Hong Kong Ordinances

MERCHANT SHIPPING (SAFETY) ORDINANCE - SECT 107

General safety regulations

Caution: This is a past version. See the current version here.

"ship" (船、船舶) "Hong Kong ship" (香港船舶)

(1) The Secretary for Economic Development and Labour may make regulations-
(Amended 20 of 1996 s. 9; L.N. 106 of 2002)

   (a)  for securing the safety of Hong Kong ships and persons on them and for
        protecting the health of persons on Hong Kong ships; and

   (b)  for giving effect to any provisions of an international agreement
        applicable to Hong Kong so far as the agreement relates to the safety
        of other ships or persons on them or to the protection of the health
        of persons on other ships.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations made
under that subsection may in particular provide for-

   (a)  the design, construction, maintenance, repair, alteration, inspection,
        surveying and marking of ships and their machinery and equipment;

   (b)  the packaging, marking, loading, placing, moving, inspection, testing
        and measuring of cargo and anything on a ship which is not cargo,
        machinery or equipment;

   (c)  the carrying out of any operation involving a ship;

   (d)  the use of the machinery and equipment of a ship and of anything on a
        ship which is not cargo, machinery or equipment;

   (e)  the arrangements for ensuring communication between persons in
        different parts of a ship and between persons in the ship and other
        persons;

   (f)  the access to, presence in and egress from a ship, and different parts
        of it, of persons of any description;

   (g)  the ventilation, temperature and lighting of different parts of a
        ship;

   (h)  the steps to be taken to prevent or control noise, vibration and
        radiation in and from a ship and the emission in or from a ship of
        smoke, gas and dust;

   (i)  the steps to be taken to prevent, detect and deal with outbreaks of
        fire on a ship;

   (j)  the steps to be taken to prevent any collision involving a ship and in
        consequence of any collision involving a ship;

   (k)  the steps to be taken, in a case where a ship is in distress or
        stranded or wrecked, for the purpose of saving the ship and its
        machinery, equipment and cargo and the lives of persons on or from the
        ship, including the steps to be taken by other persons for giving
        assistance in such a case;

   (l)  the removal, by jettisoning or otherwise, of its equipment and of
        other things from a ship for the purpose of avoiding, removing or
        reducing danger to persons or property;

   (m)  the steps to be taken, in a case where danger of any kind occurs or is
        suspected on a ship, for removing or reducing the danger and for
        warning persons who are not on the ship of the danger or suspected
        danger;

   (n)  the making of records and the keeping of documents relating to ships
        and the keeping and use on a ship of information to facilitate the
        navigation of the ship;

   (o)  the keeping of registers and the issue of certificates in cases for
        which registration or a certificate is required by virtue of the
        regulations;

   (p)  the furnishing of information;

   (q)  the granting by the Director on such terms (if any) as he may specify,
        of exemptions from specified provisions of the regulations for classes
        of cases or individual cases;

   (r)  the alteration or cancellation of any such exemption;

   (s)  the detention of any ship and the application of section 68, with such
        modifications (if any) as are prescribed, in relation to the ship;

   (t)  the granting of approvals by the Director and the terms thereof and
        the cancellation of any such approval or the alteration of the terms
        thereof;

   (u)  (Repealed 20 of 1996 s. 4)

        (v)    generally carrying into effect this Ordinance.

(3) Regulations made under this section may-

   (a)  make different provision for different circumstances and, in
        particular, make provision for an individual case;

   (b)  be made so as to apply only in such circumstances as are prescribed by
        the regulations;

   (ba) be made so as to apply to Hong Kong ships wherever they may be; (Added
        56 of 1990 s. 12)

   (c)  provide that the contravention of any particular regulation shall be
        an offence and may prescribe penalties for any such offence not
        exceeding a fine of $20000 or imprisonment for 2 years or both such
        fine and such imprisonment. (Amended 56 of 1990 s. 12)

(4) In this section "ship" (船、船舶) includes a junk and a trawler to
which Part XII of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance ( Cap 281) applies, and
"Hong Kong ship" (香港船舶) means a ship registered in Hong Kong. (Amended
56 of 1990 s. 12)