Hong Kong Regulations

MERCHANT SHIPPING (LOCAL VESSELS) (CERTIFICATION AND LICENSING) REGULATION - SECT 38

Certificate of ownership number to be marked

(1) Each certificated local vessel and each of its ancillary  vessels shall at
all times have painted on it, or permanently affixed to or mounted on it, on
each side of its deck housing where it can best be seen or on each side of the
hull of the vessel where it can best be seen, the following marking—

   (a)  in the case of a certificated local vessel, the certificate of 
        ownership number of the vessel; or

   (b)  in the case of an ancillary vessel of a certificated local vessel, the
        certificate of ownership number of the certificated vessel with a
        suffix "D" but, if there are more than one ancillary vessels, the
        suffixes for the ancillary vessels shall be "D", "D2", "D3" and so on.

(2) The certificate of ownership number shall be in figures; each figure, each
letter that forms part of that number, and the suffix (if any) shall be in a
colour that contrasts with the colour of the surface on which they appear
and—

   (a)  in the case of a vessel not exceeding 10 metres in length overall,
        each figure, each letter, and the suffix shall be—

        (i)    at least 70 millimetres in height;

        (ii)   except in the case of the figure "1", at least 40 millimetres
               in width; and

        (iii)  marked in lines that are at least 10 millimetres broad at every
               point;

   (b)  in the case of a vessel exceeding 10 metres but not exceeding 24
        metres in length overall, each figure, each letter, and the suffix
        shall be—

        (i)    at least 150 millimetres in height;

        (ii)   except in the case of the figure "1", at least 90 millimetres
               in width; and

        (iii)  marked in lines that are at least 20 millimetres broad at every
               point; and

   (c)  in the case of a vessel exceeding 24 metres in length overall, each
        figure, each letter, and the suffix shall be—

        (i)    at least 300 millimetres in height;

        (ii)   except in the case of the figure "1", at least 170 millimetres
               in width; and

        (iii)  marked in lines that are at least 40 millimetres broad at every
               point.

(3) If, without reasonable excuse, subsection (1) or (2) is contravened, the
owner of the vessel, his agent and the coxswain each commits an offence and is
liable on conviction to a fine at level 2.

(4) No person shall—

   (a)  tamper with, obscure or erase wholly or in part any marking on a local
        vessel or ancillary vessel required under subsections (1) and (2); or

   (b)  in purported compliance with subsections (1) and (2), display on a
        local vessel or ancillary vessel a number that does not comply with
        those subsections.

(5) If any person contravenes subsection (4), that person, the owner of the
vessel, his agent and the coxswain each commits an offence and is liable on
conviction to a fine at level 3 and to imprisonment for 6 months.

(6) It is a defence for the owner of a local vessel, his agent, or the
coxswain to a charge with an offence under subsection (5) to show that he
could not with reasonable diligence have prevented the contravention of
subsection (4).