted the following—

“(c)

Licensing of vessels

Unlicensed vessels not to be navigated

124.

(1)

Subject to subsection (2) of this section, a vessel shall not be navigated, worked or moored within the vessel licensing area unless—

(a)

there is in force in relation to it a relevant licence issued by the Port Authority in accordance with byelaws made by the Port Authority; and

(b)

the name of the vessel and such other particulars as may be prescribed in byelaws made by the Port Authority are displayed on the vessel in the manner prescribed by those byelaws.

(2)

Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to—

(a)

a vessel which is navigated, worked or moored only occasionally in the vessel licensing area;

(b)

a pleasure vessel;

(c)

a hovercraft or seaplane;

(d)

any vessel (other than a ship registered under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 or any vessel usually used for navigation) which is used primarily as a place of habitation, or as a place for accommodating or receiving persons for the purposes of shelter, recreation, entertainment or refreshment, or as club premises or offices, while it is moored;

(e)

any vessel which—

(i)

has a navigability licence issued by a member of the European Community other than the United Kingdom, in accordance with Council Directive 76/135/EEC, and

(ii)

is navigating in an area which is an inland waterway or maritime shipping lane for the purpose of the Directive;

(f)

a vessel licensed by a local authority or any other navigation authority;

(g)

a vessel to which Part I of the Merchant Shipping (Port State Control) Regulations 1995^f1 applies;

(h)

a vessel to which survey requirements apply under the Merchant Shipping (Survey and Certification) Regulations 1995 or under any other rules or regulations made, or having effect as if made, under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995^f2;

(i)

a vessel operated by a member of the United Kingdom Search and Rescue Organisation and declared to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency as a dedicated resource; and

(j)

such other vessels as may be from time to time exempted by byelaws made by the Port Authority.

(3)

For the purpose of this section the Port Authority may issue a licence—

(a)

in relation to all or any part of the vessel licensing area; and

(b)

on such terms and conditions and subject to such restrictions as they think appropriate in the interests of safety.

(4)

The owner of a vessel which is navigated, worked or moored in contravention of subsection (1) of this section, or in contravention of any term, condition or restriction imposed by a licence issued under subsection (3) of this section shall be guilty of an offence and liable—

(a)

on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum; and

(b)

on conviction on indictment to a fine.

(5)

In this section—

• “navigation authority” means any person who has a duty or power under any enactment to work, maintain, improve or control, or license vessels within, any canal or other inland navigation, navigable river, estuary, harbour or dock;

• “relevant licence” means a licence applicable to the area in which the vessel in question is being navigated, worked or moored,

and for the purpose of subsection 2(a) of this section a vessel is navigated, worked or moored only occasionally in the vessel licensing area if—

(a)

it is navigated, worked or moored within that area not more than three times in any period of 12 months; and

(b)

on each such occasion it is navigated, worked or moored within the vessel licensing area for no more than 48 hours.

Power to refuse or revoke or suspend a licence

125.

(1)

Subject to section 126 (Appeals) of this Act, the Port Authority may refuse to licence or may revoke or suspend the licence of a vessel, in relation to the whole or to any part of the vessel licensing area, if they are satisfied that—

(a)

the vessel is not fit for its intended purpose;

(b)

the vessel cannot be safely navigated, worked or moored in the vessel licensing area, or any part of it; or

(c)

in the case of a boat for hire it is in the interests of safe navigation to prohibit boats for hire in a part of the vessel licensing area or to restrict the number of boats for hire in the vessel licensing area or in part of the vessel licensing area.

(2)

In considering for the purposes of this section the fitness of a vessel the Port Authority may have regard, amongst other things, to its life-saving equipment, fire extinguishing appliances, navigational equipment arrangements, machinery for mechanical propulsion and other auxiliary machinery.

(3)

The Port Authority may, for the purpose of their licensing functions and subject to the provisions of section 126 (Appeals) of this Act, require the owner of the vessel to give them such information or reports as they may reasonably require as to its fitness.

(4)

Nothing in this section shall be taken as imposing an obligation on the Port Authority to undertake a structural survey of a vessel for the purpose of discharging their licensing functions.

Appeals

126.

(1)

If the Port Authority under section 125 (Power to refuse or revoke or suspend a licence) of this Act—

(a)

refuse to licence a vessel; or

(b)

revoke or suspend the licence of a vessel; or

(c)

require the owner of the vessel to give them information or reports as to its fitness;

they shall give written notice to the owner of the vessel of their decision or requirement and the notice shall inform the owner of his right under subsection (3) of this section to appeal against the decision or requirement.

(2)

On issuing a licence under subsection (3) of section 124 (Unlicensed vessels not to be navigated) of this Act the Port Authority shall give written notice to the owner of the vessel in question of his right under subsection (3) of this section to appeal against any conditions, restrictions or limitations attaching to the licence.

(3)

The owner of a vessel who is aggrieved by any such decision, requirement, condition, restriction or limitation as is referred to in subsection (1) or (2) of this section may, within a time specified in the notice referred to in those subsections, being a date not earlier than twenty-eight days after the service of the notice on the owner, appeal to the Secretary of State, and Schedule 4 to this Act shall apply in relation to such an appeal.

Inaccurate or lost licences

127.

If the Port Authority are satisfied that a licence for a vessel issued by them under section 124 (Unlicensed vessels not to be navigated) of this Act and in force is—

(a)

inaccurate, they shall issue to the owner of the vessel a corrected licence and shall amend their records accordingly;

(b)

lost or destroyed, they shall issue to the owner of the vessel a duplicate of the licence.

Registers to record mortgages, etc., and to be open to inspection

128.

(1)

The Port Authority shall on the written application by the mortgagee or assignee of a vessel licensed by the Port Authority under section 124 (Unlicensed vessels not to be navigated) of this Act register particulars of a subsisting mortgage of the vessel or of a subsisting assignment of the vessel by way of security or in trust for the benefit of creditors.

(2)

The records relating to vessels kept by the Port Authority under this Part of this Act shall be open to inspection by any person at a reasonable time and upon payment of a reasonable fee.

Charges in relation to vessels

129.

The Port Authority may make reasonable charges in respect of the exercise of their functions under sections 124 to 128 of this Act.”