EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1982 NO. 25
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Transport
NAVIGATION (SUPPLEMENTARY) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
The Shipping Registration Act 1981 has been proclaimed to come into operation on 26 January 1982. It fixes the conditions for the registration of ships in Australia and enables ships to be granted Australian nationality and the right to fly the Australian flag. Hitherto, ships have been registered in Australia as British ships under Part I of the United Kingdom Merchant Shipping Act, but repeal of that law, by the Shipping Registration Act, takes effect on 26 January 1982. The Navigation Amendment Act 1981 will, on commencement of the Shipping Registration Act, provide for consequential removal from the Navigation Act 1912 of references to the registration of ships under the Merchant Shipping Act and to ‘British’ and ‘foreign’ ships.
There are also references in provisions of the Navigation (Supplementary) Regulations to ‘foreign’ ships.
The first purpose of these consequential amendments is to alter these provisions to refer to ships to which Part II of the Navigation Act does not apply; this is a convenient way of referring to ships registered in Australia, engaged in the coasting trade, or that otherwise have a definite Australian connection.
The Merchant Shipping Act also contains a requirement that draught marks be marked on ships before registration.
The other main purpose of these amendments is to insert similar requirements in the Navigation (Supplementary) Regulations with details of the positioning of the marks and the manner of their marking set out in a Schedule thereto.
Draught marks, as well as load line markings, are necessary to enable ships to be correctly loaded. These details are essential to the calculation of stability for the safety of a ship, and must also be known for navigation and pilotage purposes. A penalty is therefore being inserted in the Regulations for non-maintenance of the markings and the ship may be detained until a ship surveyor is satisfied that the ship is marked in accordance with the requirements. A fee is to be payable in respect of the checking of the draught marks by a surveyor.
Minor amendments are also being made to the Regulations to comply with the requirements of present-day legislative wording.
It is provided that the amendments come into force on 26 January 1982, the date on which the new registration provisions commence.