carrier loaded with 3 separate parcels of grain (for different consignees). After grounding in the Mississippi, your ship has been refloated and towed for repair to New Orleans. What would you do on arrival to safeguard your owners' or charterers' interests?
I would: inform owners/charterers of safe arrival; call the P&l club correspondent; note protest; liaise with the agent and club correspondent; ensure that signed General Average Bonds and Underwriters' Guarantees are collected from each cargo receiver before releasing cargo from owners' possession (as security for General Average contributions - maritime lien applies). Owners will probably appoint the average adjuster, who will probably instruct a Salvage Association surveyor. I would: liaise with the adjuster (or his surveyor) and gather all
documentary evidence required by the adjuster; make a full report, with copies for all interested parties, including the adjuster; extend my protest when further reports, etc. are to hand, and pass copies of the extended protest to the adjuster; and keep a detailed log for the adjuster of all events surrounding the incident.
PASSENGERS
Passenger Counting and Registratior Which ships do the Passenger Counting and Registration Regulations apply to?
Regulations All UK passenger ships, wherever they are, and other passenger ships in UK waters.
What are the main requirements of the Passenger Counting and Registration Regulations?
All persons on board passenger ships must be counted prior to departure. Details of persons who have declared a need for special care or assistance in emergency situations must be recorded and communicated to the master prior to departure. In addition, the names and gender of all persons on board, distinguishing between adults, children and infants, must be recorded for search and rescue purposes. This information must be kept ashore and made readily available to search and rescue services when needed.
What are the statutory requirements
regarding passenger counting? The ship must have an MCA-approved system capable of counting all persons on board (i. e. passengers, crew and others). Boarding cards must be used in ships of Class II or II(A). The system must conform to the requirements of MSN 1729.
Who must the count be passed to, and
when? (1 ) The master and (2) the passenger registrar ashore, immediately before the vessel departs from any landing point. Who is the 'passenger registrar'? A shore-based person appointed by the owner under the Regulations. Are there any additional requirements
for particular voyages? Yes. If a voyage is of more than 20 miles and is from any EC landing place or is an international voyage outside the EC, additional details of persons on board are to be passed to the passenger registrar within 30 minutes of departure from the berth. The additional details are: (1) family name, (2) forenames or initials and (3) gender. Also, the master must be notified of anyone indicating a need for special care or assistance in an emergency. What are the meanings of 'adult',
'child' and 'infant' under the regulations?
An adult is anyone of 18 or over. A child is anyone between 2 and 17, and an infant is anyone under 2.
Keeping order in passenger ships
As master of a ferry, do you have power to ban drunks from boarding?
S. 102 MSA 1995 applies to a ship (whether a UK ship or not) carrying more than 12 passengers and employed in carrying passengers between places in the Limited European Trading Area, and provides that the master of any ship to which this section applies may refuse to receive on board any person who by reason of drunkenness or otherwise is in such a state, or misconducts himself in such a manner, as to cause annoyance or injury to passengers on board, and if any such person is on board, may put him on shore at any convenient place. A person so refused admittance or put ashore shall not be entitled to the return of any fare he has paid.
For what offences may you detain a passenger on board under MSA 1995?
(1 ) Where a passenger is drunk or disorderly, is refused admission, but persists in attempting to board after his fare is returned; (2) where a passenger is drunk or disorderly on board, is requested to leave the ship at a convenient UK port, but refuses; (3) where, after a warning by the master or officer, a passenger molests another passenger; (4) where a passenger is refused admission to ship because it is full, but persists in attempting to enter the ship; (5) where a passenger on board is requested to leave the ship because it is full, but refuses, after the return of his fare; (6) where a passenger refuses or neglects to leave the ship after his fare-paid trip; (7) where a passenger on the ship refuses to pay his fare or show a ticket; (8) where a passenger intentionally obstructs or damages any part of the ship's machinery or equipment; (9) where a passenger obstructs, impedes or molests crew on duty.
You are master of a cross-channel ferry. A crowd of football supporters returning from a match in France run amok on board, damaging fittings and abusing other passengers. What action can you take?
I or any of my officers, and all persons called by us to our assistance, have the power under MSA 1995 to detain without warrant anyone committing an offence of this nature, if their name and address are unknown to us. We must deliver anyone we detain to the police.
CUSTOMS PROCEDURES (DEPARTURE)
When do you need to obtain outwards clearance outwards from UK
Customs?
Before leaving a UK port for an eventual destination outside the EC, or, in the case of an offshore supply vessel, for an installation on the UK Continental Shelf.
What is the procedure for obtaining outwards Customs clearance from a UK port, bound for a port outside the EU?
(1) Complete Master's Declaration (C 13) in duplicate and give the forms to Customs. (They will return the ship's copy stamped with the clearance. ) (2) Give Customs a copy of the cargo declaration which was given for Report if any imported goods remain on board for export. (3) Show Customs any clearance given at other EC ports for the same voyage. (4) Produce the following forms where applicable: Information Note (TC-12); Passenger Return (PAS 15 DEPARTURE). (5) Before giving clearance Customs will check: that the ship holds valid Safety, Load Line and OPIC certificates, and that any light dues payable have been paid. (They do this by inspecting the Lights Certificates. ) (6) If all documents are in order, the vessel will be 'cleared outwards' by the Customs officer stamping the 'clearance granted' space at the foot of the C 13, one copy of which is returned to the master. Unless she is subject to a Detention Order, the vessel may then legally sail.
