European Communities (Safe Loading and Unloading of Bulk Carriers) Regulations, 2003

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Year: 2003
• Citation: IR SI 347/2003

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 purpose of giving effect to Directive 2001/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 December 20011 , as amended by Directive 2002/84/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 November 20022 hereby make the following regulations:
	Citation	1. (a) These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Safe Loading and Unloading of Bulk Carriers) Regulations 2003.
(b) These Regulations come into operation on 1 March 2004.
	Interpretation	2. (1) In these Regulations -
“authorised officer” means a person appointed under Regulation 16;
“BLU Code” means the Code of Practice for the Safe Loading and Unloading of Bulk Carriers, as contained in the Annex to Assembly Resolution A. 862 (20) of the International Maritime Organisation of 27 November 1997, as it stood on 4 December 2001;
“bulk carrier” has the meaning given to it by Regulation 1.6 of Chapter IX of the 1974 SOLAS Convention and interpreted by Resolution 6 of the 1997 Conference of Contracting Governments to the SOLAS Convention of November 1997 being one of the following-
(a) a ship constructed with single deck, top-side tanks and hopper-side tanks in cargo spaces and intended primarily to carry dry cargo in bulk, or
(b) an ore carrier, meaning a sea-going single deck ship having two longitudinal bulkheads and a double bottom throughout the cargo region and intended for the carriage of ore cargoes in the centre holds only, or
(c) a combination carrier as defined in Regulation 3.27 of Chapter II-2 of the 1974 SOLAS Convention ;
“cargo declaration form” has the meaning given to it by Regulation 8(5);
“competent authority” is to be construed in accordance with Regulation 4;
“Directive” means Directive 2001/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 December 2001 as amended by Directive 2002/84/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 November 2002;
“Directorate” means the Maritime Safety Directorate of the Department of Communications Marine and Natural Resources;
“dry cargo in bulk” has the same meaning as “solid bulk cargo”;
“information book” has the meaning given to it by Regulation 6(2);
“Marine Survey Office” means the Marine Survey Office of the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources;
“master” means the person who has command of a bulk carrier, or the ship's officer designated by the master to be responsible for loading or unloading the bulk carrier;
“Minister” means the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources;
“plan” has the meaning given to it by Regulation 10(1);
“quality management system” has the meaning given to it by Regulation 6(3);
“revised plan” has the meaning given to it by Regulation 10(4);
“SOLAS Convention” means the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974, (which was adopted on 1 November 1974 and entered into force on 25 May 1980, and was amended by Protocols adopted on 17 February 1978 (1978 SOLAS Protocol and 11 November 1988 (1988 SOLAS Protocol), and as amended by resolutions adopted by the IMO'S Maritime Safety Committee or by conferences of SOLAS Contracting Governments) in its up to date version;
“solid bulk cargo” means any material, other than liquid or gas, consisting of a combination of particles, granules or any larger pieces of material, generally uniform in composition which is loaded directly into the cargo spaces of a ship without any intermediate form of containment, but does not mean grain;
“terminal” means any fixed, floating or mobile facility equipped and used for the loading or unloading of dry cargo in bulk into or from bulk carriers;
“terminal operator” means the owner of a terminal, or any person to whom such an owner has transferred the responsibility for loading or unloading operations conducted at the terminal concerned for a particular bulk carrier;
“terminal representative” means a competent and experienced person appointed by a terminal operator, with overall responsibility for, and authority to control the preparation, conduct and completion of loading or unloading operations at the terminal concerned in relation to any bulk carrier.
(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the Directive has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Directive.
(3) A reference in these Regulations to -
(a) 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 provision is intended,
(b) 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 and
(c) an Article is a reference to an Article of the Directive, unless it is indicated that reference to some other Directive is intended.
	Scope	3. (1) These Regulations apply to -
(a) bulk carriers, irrespective of their flag state of registration, calling at a terminal for the loading or unloading of solid bulk cargoes, and,
(b) terminals in Member States visited by bulk carriers falling under the scope of the Directive.
(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of Regulation 7 of Chapter VI of the 1974 SOLAS Convention, these Regulation do not apply to terminals used only intermittently for loading and unloading dry cargo in bulk into or from bulk carriers, and do not apply where the loading or unloading is carried out solely with the equipment of the bulk carrier concerned.
	Competent authority	4. (1) The Directorate is designated as the competent authority in the State for the purposes of these Regulations and the Directive.
(2) A function conferred on the Directorate by these Regulations may be performed by an authorised officer.
	Requirements in relation to the operational suitability of bulk carriers	5. Before the loading or unloading of a solid bulk cargo onto or from a bulk carrier is commenced at a terminal, the terminal operator concerned must be satisfied that the bulk carrier complies with the requirements set out in Schedule 1.
	Requirements in relation to suitability of terminals	6. (1) Before the loading or unloading of a solid bulk cargo onto or from a bulk carrier is commenced at a terminal, the Terminal Operator concerned -
(a) must be satisfied that -
(i) the terminal complies with all of the requirements set out in Schedule 2,
(ii) information books are furnished to the master of the bulk carrier,
(iii) a quality management system for the terminal has been developed and implemented and is being maintained.
(b) a terminal representative is appointed.
(2) In these Regulations “information books” means documents containing the following as set out in Appendix 1, paragraph 1.2 of the BLU Code:
(a) requirements of the terminal,
(b) requirements of the Directorate,
(c) information on the terminal.
(3) (a) In these Regulations “quality management system” means a quality management system that is:
(i) certified in accordance with ISO 9001:2000, and
(ii) audited in accordance with ISO 10011:1991
(b) In paragraph (a), ISO 9001:2000 means the International Standard ISO 9001:2000 of the International Organisation for Standardisation and ISO 10011:1991 means the International Standard ISO 10011:1991 of the International Organisation for Standardisation.
(4) A terminal operator, in relation to the terminal which he or she owns or for which he or she is responsible shall -
(a) develop and implement a quality management system in respect of it before 1 March 2007,
(b) obtain certification of it under paragraph (3)(a)(i) before 1 March 2008.
	Temporary authorisation	7. (1) Subject to paragraph (2), a terminal operator may load or unload a bulk cargo at a newly established terminal and shall not be required to comply with Regulation 6(1)(a) during the period of 12 months from the establishment of the terminal concerned.
(2) If so requested by the Directorate at any time during the period of 12 months from the establishment of the terminal concerned, the terminal operator concerned shall furnish to it particulars of the quality management system that is proposed for that terminal.
	Responsibilities of Masters	8. (1) A master shall be responsible at all times for the safe loading and unloading of the bulk carrier under his command.
(2) As early as possible before the time that a bulk carrier is due to arrive at a terminal, its master shall provide the information set out in Schedule 3 to the terminal.
(3) Before any solid bulk cargo is loaded, the master of the bulk carrier concerned shall ensure that he or she has received the following from an appropriate person such as the shipper of the cargo-
(i) the cargo information as required by Regulation 2.2 of Chapter VI of the SOLAS Convention, and
(ii) where required, a solid bulk cargo density declaration which shall be contained in a cargo declaration form.
(4) Before loading or unloading starts, and during that loading or unloading, the master shall perform the duties set out in Schedule 4.
(5) In these Regulations, “cargo declaration form” means the form set out in Appendix 5 of the BLU code.
	Responsibilities of the Terminal Representative	9. (1) On receipt of the first notification from a bulk carrier of its estimated time of arrival at a terminal, the terminal representative for the terminal shall provide the master of the bulk carrier with the information set out in Schedule 5.
(2) The terminal representative for the terminal shall, as soon as possible, satisfy himself or herself that the master of the bulk carrier...