Merchant Shipping Act 1995

The Merchant Shipping Act 1995 is an Act of Parliament passed in the United Kingdom in 1995. It consolidated much of the UK's maritime legislation, repealing several Acts in their entirety and provisions in many more, some dating back to the mid-nineteenth century. It appoints several officers of Admiralty Jurisdiction such as the Receiver of Wreck. The Act of 1995 updates the prior Merchant Shipping Act 1894. The lead part on British ships was impacted by the outcome of the Factortame case, as the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 was impugned by the Common Fisheries Policy.
Content of Act.
The Act comprises 316 sections divided into 13 Parts:
Part VIII: Lighthouses.
Part VIII of the Act provides the powers and duties of the general lighthouse authorities and local lighthouse authorities.
Part IX: Salvage and Wreck.
Receiver of Wreck is a post defined in Part IX of the Act. It is an official of the British government whose main task is to process incoming reports of shipwrecks in order to give legitimate owners the opportunity to retrieve their property and ensure that law-abiding finders of wreck receive an appropriate reward. According to the Act, a wreck falls into one of four categories:
Part XI: Accident Investigations and Inquiries.
Part XI of the Act provides the powers and duties of the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.
Subsequent amendments.
The Merchant Shipping (Pollution) Act 2006 amended section 178(1) of the Act. It restricts claims to being enforced within three years of the damage occurring, whereas previously it had been restricted to within three years after "the claim against the Fund arose", and within six years of the damage occurring.
The Marine Navigation Act 2013 made four changes to the Act: 