Maritime (Infringement Offences and Penalties) Regulations 2014 (No. 86 of 2014)

4/4 ILEGAL NoncE No. X6] MARITIME TRANSPORT DECREE 2013 (DECREE No. 20 OF 2(13) Maritime (Investigation and Inquiry Procedures) Regulations 2014 iN exercise of the powers conferred upon me by sections 240( I )(cc) of the Maritime Transport Decree 2013, I hereby make these Regulations Short Ii/Ie lIl/{l CO/I/II/CI/('t'JIICIl/ I. These Regulations may be cited as the Maritime (Investigation and Inquiry Procedures) Regulations 2014 and shall come into force on a date appointed by the Minister by notice in the Ga::.ctte. illtelprt'falillll 2. In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise reqllires,~ "Authority" means the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji; "authorised officer" means any person or persons as dcllned under section 2 of the Decree; "Chief Executive Offker" means the Chief Executive Officer of the Authority; "Decree" means the ivlaritime Transport Decree 2013; "investigation" and "inquiry" means an investigation and inquiry carried out pursuant to sections 45 and 46 of the Decree; "Investigation and Inquiry :~I/lanual" means the manual referred to in regulation 7(1); and "maritime document" means those documents that certify the seaworthiness of a ship and the suitability of a person to carry out the relevant maritime activity, and such documents il1cJude~ 415 (a) allY licence, permit, ccrtitir<1te or other document isslIed under Part 3 of the Decree to, or in respect or. any person, ship, cargo, maritime procedure, or maritime equipmellC and (h) any foreign licence, permit. certiticatc, or other document recognised by the Chief Executive Officer under section 25 of the Decree or accepted by the Chief Executive Officer under section 2() of the Decree. PIllPII,It' 3. The purpose of these Regulations is to set out the procedures to be followed by an authorised officer appointed under sections 45 and 46 of the Decree to carry out an (a) investigation into an accident. incident or mishap; nnd (b) inquiry into (i) a serious injnry or death on board a ship; (ii) instances where a seafarer belonging to a ship suffers serious injury or dies whilst away from the ship during the course of duty; and (iii) any other matter which in the opinion of Ihe Chief Executive Officer is in the public interest. Aill/.\, oh/cc/il'cs lIml ,'(Jllt/lle/ (~f itll'C.H;gll/ilJll.\ (/Jill ;IUII/ide,\' 4.-(1) Investigations and inquiries are to be conducted taking the following into consideration (a) establishment of the facts from the reported accident. incident, mishap, and death or serious injury on board a ship or whilst away from the ship during the course of duty; (b) outline of lessons learnt from the fact Ilnding process referred to in paragraph (a); (c) outline of precautionary measures necessary for the avoidance of recurrence of accidents, incidents, mishaps, serious injul)' and death on board a ship or whilst away from the ship during the course or duty; and (d) the Chief Executive Officer to be able to determine if any action is warranted with regards to the maritime doculllcnt of any person involved in the accident, incident, mishap, serious injury or death, on board a ship or whilst away from the ship during the course or duty. (2) The objective of an (a) investigation is to ascertain, as far as practicable, the cause and effect of an accident, incident or mishap; and (b) inquiry is to ascertain, as far as practicable, the cause and effect of scriOlIS injury or death caused on board a ship or caused upon a seafarer belonging to a ship whilst away from the ship or loss of a ship or property. 416 (3) An investigation or inquiry must be thorough and Ihe resulting report be lucid containing all relevant tlmlcrial. (4) Upon completion and submission or all investigation report, one or Illore of the following actions may be taken (a) marine inquiry under section 75 of the Decree; (h) suspension of a maritime document under sections 27 and 75A of the Decree: (e) revocation of a maritime docliment under sections 29 and 75A of the Decree: (d) prosecution; (e) in the case of involvement or a foreign ship or persons with foreign ccrtiflcatcs, action by the Administration of the cOlitHry involved; or (j) civil action in the courts of Fiji or elsewhere where the report can be tendered as evidencc. IIppl/ill/lllelll 5. An authorised officer appointed under seclion 45 of the Decree in form MSAF 1 as set out in the Schedule. shall for thaI purpose. report 10 the Chief Executive Officcr~ (a) the nature or causc of an accidcnt or damage to a ship; (b) whether or not the Decree or the Ship Registration Decree 2013 h:'lS been complied with; (c) whether or not a ship is lit to proceed to sea without serioLls danger to human life; and (d) whether or not a maritime document holder is a tit and proper person within the meaning nf section 32 of the Decree. Power.1 of lite (/1111101';.1('(/ (lttic('/' 6. An authorised offkcr may, for the purpose of conducting an investigation or inquiry, have the powers conferred to him or her under sections 46 and 47 of the Decree. h/\·{'.Ifiglllioll {1m/ il/t/lliFY 7 .~( 1) An authorised officer appointed by the Chief Executive Officer in accordance with section 45 of the Decree shall be requircd to comply with the procedures in the Authority's Investigation and Inquiry ivlanual. (2) Following his or her appointment, the authorised officer shall~ (oj within 48 Ius, make an assessment of the facts alleged and forward a preliminary report 10 the Chief Executive Oflker; (h) ensure that the Notice of Investigation, in form ivlSAF 3 as set out in the Schedule, is distributed as follows~ (i) 2 copies to each ship (ivlaster or Chief Engineer): 417 (ii) I copy each to the agent and owners or operators; and (c) ensure that the notice is posted at all shipping ofHces, C~) l-<'ollowing submission or a preliminary report under sub-regulation (2)(0), the authorised orneer shall be required to (a) familiarise himself or herself with all aV<lilable information on the accident, incident, mishap, serious injury or death, exercising due care so as not to prejudge the outcome of the investigation or inquiry; (h) prepare a schedule of interview