S.I. No. 545/1998:

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (MARINE EQUIPMENT) REGULATIONS, 1998.

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (MARINE EQUIPMENT) REGULATIONS, 1998.

I, MICHAEL WOODS, Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, in exercise of the power conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose of giving effect to Council Directive No. 96/98/EC¹ of 20 December, 1996 hereby make the following Regulations:-

¹ OJ No. L46, 17.2.97, p.25

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Marine Equipment) Regulations, 1998.

2. (1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,

"Directive" means Council Directive No. 96/98/EC of 20 December, 1996;

"Minister" means the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources;

"Irish Ship" means a ship registered in the State under the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1998.

(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Directive has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Directive.

3. The provisions of the Directive shall have effect in the State and on Irish ships wherever they may be.

4. With effect from 1 January, 1999, equipment specified in Annex A.1 of the Directive shall not be placed on board-

- a new Irish ship, or

- an existing Irish ship

- in the case of ships where equipment not previously carried is being placed on board, or

- where equipment previously carried is being replaced in accordance with International Conventions,

unless it meets with the applicable requirements of the International Instruments referred to at the appropriate line in Annex A.1 and bears the mark referred to in Annex D of the Directive.

5. Notwithstanding the provisions of Regulation 4 of these Regulations, equipment may be placed on board an Irish ship in the period up to 1 January, 2001, if it was manufactured before 1 January, 1999, in accordance with procedures for type approval already in force within the State before 27 February, 1997.

6. Safety certificates under the International Conventions and the relevant provisions of the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1998 may be withheld or withdrawn where the provisions of Regulations 4 and 5 of these Regulations are not complied with.

7. Where application is made for registration in the State of a ship which is not already registered in a Member State of the European Union the provisions of Article 8 of the Directive shall be applied.

8. The Minister may from time to time, on being satisfied that a body or bodies are in compliance with the criteria laid down in Annex C of the Directive, designate such body or bodies for the purposes of the Conformity Assessment Procedures provided for in Article 10 of the Directive.

9. The Minister shall be responsible for taking the measures and implementing the provisions in Articles 12 and 13 of the Directive and for ensuring that the provisions of Article 16 of the Directive are complied with.

10. The Provisions of these Regulations and the Directive may be enforced by any surveyor of ship's appointed by the Minister under the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1998, who shall have for that purpose all powers vested in him or her under those Acts.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 23 rd day of December, 1998

Michael Woods

Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Regulation gives effect to Council Directive 96/98/EC of 20 December, 1996 which was introduced by the European Community to enhance safety at sea and the prevention of marine pollution through the uniform application of the relevant international instruments relating to certain marine equipment.