Merchant Shipping (Dangerous Goods) Rules, 1983

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 306/1983
• Year: 1983

S.I. No. 306 of 1983.
MERCHANT SHIPPING (DANGEROUS GOODS) RULES, 1983.
I, JAMES MITCHELL, Minister for Transport, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 38 of the Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Act, 1952 (No. 29 of 1952), the Transport, Fuel and Power (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order, 1959 ( S.I. No. 125 of 1959 ) and the Tourism and Transport (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order, 1980, ( S.I. No. 11 of 1980 ), hereby make the following Rules:—
PART I. General.
	1. (1) These Rules may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Dangerous Goods) Rules, 1983 ( S.I. No. 306 of 1983 ) and shall come into operation on the 1st day of December, 1983.
(2) In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires:
"the Blue Book" means the 1978 Report of the British Department of Trade's Standing Advisory Committee on the Carriage of Dangerous Goods in Ships;
"correct technical name" means a description of the goods sufficient to identify readily their dangerous characteristics, including any proper shipping name described in the IMDG Code;
"dangerous goods" means goods classified in the Blue Book, the IMDG Code or any other IMO publication specified below as dangerous for carriage by sea, and any other substance or goods the properties of which might be dangerous if that substance or those goods were carried by sea and includes empty receptacles, residues in empty tanks or cargo holds which have been used previously for the carriage of dangerous goods unless such receptacles, empty tanks or cargo holds have been cleaned and dried or ventilated as appropriate or when the properties of the former contents permit with safety, have been adequately closed, or in the case of radioactive substances have been both cleaned and adequately closed, but the expression shall not include goods forming part of the equipment or stores of the ship in which they are carried;
"dangerous goods declaration" means a certificate or declaration in writing that the shipment offered for carriage is properly marked or labelled in accordance with the provisions of these Rules and is packaged in such a manner as to withstand the ordinary risks of handling and transport by sea, having regard to the properties of the goods to be carried;
"durably marked" means that the label or other marking in accordance with the provisions of these Rules is such as to remain identifiable on packages which have been at least three months in the sea and "durable" shall be construed accordingly;
"employee" means a person (including the master but excluding dock workers or shore-based repair and other workers temporarily employed on board the ship) employed:
(a) in the navigational, engine room, radio, medical or catering department of a ship; or
(b) in the provision of goods, services or entertainment on board;
"flammable liquids" means liquids the flashpoint of which is at or below 60°C (closed cup) in respect of bulk cargoes and at or below 61°C (closed cup) in respect of packaged goods;
"freight container" means an article of transport equipment (other than a vehicle or packaging) used for the containment of cargo which is:
(a) strong enough for repeated use;
(b) capable of facilitating the transport of goods, by one or more modes of transport, without intermediate reloading; and
(c) capable of being readily handled, and of being secured during carriage, and having fittings for these purposes;
and includes any such container carried on a chassis;
"the IMDG Code" means the 1981 edition of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code published by IMO;
"IMO" means the International Maritime Organisation;
"IMO Bulk Dangerous Chemicals Code" means the 1980 edition of the IMO Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships carrying Dangerous Chemicals in Bulk;
"IMO Bulk Liquefied Gases Code for New Ships" means the 1976 edition of the IMO Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk;
"IMO Bulk Liquefied Gases Code for Existing Ships" means the 1976 edition of the IMO Code for Existing Ships carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk;
"IMO Solid Bulk Cargoes Code" means the 1980 edition of the IMO Code of Safe Practice for Solid Bulk Cargoes;
"loaded in bulk" means loaded directly into the structural cargo spaces of a ship without intermediate form of containment, and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing words, the expression includes a cargo of liquid or liquefied gas, or a cargo of solids in particle or granular form generally homogeneous in composition;
"Marine Notice" means a Notice described as such, issued by the Department of Transport;
"package" means an individual package or receptacle and includes a freight container or a portable tank or tank container or tank vehicle or other vehicle or other cargo unit containing dangerous goods for shipment;
"the Protocol of 1978" means the Protocol of 1978 relating to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974;
"safety explosives" means explosives of Class 1, Division 1.4 compatibility Group S in the IMDG Code;
"United Nations number" means the number allocated to dangerous substances or articles by the United Nations Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods and specified in their publication entitled "Transport of Dangerous Goods" published in 1977 by the United Nations Organisation.
(3) Any reference in these Rules to the Blue Book, the IMO Bulk Dangerous Chemicals Code, the IMO Bulk Liquefied Gases Code for New Ships, the IMO Bulk Liquefied Gases Code for Existing Ships, the IMO Solid Bulk Cargoes Code, the IMDG Code or the United Nations 1977 publication shall include a reference to any document amending or extending that publication which is specified in a Marine Notice.
(4) The Minister may grant exemptions from all or any of the provisions of these Rules (as may be specified in the exemption) for classes of cases or individual cases on such terms (if any) as he may so specify and may, subject to giving reasonable notice, alter or cancel any such exemption.
(5) The Merchant Shipping (Dangerous Goods) Rules, 1967 ( S.I. No. 105 of 1967 ) and the Merchant Shipping (Dangerous Goods) (Amendment) Rules, 1968 ( S.I. No. 179 of 1968 ) are hereby revoked.
	2. (1) These Rules apply to:
(a) ships registered in the State;
(b) other ships while they are loading or discharging cargo or embarking or disembarking passengers or bunkering or discharging fuel within the State or the territorial waters thereof.
(2) (a) In the case of a ship to which the Protocol of 1978 and the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 applies, where all dangerous goods are being carried or discharged in accordance with the law relating to the carriage by sea of such goods of the country in which the ship is registered and all the provisions of that law (in so far as the same are applicable) have been complied with, the provisions of Parts II and III of these Rules shall be deemed to have been complied with in relation to that ship.
(b) In the case of any other ship, the Minister may exempt that ship from any of the requirements of these Rules which are required to be complied with in relation to that ship if he is satisfied that the requirements of the law relating to the carriage by sea of dangerous goods of the country in which the ship is registered have been complied with and are not less effective than the requirements of Parts II and III of these Rules.
	3. (1) It shall be the duty of every shipowner or employer of persons aboard a ship registered in the State and, in respect of a ship registered outside the State, the master, to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare aboard ship of all employees and of other persons who may be affected by his acts or omissions in connection with the handling, stowage and transport of dangerous goods on the ship.
(2)...