S.I. No. 313/1983:

MERCHANT SHIPPING (RADIO INSTALLATIONS SURVEY) RULES, 1983.

MERCHANT SHIPPING (RADIO INSTALLATIONS SURVEY) RULES, 1983.

I, JAMES MITCHELL, Minister for Transport, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 15 of the Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Act, 1952 (No. 29 of 1952) (as amended by section 11 (2) and 12 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1966 (No. 20 of 1966)), section 11 (1) of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1966 , the Transport, Fuel and Power (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order, 1959 ( S.I. No. 125 of 1959 ) and the Tourism and Transport (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order, 1980 ( S.I. No. 11 of 1980 ) hereby make the following rules:--

1. (1) These Rules may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Radio Installations Survey) Rules, 1983 and shall come into operation on the 1st day of December, 1983.

(2) In these Rules--

"international voyage" means a voyage from a port in one country to a port in another country;

"the Minister" means the Minister for Transport;

"nominated surveyor" means a surveyor nominated by the Minister to undertake the surveys required by these Rules and includes a radio surveyor of the Department of Transport;

"prescribed" means prescribed in Rules made by the Minister;

"proper officer" means an Irish consul, a superintendent of the Mercantile Marine Office or any officer in a port in the State exercising the functions of such a superintendent;

"radio certificate" means a cargo ship safety radiotelegraphy certificate or a cargo ship safety radiotelephony certificate;

"radio installation" means any radio installation provided on board a ship in compliance with the Merchant Shipping (Radio Installations) Rules, 1983 ( S.I. No. 308 of 1983 ), including its associated antennae, inter-connecting circuits and, where appropriate, sources of electrical energy, and radio equipment for survival craft;

"Radio Installations Rules" means the Merchant Shipping (Radio Installations) Rules, 1983;

"tons" means the gross register tonnage of a ship and the gross tonnage of a ship having alternative gross tonnages shall be taken to be the larger of those tonnages.

2. (1) Subject to paragraph (2) of this Rule, these Rules apply in relation to sea-going ships registered in the State (except passenger ships, ships not propelled by mechanical means, troopships not registered in the State, fishing vessels and pleasure craft) of 300 tons or over engaged in international voyages.

(2) The Minister may grant exemptions from all or any of the provisions of these Rules (as may be specified in the exemption) for classes of cases or individual cases on such terms (if any) as he may so specify and may, subject to giving reasonable notice, alter or cancel any such exemption.

3. (1) The owner of every ship in relation to which these Rules apply and in respect of which a radio certificate has not been issued or requires to be renewed, shall cause the same to be surveyed as soon as possible after these Rules come into operation and thereafter at annual intervals by a nominated surveyor (subject to the provisions of Rule 4) and any application for a survey shall be accompanied by such information relating to the ship as the nominated surveyor may require for the purposes of the survey.

(2) Every application for the survey of a ship under this Rule shall be made by or on behalf of the owner of the ship to the Minister and be accompanied by the prescribed fee.

(3) The nominated surveyor shall, upon receipt of an application, survey the ship and satisfy himself that the radio installations:

(a) comply with the requirements of the Radio Installations Rules applicable to the ship, or are exempt from those requirements, and

(b) are in all respects satisfactory for the service for which the ship is intended, having regard to the period for which a radio certificate in respect of the ship is to be issued.

(4) The nominated surveyor, if satisfied on the survey that he may properly do so, shall forward to the Minister a Declaration of Survey containing such particulars of the ship and its radio installations as are required by the Minister to enable him to issue a radio certificate in respect of the ship.

4. A survey made pursuant to Rule 3 of these Rules in a port in the State or the territorial waters thereof shall be carried out by a radio survey of the Department of Transport.

5. (1) The owner or master of every ship in relation to which these Rules apply shall ensure that:

(a) the condition of the radio installations is maintained so as to comply with the Radio Installations Rules;

(b) after any survey required by these Rules has been completed, no material change shall be made in the radio installations subject to such survey without the approval of the Minister; and

(c) whenever an accident occurs to a ship or a defect is discovered either of which affects the efficiency or completeness of its radio installations, it shall be reported at the earliest opportunity to the Minister or a proper officer, either of whom shall cause investigations to be initiated to determine whether a survey by a nominated surveyor is necessary and shall in that event require such a survey to be carried out. If the ship is in a port outside the State, the master or owner shall, in addition, make such a report immediately to the appropriate authorities of the country in which the port is situated.

(2) The nominated surveyor shall ascertain from the appropriate authorities of the country in which the port is situated that the report referred to in paragraph (1) (c) of this Rule has been made.

6. (1) In any case where the nominated surveyor determines that the condition of the radio installations does not correspond substantially with the particulars of the radio certificate or is such that the ship is not fit to proceed to sea without danger to the ship or persons on board, the nominated surveyor shall advise the owner or master of the corrective action which in his opinion is required, and shall notify the Minister.

(2) If such corrective action is not taken within such period (being a reasonable period) as the nominated surveyor may specify, the nominated surveyor shall, at the end of that time, immediately notify the Minister who may, on receipt of such notification, suspend the validity of the radio certificate issued in relation to the ship. The Minister shall give notice of any such suspension to the owner and to the nominated surveyor; the nominated surveyor shall notify the master.

(3) The master shall thereupon deliver up the certificate issued in relation to the ship to the nominated surveyor on demand and the owner shall on receipt of notice of suspension deliver up the duplicate certificate to the Minister.

(4) When the nominated surveyor is satisfied that corrective action has been taken he shall notify the Minister. The Minister shall thereupon, in any case where the validity of the certificate has been suspended:

(a) restore the validity of the certificate;

(b) give notice thereof to the owner; and

(c) return the duplicate certificate to the owner.

The nominated surveyor shall return the certificate issued in relation to the ship to the master.

(5) Where the ship is not within a port in the State and corrective action in accordance with paragraph (2) has not been taken, the nominated surveyor shall in addition immediately notify the appropriate authorities of the country in which the port is situated.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 18th day of October, 1983.

JAMES MITCHELL,

Minister for Transport.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These Rules implement the provisions of the Protocol of 1978 relating to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, in respect of radio installations surveys.