Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Collisions) Regulations, 2003

Suppliment tal-Gazzetta tal-Gvern ta’ Malta, Nru. 17,499, 7 ta’ Novembru, 2003

L.N. 340 of 2003

MERCHANT SHIPPING ACT

(CAP. 234)

Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Collisions) Regulations, 2003

IN exercise of the powers conferred by articles 292 and 374 of the

Merchant Shipping Act, the Minister for Transport and Communications

has made the following regulations>

The title of these regulations is the Merchant Shipping Title.

(Prevention of Collisions) Regulations, 2003.

(1)

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise Interpretation.

requires –

“the Act” means the Merchant Shipping Act<

“the Collisions Convention” means “the Convention on the

International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea” signed

in London on the 20th October, 1972 including any amendment or

Protocol related thereto as may from time to time be ratified,

acceded to or accepted by the Government of Malta and other

instruments, standards and specifications of a mandatory nature

related thereto adopted or developed by the International Maritime

Organisation or in terms of regulation 3 (2) (a) hereof.

(2) Unless otherwise defined in these regulations or unless

the context otherwise requires, words and expressions used in these

regulations shall have the same meaning assigned to them in the

Collisions Convention.

(1) The Collisions Convention as may from time to time be Collisions

in force, shall, unless otherwise provided in these regulations and Convention

force of law in

notwithstanding the provision of any other law, form part of and be Malta.

enforceable as part of the Law of Malta and shall apply to all Maltese

ships and to all other ships while they are in Maltese waters as determined

by the said Convention.

(2) The Registrar-General may either on a case by case basis

or through the issue of Merchant Shipping Notices –

(a) determine, lay down, prescribe, set or specify what may

be required to be determined, laid down, prescribed, set or specified

by these regulations or by the Collisions Convention, or expound

on the requirements of these regulations or of such Convention or

clarify their applicability or interpretation< and

(b) extend any of the provisions of the Collisions

Convention to other classes of Maltese ships or, to other classes of

ships when they are in Maltese waters,

and in so doing, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing,

the Registrar-General shall be guided by the circulars, clarifications,

codes, decisions, directives, guidelines, instruments, interpretations,

manuals, notices, publications, recommendations, regulations,

resolutions, rules or any other similar medium of the International

Maritime Organisation or any other body or organization with an

appropriate knowledge or competence on the subject matter.

It shall be the duty of the owner, of the company which has

assumed the operation of the ship and of the master to ensure that the

ship is in compliance with the provisions of these regulations and the

applicable requirements of the Collisions Convention and such person,

if in fault, shall be liable to the penalties provided for in the Act.

Save as provided for in these regulations where any provisions

of any rules and regulations made under the Act are inconsistent with

the provisions of the Collisions Convention, the provisions of that

Convention shall, unless specifically provided for in such rules or

regulations, apply.

The Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Collisions) Regulations,

1997, are hereby repealed.

Mitbug[ fl-Istamperija tal-Gvern — Printed at the Government Printing Press