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News Article - RYA exposes new regulations as unlawful
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Author: Bethan Ancell
Date: 13:26 4 November 2004
The RYA is taking legal action to obtain a declaration from the High Court that the introduction of the regulation 4(5)(e) of the final Merchant Shipping (Vessel Traffic Monitoring and Reporting) Regulations was unlawful and to gain a quashing order to eradicate it.
The new Regulations make it a criminal offence, punishable by up to 2 years in prison and a fine of up to £5,000, if skippers do not comply with strict reporting requirements when a craft is involved in an incident or accident.
The definitions of ‘accident’ and ‘incident’ are very broad; examples include hitting a buoy during a race, a dinghy capsize, a flat battery, a faulty VHF radio, a crack in a transom, a torn sail or a berthing manoeuvre involving two craft touching would all have to be reported or criminalisation risked.
Rod Carr, RYA CEO commented “The final regulations were brought into force with no consultation with the RYA and therefore represent an unlawful breach of the Government’s duty to consult. We have been in emergency talks with the Government agency responsible for the Regulations, the MCA, to try and understand how this happened, and to ascertain whether due process was followed.
On Thursday 28 October the Government confirmed, in response to a Parliamentary question posed on behalf of the RYA, that no recreational boating interests were consulted before the Regulations were extended. We have been given reasons why the regulations have been brought in without consultation but we feel these are not substantive.”
The RYA’s view on the Regulations is that they will not contribute towards safety but will merely place an unnecessary and unjustified burden on the boater.
taken from yachts and yachting
Click here to send us an event report
Author: Bethan Ancell
Date: 13:26 4 November 2004
The RYA is taking legal action to obtain a declaration from the High Court that the introduction of the regulation 4(5)(e) of the final Merchant Shipping (Vessel Traffic Monitoring and Reporting) Regulations was unlawful and to gain a quashing order to eradicate it.
The new Regulations make it a criminal offence, punishable by up to 2 years in prison and a fine of up to £5,000, if skippers do not comply with strict reporting requirements when a craft is involved in an incident or accident.
The definitions of ‘accident’ and ‘incident’ are very broad; examples include hitting a buoy during a race, a dinghy capsize, a flat battery, a faulty VHF radio, a crack in a transom, a torn sail or a berthing manoeuvre involving two craft touching would all have to be reported or criminalisation risked.
Rod Carr, RYA CEO commented “The final regulations were brought into force with no consultation with the RYA and therefore represent an unlawful breach of the Government’s duty to consult. We have been in emergency talks with the Government agency responsible for the Regulations, the MCA, to try and understand how this happened, and to ascertain whether due process was followed.
On Thursday 28 October the Government confirmed, in response to a Parliamentary question posed on behalf of the RYA, that no recreational boating interests were consulted before the Regulations were extended. We have been given reasons why the regulations have been brought in without consultation but we feel these are not substantive.”
The RYA’s view on the Regulations is that they will not contribute towards safety but will merely place an unnecessary and unjustified burden on the boater.
taken from yachts and yachting