Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 336

The Merchant Shipping (Carriage of Cargoes) Regulations 1999

(The document as of February, 2008)

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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

1999 No. 336

MERCHANT SHIPPING
SAFETY

The Merchant Shipping (Carriage of Cargoes) Regulations 1999

	Made	9th February 1999
	Laid before Parliament	19th February 1999
	Coming into force	15th March 1999

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS

PART I
GENERAL

1.	Citation, commencement and revocation

2.	Interpretation

3.	Application

PART II
GENERAL PROVISIONS

4.	Cargo information

5.	Carriage of documentation

6.	Stowage and securing

7.	Oxygen analysis and gas detection equipment

8.	The use of pesticides in ships

PART III
SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR BULK CARGOES OTHER THAN GRAIN

9.	Acceptability for loading

10.	Loading, unloading and stowage of bulk cargo

PART IV
REQUIREMENTS FOR CARGO SHIPS CARRYING GRAIN

11.	International Grain Code

PART V
ENFORCEMENT

12.	Power to detain

13.	Penalties and defences

14.	Offences due to the fault of another person

15.	Equivalents and exemptions

The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, after consulting the persons referred to in section 86(4) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995[1], in exercise of the powers conferred by section 85(1)(a) and (b), (3) and (5) to (7) and section 86(1) of that Act, and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:



PART I
General
Citation, commencement and revocation
    1. - (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Carriage of Cargoes) Regulations 1999 and shall come into force on 15th March 1999.

    (2) The Merchant Shipping (Carriage of Cargoes) Regulations 1997[2] and the Merchant Shipping (Carriage of Cargoes) (Amendment) Regulations 1997[3] are hereby revoked.

Interpretation
    2. - (1) In these Regulations except where the context requires otherwise:

"Administration", in relation to United Kingdom ships, means the Secretary of State;

"appropriate cargo information" means information relevant to the cargo and its stowage and securing, which should specify in particular the precautions necessary for the safe carriage of that cargo by sea;

"bulk cargo" means cargo carried in bulk;

"cargo" means any cargo which, owing to its particular hazard to ships or persons on board, may require special precautions, with the exception of liquids carried in bulk and gases carried in bulk;

"Cargo Securing Manual" means a manual drawn up to the standard contained in the Maritime Safety Committee Circular of the Organisation, MSC/Circ. 745, dated 13th June 1996, and approved, in the case of United Kingdom ships by the Secretary of State, or in the case of other ships by or on behalf of the flag state;

"cargo ship" means a ship which is not a passenger ship, troop ship, pleasure vessel or fishing vessel;

"cargo hold" or "cargo space" means any hold or space in the ship appropriated for the carriage of cargo;

"cargo unit" includes a cargo transport unit and means wheeled cargo, vehicle, container, flat, pallet, portable tank, packaged unit, or any other cargo, and loading equipment, or any part thereof, which belongs to the ship and which is not fixed to the ship;

"cargoes which may liquefy" means cargoes which are subject to moisture migration and subsequent liquefaction if shipped with a moisture content in excess of the transportable moisture limit;

"Certifying Authority" means the Secretary of State or any other person or organization authorised by the Secretary of State;

"container" means an article of transport equipment as defined in the International Convention for Safe Containers, (CSC 1972), published by the Organisation;

"Department" means the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions;

"flag state" in relation to a ship means the state in which the ship is registered or, if unregistered, whose flag it is entitled to fly;

"flow moisture point" means the percentage moisture content (wet weight basis) at which a flow state develops under the methods of test in a representative sample of the material as prescribed by the Code of Safe Practice for Solid Bulk Cargoes (BC Code), published by the Organisation;

"flow state" means the condition when a mass of granular material is saturated with liquid to an extent that under prevailing external forces such as vibration, impaction or ship's motion, it loses its internal shear strength and behaves as a liquid;

"forwarder" means a person who receives the appropriate cargo information in preparation for eventual delivery of the cargo to the ship or its agent, and may include a cargo packer or consolidator;

"grain" includes wheat, maize (corn), oats, rye, barley, rice, pulses, seeds and processed forms thereof whose behaviour is similar to that of grain in its natural state;

