Merchant Shipping Act 1894
Inspection of provisions and water for crew of certain ships.
206.—(1) In the case of ships trading or going from any port of the United Kingdom through the Suez Canal, or round the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn, the barrels of beef and pork, the preserved meat and vegetables in tins, and the casks of flour or biscuits, intended for the use of the crew of any such ship shall be inspected by such officer and in such manner as rules under this section direct, but before shipment whenever practicable, and, if in the opinion of the inspecting officer they are fit for that use, that officer shall certify the same accordingly in manner directed by such rules.
(2) The inspecting officer may at any time proceed on board any such ship to ascertain whether the stores and water provided have been duly inspected, or, if not, whether they are of a quality fit for the use of the crew of the ship, and if he finds the same not to have been inspected, and to be deficient in quality, the ship shall be detained until the defects are remedied to his satisfaction.
(3) No fee for an inspection under this section shall be levied on the ship.
(4) The Board of Trade may make rules for carrying into effect this section, but all such rules shall be laid before Parliament within three weeks after they are made, if Parliament be then sitting, and if Parliament be not then sitting, within three weeks after the beginning of the then next meeting of Parliament, and shall not come into operation until they have lain for forty days before both Houses of Parliament during the session of Parliament.
(5) The Board of Trade may appoint officers for the purposes of any inspection under this section, and may, with the concurrence of the Treasury, assign them remuneration to be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament.
Annotations:
Modifications (not altering text):
C36
Inspection powers of authorised officers extended (1.01.1954) by Health Act 1953 (26/1953), s. 68(1), S.I. No. 377 of 1953.
Inspection of provisions and water for crew of Irish ships.
68. (1) An authorised officer may, as respects an Irish ship, carry out any inspection under section 206 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894 , or section 26 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1906 , in like manner and with the like powers as if he had been duly appointed under the said section 206.
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C37
Powers of inspecting officer extended (1.06.1907) by Merchant Shipping Act 1906 (6 Edw. 7) c. 48, s. 26(1), commenced as per s. 86(2). A fine of £100 translates into a Class A fine, not exceeding €5,000, as provided (4.01.2011) by Fines Act 2010 (8/2010), ss. 3 and 4, table ref. no. 8, S.I. No. 662 of 2010. A fine of £10 translates into a Class D fine, not exceeding €1,000, as provided (4.01.2011) by Fines Act 2010 (8/2010), ss. 3 and 7, table ref. no. 8, S.I. No. 662 of 2010.
Inspection of provisions and water.
26.—(1) An inspecting officer appointed under section two hundred and six of the principal Act may inspect (either on board the ship or before shipment) any provisions or water intended for the use of the crew of any British ship which is going from any port in the United Kingdom and for which an agreement with the crew is required under the Merchant Shipping Acts (other than provisions provided by the crew themselves), and if he finds that the provisions or water are in any respect deficient in quality, the ship shall be detained until the defects are remedied to his satisfaction:
Provided that any inspection of provisions or water under this section shall be made before shipment whenever practicable, and, if the master, owner, or agent of a ship gives notice to the inspecting officer that any provisions or water for the ship are ready for inspection, the inspecting officer shall not have power to inspect any such provisions or water under this section if they are at a convenient place for inspection, except within forty-eight hours after the notice is given, without prejudice to the power of the inspecting officer to inspect any provisions or water not specified in the notice or without unnecessarily delaying the ship to proceed on board the ship in order to satisfy himself that there has been no evasion of the requirements of this section by the substitution of other provisions or water for those which have been inspected on shore or specified in a notice as being the provisions or water for the ship, or otherwise.
(2) Where any provisions or water are found deficient in quality under this section, the master of the ship shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding a hundred pounds, unless the court before which the case is tried think that the finding of the inspecting officer was not justified; but if the master of the ship shows to the satisfaction of the court that the responsibility for the defects in the provisions or water rests either with the owner of the ship, or any agent of the owner of the ship, or with the person who has supplied the provisions or water, that agent, owner, or person shall be liable to conviction for the offence instead of the master, and the master shall be exempt.
(3) The master of the ship and any other person having charge of any provisions or water liable to inspection under this section shall give the inspecting officer every reasonable facility for the purpose of his inspection under this section, and, if he refuses or fails to do so shall be liable for each offence on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.