MERCHANT SHIPPING (FISHING VESSEL SAFETY) RULES

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 234.36

MERCHANT SHIPPING (FISHING VESSEL

SAFETY) RULES

1st May, 2004

LEGAL NOTICE 443 of 2003.

(1) The title of these Rules is the Merchant Shipping

(Fishing Vessel Safety) Rules.

(2)

These rules shall come into force on the 1st May, 2004.

(3) These rules adopt the measures contained in Council

Directive 97/70/EC of 11th December 1997, hereinafter referred to

in these rules as Council Directive 97/70/EC.

(1)

In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires -

''Act'' means the Merchant Shipping Act;

''administration of the flag State'' in the case of Maltese fishing

vessels means the Registrar-General and in the case of other fishing

vessels means the competent authority of the State whose flag a

vessel is entitled to fly;

''certificate'' means the certificate of compliance referred to in

rule 6;

''Council Directive'' or ''Council Regulation'' means a directive or

regulation of the Council of the European Union published in the

Official Journal of the European Union, as the case may be;

''existing fishing vessel'' means a fishing vessel which is not a

new fishing vessel;

''fishing vessel'' or ''vessel'' means any vessel equipped or used

commercially for catching fish or other living resources of the sea;

''length'' means, unless provided otherwise, 96% of the total

length on a waterline at 85% of the least moulded depth measured

from the keel line, or the length from the foreside of the stem to the

axis of the rudder stock on that waterline, if that be greater,

provided that in vessels designed with rake of keel the waterline on

which this length is measured shall be parallel to the designed

waterline;

''Maltese fishing vessel'' means a fishing vessel registered under

the Act;

''new fishing vessel'' means a fishing vessel for which

(a) on or after 1 January, 1999 the building or major

conversion contract is placed or

(b) the building or major conversion contract has been

placed before 1 January, 1999, and which is delivered

three years or more after that date; or

(c) in the absence of a building contract, on or after 1

January, 1999

-

the keel is laid, or

-

construction identifiable with a specific ship

begins, or

-

assembly has commenced comprising at least 50

tonnes or 1% of the estimated mass of all

structural material, whichever is less;

''operating'' means catching or catching and processing fish or

other living resources of the sea without prejudice to the right of

innocent passage in the territorial sea and the freedom of

navigation in the 200 mile exclusive economic zone;

''recognised organisation'' means an organisation or body

authorised in terms of article 367 of the Act or an official surveyor

of ships appointed in terms of that article, duly authorised by the

Registrar-General;

''territorial waters of Malta'' means all parts of the open sea

within twelve nautical miles of the coast of Malta, or such other

distance as may be established under article 3 of the Territorial

Waters and Contiguous Zone Act, measured as in that Act provided,

and includes any waters enclosed between the base lines therein

mentioned and the coast;

''the Torremolinos Protocol'' means the Torremolinos Protocol of

1993 relating to the Torremolinos International Convention for the

Safety of Fishing Vessels, 1977.

These rules apply to seagoing Maltese fishing vessels of 24

metres in length and over, wherever they may be, and to other

seagoing fishing vessels of 24 metres in length and over operating

in the internal or territorial waters of Malta or landing their catch in

Malta. Recreational craft engaged in non-commercial fishing are

excluded from the scope of these rules.

(1) The provisions of the Annex to the Torremolinos

Protocol shall apply to Maltese fishing vessels, unless Annex I

Adaptation of provisons of the Annex to the Torrermolinos

Protocol for application of Article (1) of Council Directive 97/70/

EC to Council Directive 97/70/EC provides otherwise.

(2) Those requirements in Chapters IV, V, VII and IX of the

Annex to the Torremolinos Protocol, that apply to vessels of 45

metres in length and over, shall also apply to new Maltese fishing

vessels of 24 metres in length and over, unless Annex II Adaptation

of provisons of Chapters IV, V, VII and IX of the Annex to the

Torremolinos Protocol, in accordance with Article 3(4) of the latter,

for application to new fishing vessels with a length of 24 metres

and over to Council Directive 97/70/EC provides otherwise

Provided that Maltese fishing vessels operating in specific

areas shall comply with the provisions for those areas, as defined in

Annex III Regional and local provisions (Articles 3(3) and 4(1)) to

Council Directive 97/70/EC.

(3) Maltese fishing vessels shall comply with the specific

safety requirements laid down in Annex IV Specific safety

requirements (Article 3(4)) to Council Directive 97/70/EC.

(4) No fishing vessel shall operate in the internal or territorial

waters of Malta or land their catch in Malta unless it is certified by

the flag State administration that it complies with the requirements

referred to in sub-rules (1), (2) and (3) and in rule 5.

(5) Marine equipment listed in Annex A.1 to Council Directive

96/98/EC and complying with the said Annex, when placed on

board a fishing vessel to comply with these rules, shall be

automatically considered to be in conformity with these rules,

whether or not these rules require that the equipment must be

approved and subjected to tests to the satisfaction of the

administration of the flag State.

The standards for the design, construction and maintenance

of hull, main and auxiliary machinery, electrical and automatic

plants of a fishing vessel shall be the rules in force at the date of its

construction, specified for classification by a recognised

organisation or used by the flag State administration.

(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-rule (3) the Registrar-

General or a recognised organisation duly authorised by him shall

issue to Maltese fishing vessels complying with the requirements

referred to in rules 4 and 5, a certificate of compliance with the

requirements of these rules and of Council Directive 97/70/EC,

supplemented by a record of equipment and, where appropriate,

exemption certificates.

(2) The Registrar-General shall, subject to the provisions of

these rules and the Torremolinos Protocol, determine the conditions

of issue and validity of such certificates.

(3) The certificate of compliance, record of equipment and and

exemption certificate shall be in the format laid down in Annex V

Forms of Certificate of Compliance, Exemption Certificate, and

Record of Equipment to Council Directive 97/70/EC or as near

thereto as circumstances permit.

(4) The certificates referred to in sub-rule (1) shall be issued

after an initial survey, carried out by the exclusive surveyors

appointed in terms of article 367 of the Act or by the exclusive

surveyors of a recognised organisation or of a Member State of the

European Union authorised by the Registrar-General to carry out

surveys, in accordance with Regulation 6, paragraph (1)(a) of

Chapter 1 of the Annex to the Torremolinos Protocol.

(5) The periods of validity of the certificates referred to in sub-

rule (1) shall not exceed those established in Regulation 11 of

Chapter 1 of the Annex to the Torremolinos Protocol. A renewal of

the certificate of compliance, shall be issued after periodical

surveys, in accordance with Regulation 6 of Chapter 1 of the Annex

to the Torremolinos Protocol, have been carried out.

Maltese fishing vessels wherever they are and, other

fishing vessels when in Maltese inland or territiorial waters or in

Malta ports shall be subject to control by the Registrar-General, in

accordance with Article 4 of the Torremolinos Protocol and without

discrimination with regard to flag or nationality of the operator, in

order to verify that they comply with these rules.

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

assumed the operation of the vessel and the skipper to ensure that

the vessel is in compliance with the provisions and requirements of

these rules and such person, if in fault, shall be liable to the

penalties provided for in the Act, and if no such penalty is

provided, such person shall, for each offence, be liable to a fine

(multa) not exceeding five hundred units.