"in bulk", except in the context of roll-on roll-off cargo spaces, means directly and without intermediate form of containment in a hold, tank or cargo space forming a structural part of, or permanently attached to, a ship;

"International Grain Code" means the International Code for the Safe Carriage of Grain in Bulk adopted by the Maritime Safety Committee of the Organisation by resolution MSC.23(59) on 23rd May 1991;

"Merchant Shipping Notice" means a Notice described as such, issued by the Department;

"moisture content" means the amount of moisture present in a particular sample expressed as a percentage by weight of the total wet weight of the sample;

"the Organisation" means the International Maritime Organization;

"offshore supply vessel" means a ship which is used for the transportation of stores, materials, equipment and personnel between a base ashore and offshore installations or between offshore installations;

"operator of the terminal" means the person under whose control are the activities at the terminal;

"passenger ship" means a ship carrying more than 12 passengers;

"pleasure vessel" has the same meaning as in regulation 2(1) of the Merchant Shipping (Cargo Ship Construction) Regulations 1997[4];

"roll-on roll-off cargo spaces" means spaces not normally subdivided in any way and extending to either a substantial length or the entire length of the ship in which the goods (packaged or in bulk, in or on rail or road cars, vehicles (including road or rail tankers), trailers, containers, pallets, demountable tanks or in or on similar stowage units or other receptacles) can be loaded and unloaded normally in a horizontal direction;

"shipper" means any person who, whether as principal or agent for another, consigns goods for carriage by sea;

"SOLAS Convention" means the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1974[5], and its Protocol of 1978[6], as amended, in force at 1st July 1998;

"terminal" means any terminal, jetty, pier, floating structure or other works within a harbour at which ships can obtain shelter or ship and unship goods or passengers;

"tons" means gross tons; and a ship to which regulation 12 of the Merchant Shipping (Tonnage) Regulations 1997[7] refers may continue to use the gross tonnage additionally ascertained, in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 5 (and appendices 1 to 4 thereto), to the Merchant Shipping (Tonnage) Regulations 1982[8]. Where a ship has alternative tonnages under that Schedule, the tonnage which may be used shall be the larger of those tonnages;

"transportable moisture limit" means 9/10ths of the flow moisture point;

"trimming" means any levelling of the material within a cargo space, either partial or total, by means of loading spouts or chutes, portable machinery, equipment or manual labour.

    (2) Unless otherwise stated a reference in a regulation to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph of that number in the regulation.

    (3) Any reference in these Regulations to any Code, Convention or Merchant Shipping Notice shall include a reference to any document amending it which is considered by the Secretary of State to be relevant from time to time and is specified in a Merchant Shipping Notice.

    (4) Any approval given pursuant to these Regulations shall be given in writing and shall specify the date when it is to come into force and the conditions (if any) on which it is given.

    (5) Where a ship is operated by a person other than its owner, (whether on behalf of the owner or some other person, or on his own behalf) a reference in these Regulations to the owner shall be construed as including a reference to that person.

    (6) In interpreting the International Grain Code-

(a) the requirements having been made mandatory under regulation 11 the language thereof shall be construed accordingly;

(b) the definitions set out in section A2 of that Code shall apply;

(c) references to the Administration shall, in relation to United Kingdom ships, be references to the Secretary of State, and references to the Contracting Government of the port of loading, in relation to all ships loading in the United Kingdom, shall be references to the Secretary of State.

Application
    3. - (1) These Regulations apply to:

(i) sea-going United Kingdom ships wherever they may be, and

(ii) sea-going ships which are not United Kingdom ships while they are within United Kingdom waters,



when loaded or intended to be loaded with any cargo.

    (2) These Regulations apply to the carriage of all cargoes, but are subject to any requirements contained in the Merchant Shipping (Dangerous Goods and Marine Pollutants) Regulations 1997[9], in respect of the carriage of dangerous goods and marine pollutants as defined in those Regulations. Where any requirement in those Regulations regulates an aspect of carriage provided for in these Regulations, those Regulations shall apply to that extent, and not these.

