Citation and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Certification of Deck Officers and Marine Engineer Officers) (Amendment) Regulations 1991 and shall come into force on 5th September 1991.

Amendment to Merchant Shipping (Certification of Deck Officers) Regulations 1985

2. In the Merchant Shipping (Certification of Deck Officers) Regulations 1985(2) the proviso to regulation 16(1) shall be replaced by the following:

"Provided that-�

(i)a deck officer holding a certificate as Skipper (Full) issued under section 414 of the Act of 1894, or a certificate as Deck Officer (Fishing Vessel) Class I issued pursuant to section 43 of the Act of 1970, may be substituted for any of the qualified deck officers required to be carried, subject to the officer in command having served for not less than 12 months in a capacity not lower than second in command of the same type of vessel; on production of evidence of 12 months satisfactory service acceptable to the Secretary of State the deck officer concerned shall be entitled to have added to his certificate a statement of qualification to serve in command of a stand-by vessel or a seismic and oceanographic survey vessel as the case may be;

(ii)where the minimum number of qualified deck officers of any class required to be carried is 2 or 3, a person holding a certificate as Second Hand (Full) or as Deck Officer (Fishing Vessel) Class 2 may be substituted for the second or third of these qualified deck officers, and where the minimum number of qualified deck officers of any class required to be carried is 3, a person holding a certificate as Second Hand (Special) may be substituted for the third such qualified officer."

Amendment to the Merchant Shipping (Certification of Marine Engineer Officers and Licensing of Marine Engine Operators) Regulations 1986

3. In regulation 6(1)(c) of the Merchant Shipping (Certification of Marine Engineer Officers and Licensing of Marine Engine Operators) Regulations 1986(3) the words from and including "former fishing vessels" to the end shall be replaced by the following:

"stand-by or seismicand oceanographic survey vessels of under 3,000 kilowatts registered power within the limited European trading area or under 1,500 kilowatts registered power in any other trading area."

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Merchant Shipping (Certification of Deck Officers) Regulations 1985 by permitting holders of certificates as Skipper (Full) to serve as qualified officers on standby and survey vessels, whether or not the vessels have been converted from fishing vessels; by permitting holders of certificates as Second Hand (Full) to serve as the second or third qualified officers on such vessels where 2 or 3 qualified officers are required; and by permitting holders of certificates as Second Hand (Special) to serve as a third qualified officer on such vessels.

They also amend the Merchant Shipping (Certification of Marine Engineer Officers and Licensing of Marine Engine Operators) Regulations 1986 by permitting holders of certificates as Fishing Vessels Engineer Officer class 1 or 2 to serve as Chief and Second Engineer respectively on stand-by and survey vessels of specified engine power and in specified areas, whether or not such vessels have been converted from fishing vessels.