and liaise with ship agents, ship owners and ship operators to ascertain availability of a ship and its personnel; and (c) prepare and issue Summons as set out in Schedule 3 of the Decree and form MSAF 2 to persons required to attend the interview, the service of which shall be required to bc carried out in the manner prescribed ullder section 273 of the Decree. (4) The Investigation and Inquiry Manual shall address the following subject matters­ (a) legal representation; (b) persons to be present during an interview; (c) manner of questioning; (d) qucstions to be asked; (c) documents to be produccd; and U) preparation of records of intervicw. (5) After having considered the preliminary report referred to in sub-regulation (2)(a), the Chief Executive Oflker may (a) detain a ship in accordance with the criteria sct out in Part 3 of the Decree; or (b) sllspend a person's maritime document, for the duration of the investigation or inquiry. Foreigll o\hip.\ 9. - ( I) \Vhen an accident, incident or mishap occurs to a foreign ship in Fiji waters or a request is received from the Flag Slate of the foreign ship, the Chief Executive Officer may conduct investigation or inquiry into the matter and shall immediately inform the Consul of the Flag State who may be required to participate in the investigation or inquiry. (2) \Vhere the master of a ship fails to cooperate with an investigation, the master and the ship may be detained until such time the investigation is completed. (3) In the case of an inquiry, section 14 of the Commissions of Inquiry Act (Cap. 47) shall apply. (4) An investigation or inquiry conducted under sub-regulation (2) shall be carried out without undue delay to the ship. 418 (5) Where sub-regulation (I) applies and the investigation or inquiry requires the detainment of a foreign ship or its crew, the Chief Executive Officer shall as soon as practicable, be required to inform the Consul of the Flag State when implementing the Authority's detention procedures over the ship or crew. IIII'£',\/igatioll and inquiry repllrt 10.-( I) At the conclusion of an investigation or inquiry, the authorised person shall send to the Chief Executive Officer the full investigation or inquiry report outlining (a) the summary of facts; (b) record of interviews; (c) coloured photos of all evidences (clearly marked for case of reference); (d) signed statements from experts; (e) summary of the applicable laws pertaining to the issues being investigated; (j) conclnsion; and (g) recommendations. (2) Upon receipt of a report under sub-regulatiOJ~ (1), the Chid' Executive Officer l1lay (a) suspend any maritime document pursuant to section 27 of the Decree; (b) revoke any maritime document or the recognition of any such document pursuant to section 29 of the Decree; or (e) request a marine inquiry in accordance with section 45(9) of the Decree. (3) In exercising sections 27 and 29 of the Decree, the Chief Executive Officer shall take heed of the criteria stipulated in section 31 of the Decree. (4) The authorised officer shall acquire an interpreter where or when necessary. COIllidCll/iali,.)' oj injorllla/iol/ 11.-(1) Any information obtained during the course of the investigation or inquiry by the authorised officer shall be confidential and shall not be disclosed to any third party. (2) The authorised officer shall not disclose any I1ndings of the investigation or matter revealed by the investigation or inquiry, other than by his or her report which shall be submitted to the Chief Executive Officer. Repeal 12. The Marine (Preliminary Investigation and Procedures) Regulations 1990 are hereby repealed. Made this 14th day of December 2014. P. TIKODUADUA Minister for Infrastructure and Transport 419 SCHEDULE FORM: MSAFI (ReglllationS) APPOINTlvlENT OF PERSON UNDER SECTION 45 OF THE MARITIME TRANSPORT DECREE 2013 Pursuant to section 45 of the Maritime Transport Decree 2013 r, ....... , ......................... hereby appoint .......................... to carry out an investigation/inquiry into the circumstances of ........ , .. , ..... , ... " . . " ..... " .......... " ............ . Dated this ........ " .. " .. " ... " .. " .. day of """."""".,, 20"""". FORJvI: MSAF 2 (Reglliation 7(3)( e)) FORM OF SUMMONS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER To [name (?lpersoll summoned and his or her calling (llld residence ijkl1own] You are hereby summoned to appear before ... , ...................... , ...... .Illume awl title of the authurised (~fficerl appointed under the Maritime Transport Decree 2013 to inquire ......... ................... f state bri~flY the slIb;eet afinqllir),] at [place] upon the ............... .. day of ...................... " .. 20 ............ ,at ............. /til1le}, and to give evidence in respect of such inquiry nrthe persoll SIl111111011ed has 10 produce allY document, add} and you are required to bring with YOli .. ", .. " ... , .. " ....... ,', ..... , ..... " .. {specifv the book or document required}, Dated this ......................... day of ............................................... , 20 ................. . 420 FORM: MSAF3 (!?('gu/alioo 7(2)(1») NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC OF INVESTIGATION/INQUIRY An il1vcstigationlinquiry has been ordered into the circuillstances attending the accident, incident and mishap, serious injury or death (I) The investigation is being conducted by (2) ..... " ...................................... " ....... " ............... . Any person having infofmatiollll1atcrial to the accident, incident and mishap or information that may assist in the investigation should contact (3) ...... ,,, ....... ,, ................................... ,,. The authorised officcrconuucting the investigation may be contacted by olle of the following means (aJ in person or via telephone to the Chief Executive Officer, Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji, Level 4 Kadavll HOllse, Suva; or (b) in writing to: Chief Execlitive Officer P.O. !lox 326 Suva, Fiji Note: (I) Enter description of accidellt, incident and mishap (2) & (3) Name of authorised officer investigating the accident, incident and mishap, or inquiring into the death or serious injury,