1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 1987 and shall come into force on 1st June 1987.

2.  The Schedule to the Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) Regulations 1981(2)(b) shall be amended as follows:–

(a)in the scale of payments relating to the levying of light dues set out in Part I thereof there shall be added the following sub-paragraph in paragraph 5:–

"(c)for fishing vessels of 10 metres or more in length for each year a payment per vessel of £200 plus a payment of £20 for each metre of length in excess of 10 metres.";

(b)In Part II thereof:–

(i)in rule (1) for the proviso there shall be substituted:–

"Provided that in any year –

(a)no steamer shall be required to pay more than £24.22 per 10 tons and no sailing vessel shall be required to pay more than £12.11 per 10 tons;

(b)no fishing vessel shall be required to pay more than the amount referred to in paragraph 5(c) of the scale."

(ii)in rule (7) for the proviso there shall be substituted:–

"provided that a new vessel other than a fishing vessel shall pay only 86.5p per 10 tons for each month after the commencement of her first voyage till the first of April following and a new fishing vessel of 10 metres or more in length shall pay only one twelfth of the full annual rate in paragraph 5(c) of the scale for each month after the commencement of her first voyage till the first of June following."

(iii)In rule 9:–

(a)in paragraph (b) there shall be added at the end the following:–

"except for fishing vessels, when a year shall be reckoned from 1st June.".

(b)there shall be added the following paragraph:–

"(g)"length" in relation to a fishing vessel means the registered length shown in the vessel's certificate of registry and in relation to an unregistered vessel, means the length which would be the registered length if the vessel was registered under Part IV of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894: Provided that in calculating any payment of light dues where a fishing vessel's length is not a multiple of one metre, any excess not exceeding half a metre shall be rounded down and any excess over half a metre shall be rounded up to the nearest such multiple.".

(c)in Part III (Exemptions):–

(i)in the second exemption (for sailing ships and other small ships) the words "(not being fishing vessels)" shall be inserted after "all ships";

(ii)in the fifth exemption (for fishing vessels) the words "of less than 10 metres in length" shall be inserted after "vessels" where it first appears;

(iii)in the final exemption (yachts laid up), there shall be added at the end "and fishing vessels in respect of any year ending 31st May during the whole of which they are laid up".

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations provide for the first time for fishing vessels of ten metres or more in length to pay light dues. The rate is £200 per year per vessel of 10 metres or more in length with an extra £20 for each extra metre, above 10 metres.