S.I. No. 549 of 2003

European Communities (Ships' Reports) (Facilitation Forms) Regulations 2003

I, DERMOT AHERN, Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act, 1972 ( No. 27 of 1972 ), and for the purposes of giving effect to Directive 20002/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 February 2002^[1] hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation

1.       These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Ships' Reports) (Facilitation Forms) Regulations 2003.

Interpretation

2.         (1)      In these Regulations:

“Directive” means Directive 2002/6/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 February 2002 on reporting formalities for ships arriving in and/or departing from ports of the Members States of the Community;

“IMO FAL Convention” means the International Maritime Organisation's Convention on the Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic adopted by the International Conference on Facilitation of Maritime Travel and Transport on 9 April 1965;

“IMO FAL form” means a standardised IMO model facilitation form provided for under the IMO FAL Convention of the number described and of a technical specification in accordance with paragraph 1 of Part C of Annex I, or equivalent to the format reproduced in Annex II, to the Directive;

“reporting formality” means the information which may from time to time be required under the Customs Consolidation Act, 1876 (as amended) or otherwise for administrative and procedural purposes when a ship arrives in or departs from a port in the State;

“ship” means a seagoing vessel of any type operating in the marine environment.

(2)        A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in a Directive has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Directive.

(3)         In these Regulations --

(a)        a reference to a Regulation or a Schedule is a reference to a Regulation of, or a Schedule to, these Regulations, unless it is indicated that reference to some other Regulation is intended, and

(b)        a reference to a paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.

Scope

3.         These Regulations apply to reporting formalities for ships on arrival in and/or departure from ports in the State.

Ship's report/clearance inwards

4.         (1)       The reporting formalities for ships arriving in a port in the State may include:

(a)      IMO FAL form 1, general declaration,

(b)      IMO FAL form 3, ship's stores declaration,

(c)      IMO FAL form 4, crew's effects declaration,

(d)      IMO FAL form 5, crew list,

(e)      in the case of ships certified to carry 12 passengers or fewer, IMO FAL form 6, passenger list.

Ship's report/clearance outwards

5.         The reporting formalities for ships departing from a port in the State may include:

(a)        IMO FAL form 1, general declaration,

(b)        IMO FAL form 3, ship's stores declaration,

(c)        IMO FAL form 5, crew list,

(d)        in the case of ships certified to carry 12 passengers or fewer, IMO FAL form 6, passenger list.

Satisfaction of Reporting Formalities

6.           Where a reporting formality requires any or all of the information contained in an IMO FAL form specified in Regulation 4 or 5, no additional categories of information other than that specified in that IMO FAL form shall be required nor shall any additional document be required to satisfy that reporting formality.

Content and Signatories

7.          (1)      IMO FAL form 1, General Declaration shall contain full details of the particulars listed thereon dated and signed or otherwise authenticated by the master of the ship or by the ship's agent or by any other person duly authorised by the master.

(2)       IMO FAL form 3, ship's stores declaration shall contain full details of the particulars listed thereon dated and signed or otherwise authenticated by the master of the ship or by an officer of the ship duly authorised by the master and having personal knowledge of the facts regarding the ship's stores.

(3)       IMO FAL form 4, crew's effects declaration shall contain full details of the particulars listed thereon dated and signed or authenticated by the master or an officer of the ship duly authorised by the master, together with the signature or mark of a member of the ship's crew against the declaration relating to his effects.

(4)       IMO FAL form 5, crew list shall be completed, dated and signed or otherwise authenticated by the master of a ship or an officer of the ship duly authorised by the master.

(5)       IMO FAL form 6 shall be completed, dated and signed or otherwise authenticated by the master, the ship's agent or any other person duly authorised by the master.

Customs Consolidation Act, 1876 (as amended)

8.           Nothing in these Regulations shall prejudice the power of the Revenue Commissioners under sections 50 and 101 of the Customs Consolidation Act, 1876 (as amended) or of any other body to specify reporting formalities for ships arriving in or departing from a port in the State.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation)

These Regulations implement Directive 2002/6/EC on reporting formalities for ships arriving in and/or departing from ports in Ireland.

The International Maritime Organisation's Convention on Facilitation of Maritime Traffic, which was signed on 9 April 1965, recommends the use by national authorities of standardised forms to be filled in for ships to report when arriving in port and departing from port. These Regulations require authorities in Ireland, such as the Revenue Commissioners, to accept a set of common standardised IMO FAL forms when they require any or all of the information contained in those forms as part of the reporting formalities for a ship to arrive in and/or depart from a port in the State. Authorities in Ireland are not entitled to require categories of information other than those on the relevant IMO FAL forms. Nor are they entitled to require any other documents or formats to satisfy the particular formalities for which the IMO FAL forms specified in the Regulations are intended. They are however free to seek information relating to other topics and formalities not covered by the IMO FAL forms concerned.

Copies of these Regulations may be purchased from the Government Publications Sales Office, Sun Alliance House, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2.

^[1] O.J. No. L 67, 09.03.2002,p 31.