European Union (Marine Equipment) Regulations 2017.

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 177/2017

CONTENTS

Regulations

PART 1

General Provisions

1. Citation and commencement

2. Interpretation

3. Application

4. Requirements for marine equipment

5. Functioning of internal market

6. Transfer of a non-Union ship to the Irish flag

7. Market surveillance authority and competent authority

PART 2

Wheel Mark

8. Wheel mark

9. Rules and conditions for affixing wheel mark

PART 3

Obligations of Economic Operators

10. Obligations of manufacturers

11. Authorised representatives

12. Other economic operators

PART 4

Conformity Assessment and Notification of Conformity Assessment Bodies

13. EU declaration of conformity

14. Notifying authority

15. Notification

16. Application for notification

17. Subsidiaries of, and subcontracting by, notified bodies

18. Restriction, suspension or withdrawal of notification

19. Appeal against restriction, suspension or withdrawal of notification

20. Operational obligations of notified bodies

21. Appeal from decision of notified body

22. Obligation of notified bodies to provide information

PART 5

Union Market Surveillance, Control of Products and Safeguard Provisions

23. Union market surveillance framework

24. Procedure for dealing with marine equipment presenting risk at national level

25. Products presenting serious risk

26. Compliant products which present a risk to maritime safety, to health or to the environment

27. Formal non-compliance

28. Exemptions based on technical innovation

29. Exemptions for testing and evaluation

30. Exemptions in exceptional circumstances

PART 6

Inspections and Surveillance

31. Inspections and surveillance

32. Appointment of authorised officers

33. Powers of authorised officers

34. Compliance notice

35. Prohibition notice and measures entailing restriction

36. Right of appeal against prohibition notice and measures entailing restriction

37. Publication of information relating to prohibition or compliance notices and restriction measures

38. Giving of documents

39. Offences and penalties

40. Forgery

41. Offence by body corporate

42. Forfeiture and seizure

43. Costs of prosecutions

44. Prosecution of offences

PART 7

Revocations, Saver and Transitional Provisions

45. Revocations

46. Saver and transitional provisions

S.I. No. 177 of 2017

EUROPEAN UNION (MARINE EQUIPMENT) REGULATIONS 2017

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 2nd May, 2017.

I, SHANE ROSS, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, 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 2014/90/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 20141 and of giving further effect to Regulation (EC) No. 765/2008 of 9 July 20082 , hereby make the following regulations:

PART 1

General Provisions

Citation and commencement

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (Marine Equipment) Regulations 2017.

(2) These Regulations come into operation on 1 May 2017.

Interpretation

2. (1) In these Regulations—

“accreditation” has the meaning assigned to it by Article 2(10) of Regulation (EC) No. 765/20082;

“Accreditation Board” means the Irish National Accreditation Board being a committee of the Health and Safety Authority referred to in section 56A (inserted by section 32 of the Industrial Development (Forfás Dissolution) Act 2014 (No. 13 of 2014)) of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 (No. 10 of 2005);

“Annex” means an Annex to the Directive;

“authorised officer” means a surveyor of ships (within the meaning of section 2 of the Merchant Shipping Act 2010 (No. 14 of 2010)) or a person appointed under Regulation 32;

“authorised representative” means a person established within the Union who has received a written mandate from a manufacturer to act on behalf of the manufacturer in relation to specified tasks;

“Commission” means the Commission of the European Union;

“compliance notice” has the meaning given to it by Regulation 34;

“conformity assessment” means the process carried out by a notified body demonstrating whether marine equipment complies with the requirements of these Regulations;

“conformity assessment body” means a person who performs conformity assessment activities including calibration, testing, certification and inspection;

“Decision” means Decision No. 768/2008/EC of 9 July 20083 ;

“Directive” means Directive No. 2014/90/EU of 23 July 20141 on marine equipment and repealing Council Directive 96/98/EC4 ;