What is a TC-12? An 'Information Note for the Intended Port of Destination' (Customs & Excise form C 73). The master or agent must enter on it: vessel's name; port and date of departure; intended port of destination; and probable
ports of call. It must be signed by the master or agent and a copy left with Customs before departure.
What is the UK Customs procedure for outwards clearance, bound for an EU port?
Since the advent of the Single Market on 1 January 1993 there have been no requirements for clearing outwards with Customs before sailing for another EU country.
As master of a high-speed craft, what documents must you produce to a UK Customs officer from whom clearance is being demanded for an international voyage?
A valid High-Speed Craft Safety Certificate and a valid Permit to Operate (under the High-Speed Craft Regulations).
When (i. e. at what stage of the voyage) are UK and Irish Light Dues payable?
Before departure. The usual practice is to pay for the inwards voyage and the outwards voyage at the same time, unless the inwards voyage is the seventh and last one on which dues are payable for the year.
On what basis are light dues payable? At the rate of a specified number of pence per Net Ton (NT) (as per the ship's ITC (1969)), as laid down in a Statutory Instrument.
Who collects light dues in the UK and
Ireland? The Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, which pays them to Trinity House for distribution to the three general lighthouse authorities. How is a Transire used? A ship not regularly carrying domestic goods as cargo coastwise may use a
Cargo Book system. Otherwise, the master must complete a Transire form (C. 16) in duplicate. Both copies must be handed to a Customs officer before sailing; the officer will stamp and return one copy. Once stamped, it becomes the master's authority to sail with the cargo coastwise. The stamped transire must be kept onboard for at least 6 months from the date of issue for
inspection. If the Customs office is unattended on arrival or departure and the master cannot get the Transire stamped, the vessel may still sail provided that the master enters in the 'for official use' box (bottom right) the date and times of arrival and departure from that port. The second copy should be left at the Customs office and the original kept onboard. Each time the vessel makes a new voyage with coastwise cargo from a UK port, a new Transire will be required.
PREPARATIONS FOR SEA General preparations
With 2 hours to completion of loading, what preparations would you, as master, make for sailing?
I would: (1) check the weather forecast; (2) have the navigating officer complete the passage plan and inspect and study same with him/her; (3) liaise with the chief engineer and chief officer about readiness for sea; (4) inform the agent and harbour authority of my intentions; (5) order a pilot, linesmen and tugs if required; (6) liaise with the agent about completion of cargo, documentation, outward clearance, etc.; (7) obtain customs clearance; (8) obtain cargo documents if available; (9) check that all crew are on board; (10) test the gear; (11 ) make a stowaway search if necessary (depending on the risk); (12) if carrying passengers, have a count made in accordance with
The Passenger Counting and Registration Regulations of all persons on
board, ensuring I am informed of any persons declaring a need for special care or assistance in emergencies; (13) record names and gender of all persons on board for SAR purposes and communicate all details to the company's Passenger Registrar ashore; (14) either hold a passenger muster or comply with The Emergency Information for Passengers Regulations, as appropriate for my vessel's class and the voyage.
Load line law requirements
In relation to load line law, what requirements must be met before a UK ship proceeds to sea?
Unless exempted, no UK ship may proceed or attempt to proceed to sea unless: (1) she has been surveyed in accordance with the Load Line
Regulations, (2) she is marked with a deck line and load lines in accordance
with the rules; (3) she complies with the Conditions of Assignment; and (4) she is provided with information regarding stability, loading and ballasting for the master's guidance. Unless exempted, no UK ship may proceed or attempt to proceed to sea unless the appropriate load line certificate is in force for the ship. The master must produce a valid Load Line Certificate to the Customs officer from whom clearance is demanded. Clearance will not be granted and the ship may be detained until the Certificate is produced.
What would be the effect of your ship not complying with her Conditions of Assignment in some way?
A UK supply vessel has completed loading her next underdeck bulk cargo of mud, water, etc. before completing discharge of her back-loaded deck cargo, and appears to be well overloaded. Is this permitted, since she is in port?
No. A UK ship marked with load lines must not be so loaded that: (1 ) if she is in salt water and has no list, the appropriate loadline on each side is
submerged; or (2) in any other case, the appropriate loadline on each side would be submerged if she were in salt water and had no list, (e. g. as in the question, where she is in dock water). The fact that the vessel is not intending to proceed to sea is immaterial.
When is an exception allowed to the
rule in the last question? When the vessel is to proceed downriver to sea. She may in that case submerge her marks to allow for the river passage consumption of fuel, water, etc.
What are the legal consequences of
your ship being overloaded in port? If she is marked with load lines, she may be detained until she ceases to be overloaded. The owner and I (as master) will be liable on conviction on indictment, to a fine, and on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (£5000) and to such additional fine as the court thinks fit to impose, having regard to the extent to which the earning capacity of the ship was increased by reason of the contravention, but subject to a maximum amount of £1, 000 for each complete centimetre of overloading, i. e. £5000 plus £1000 per centimetre.
What is the penalty for taking your
ship to sea when overloaded? Without prejudice to any fine for overloading, I will be liable on conviction on indictment, to an unlimited fine, and on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (£5000).
Do you have any defence to a charge
of overloading in port? Yes, if I could prove that the overloading was due solely to deviation or delay caused solely by stress of weather or other circumstances which neither the owner, I or the charterer (if any) could have prevented or forestalled.
What penalty would you be liable for where the MCA found your ship dangerously unsafe due to overloading?
On summary conviction a fine of up to £50, 000, or on conviction on indictment, 2 years' imprisonment plus an unlimited fine.