PART II
General Provisions
Cargo information
    4. - (1)

(a) The shipper shall, subject to paragraph (4) below, provide such information to the owner or master sufficiently in advance of loading as is necessary to enable them to ensure that-


(i) the different commodities to be carried are compatible with each other or suitably separated;

(ii) the cargo is suitable for the ship;

(iii) the ship is suitable for the cargo; and

(iv) the cargo can be safely stowed and secured on board the ship and transported under all expected conditions during the intended voyage.



(b) The cargo information referred to in sub-paragraph (a) shall include:



(i) in the case of general cargo and cargo carried in cargo units, a general description of the cargo, the gross mass of the cargo or cargo units and any relevant special properties of the cargo;

(ii) in the case of bulk cargoes, information on the stowage factor of the cargo, the trimming procedures, the likelihood of shifting including angle of repose, if applicable, and any other relevant special properties. In the case of a concentrate or other cargo which may liquefy, additional information in the form of a certificate indicating the moisture content of the cargo and its transportable moisture limit;

(iii) in the case of bulk cargoes which are not classified in accordance with Regulation VII/2 of the SOLAS Convention, but have chemical properties that may create a potential hazard, information on its chemical properties in addition to that required by sub-paragraph (ii) above.

    (2) The information shall be confirmed in writing and by appropriate shipping documents prior to loading the cargo on the ship.

    (3) In preparing cargo units for carriage by ships, the shipper or, as the case may be, the forwarder, shall ensure that the gross mass of such units is in accordance with the gross mass declared on the shipping documents.

    (4) Where the shipper does not deliver the cargo to the ship or its agent he shall provide the forwarder with such cargo information.

    (5) If the shipper does not deliver the cargo to the ship or its agent it shall be the duty of the forwarder to provide the owner or master with the appropriate cargo information.

    (6) If a shipper or forwarder fails to provide appropriate cargo information as required by this regulation, or furnishes cargo information which he knows to be false or recklessly furnishes cargo information which is false, he shall be guilty of an offence.

    (7) If an owner or master accepts for carriage, or takes or receives on board any cargo for which appropriate cargo information as required by this regulation has not been furnished, he shall be guilty of an offence.

Carriage of documentation
    5. - (1) The owner and master of every ship to which these Regulations apply, other than a ship engaged in the carriage of grain, shall ensure that appropriate documentation, relevant to the cargo and its stowage and securing, which should specify in particular the precautions necessary for the safe carriage of that cargo by sea, is carried on board.

    (2) Such documentation may consist of one or more of the following Codes of Safe Practice:

(a) the Code of Safe Practice for Cargo Stowage and Securing adopted by the Organization by Resolution A.714(17), 1992 edition, as amended in 1994 and 1995;

(b) the Code of Safe Practice for Ships Carrying Timber Deck Cargoes adopted by the Organization by Resolution A.715(17), 1992 edition; and

(c) the Code of Safe Practice for Solid Bulk Cargoes (BC Code) adopted by the Organisation by Resolution A.434(XI), 1991 edition, as amended in 1996.

    (3) The owner and master of every ship carrying grain to which these Regulations apply shall ensure that the International Grain Code is carried on board.

    (4) All passenger ships and cargo ships carrying cargoes other than solid bulk cargoes, except cargo ships of less than 500 tons engaged on voyages which are not international voyages, shall carry on board a Cargo Securing Manual.

    (5) An owner or master who contravenes paragraph (1) or (3) above shall be guilty of an offence.

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Notes:

[1] 1995 c. 21; sections 85 and 86 were amended by the Merchant Shipping and Maritime Security Act 1997 (c. 28), section 8.back

[2] S.I. 1997/19, amended by S.I. 1997/2366.back

[3] S.I. 1997/2366.back

[4] S.I. 1997/1509.back

[5] Cmnd. 7874.back

[6] Cmnd. 7364.back

[7] S.I. 1997/1510.back

[8] S.I. 1982/841, to which there were amendments not relevant to these Regulations.back

[9] S.I. 1997/2367.back

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