Navigation (Tonnage Measurement) Regulations (Amendment)

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

STATUTORY RULE NO. 180 OF 1983

Issued by the Authority of the Minister of State for Transport

NAVIGATION (TONNAGE MEASUREMENT) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)

Sub-section 425(1) of the Navigation Act 1912 provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters which by the Act are required or permitted to be prescribed or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for the carrying out or giving effect to the Act or for the conduct of any business under the Act.

Sub-section 405M(1) of the Act provides:

“The amount of the register tonnage specified in the certificate of registry of a ship registered in a prescribed country, other than a ship to which the Tonnage Measurement Convention applies, shall be the register tonnage of the ship for the purpose of this Act”.

On 22 August 1982 the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969 entered into force for Australia and the Navigation (Tonnage Measurement) Regulations were concurrently amended to exclude ships to which the Convention applies.

Sections 407B and 408 of the Act were repealed on 22 August 1982. The former section had provided that, where it appeared to the Governor-General that the rules relating to the measurement of the tonnage of foreign ships (other than those registered in a Commonwealth country) were substantially similar to the Australian Regulations, the Governor-General could, by proclamation, declare that the tonnages of ships registered in a country which had been so proclaimed would be deemed to be those stated in the tonnage documents issued by that country. The latter section had provided for the recognition of the register tonnage specified in the certificate of registry of a ship registered in a Commonwealth country.

The Navigation (Tonnage Measurement) Regulations have been amended to take account of these changes to the Act by prescribing both Commonwealth and other countries to which sub-section 405M(1) of the Act will apply.

The Regulations have also been amended in order to clarify their application in respect of exemptions under the Navigation (Crew Accommodation) Regulations. Many ships have been exempted from certain provisions of the Navigation (Crew Accommodation) Regulations and the Navigation (Tonnage Measurement) Regulations formerly excluded, in the case of ships so partially exempted, the deduction otherwise permitted in tonnage measurement, of crew accommodation spaces.

Details of the new provisions follow:

Regulation 1 amended sub-paragraph 16(2)(a)(i) to clarify the application of the Navigation (Tonnage Measurement) Regulations in respect of the deduction of crew accommodation space on ships which have been exempted from certain provisions of the Navigation (Crew Accommodation) Regulations.

Regulation 2 inserted regulation 28 providing that each country listed in Schedule 8 to the Navigation (Tonnage Measurement) Regulations is a specified country for the purpose of sub-section 405M(1) of the Act. These countries, which were previously specified by proclamation, comprise 47 Commonwealth and 17 other countries as follows:

Commonwealth countries

other than Commonwealth countries