“distributor” means a person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or the importer, who makes marine equipment available on the market;

“economic operator” means a manufacturer, authorised representative, importer or distributor;

“EU declaration of conformity” means a statement issued by a manufacturer in accordance with Regulation 13;

“EU ship” means a ship, other than an Irish ship, which is registered in a Member State and which falls within the scope of the international conventions;

“IMO” means International Maritime Organisation;

“importer” means a person established within the Union who places marine equipment from a third country on the Union market;

“Irish ship” means a ship known as such under section 9 of the Mercantile Marine Act 1955 (No. 29 of 1955) that falls within the scope of the international instruments;

“making available on the market” means any supply of marine equipment on the Union market in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge;

“manufacturer” means a person who manufactures marine equipment or has marine equipment designed or manufactured, and markets that equipment under the manufacturer’s name or trademark;

“marine equipment” means equipment falling within the scope of these Regulations by virtue of Regulation 3;

“Marine Survey Office” means that part of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport which is known by that name;

“Minister” means Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport;

“notified body” means a conformity assessment body, notified to the Commission to carry out conformity assessment procedures, that has been granted notification—

(a) under Regulation 15, or

(b) by another Member State, and whose appointment has been notified to the Commission under Article 17 of the Directive;

“notifying authority” means the Minister;

“placing on the market” means the first making available of marine equipment on the Union market;

“product” means an item of marine equipment;

“prohibition notice” means a notice given to a person under Regulation 24, 25, 26 or 27, as the case may be;

“recall” means any measure aimed at achieving the return of marine equipment that has already been placed on board Irish ships or purchased with the intention of being placed on board Irish ships;

“Regulation (EC) No. 765/2008” means Regulation (EC) No. 765/20082 of 9 July 2008;

“Regulations of 2014” means the European Union (Marine Equipment) Regulations 2014 ( S.I. No. 540 of 2014 ) (amended by the European Union (Marine Equipment) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 ( S.I. No. 359 of 2015 ) and the European Union (Marine Equipment) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 ( S.I. No. 235 of 2016 ));

“Regulation of 2017” means Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/306 of 6 February 20175 indicating design, construction and performance requirements and testing standards for marine equipment;

“relevant period” means a period of at least 10 years after the wheel mark was affixed to the marine equipment concerned and not less than the expected life of the equipment;

“Union” means the European Union;

“Union harmonisation legislation” means any Union legislation harmonising the conditions for the marketing of products;

“wheel mark” means the symbol referred to in Article 9 of the Directive and set out in Annex I or, as appropriate, the electronic tag referred to in Article 11 of the Directive;

“withdrawal” means any measure aimed at preventing marine equipment in the supply chain from being made available on the market.

(2) A word or expression which is used in these Regulations and which is also used in the Directive has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Directive.

(3) Where a ship is managed by a person other than the owner (whether on behalf of the owner, some other person or on his or her own behalf), a reference in these Regulations to the owner is construed as including a reference to that person.

Application

3. These Regulations apply to marine equipment placed or to be placed on board an Irish ship and for which the approval of the Minister is required by the international instruments, regardless of whether the ship is situated in the State at the time when it is fitted with the equipment.

Requirements for marine equipment

4. (1) Marine equipment that is placed on board an Irish ship shall meet the design, construction and performance requirements of the international instruments applicable at the time when that equipment is placed on board.

(2) Compliance of marine equipment with the requirements referred to in paragraph (1) shall be demonstrated solely in accordance with the testing standards and by means of the conformity assessment procedures.

(3) A person who makes available on the market a product to which these Regulations apply in contravention of paragraph (1) is guilty of an offence.

Functioning of internal market

5. Nothing in these Regulations shall impede—

(a) the placing on the market or the placing on board an Irish ship of marine equipment which complies with these Regulations, or

(b) the issuing or renewal of the certificates relating thereto to an Irish ship.

Transfer of a non-Union ship to the Irish flag

6. (1) Where a...