Merchant Shipping Act (with its variations) is a stock

short title In certain jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and other Westminster system, Westminster-influenced jurisdictions (such as Canada or Australia), as well as the United States and the Philippines, primary legislation has both a short title an ...

used in

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

for legislation relating to

merchant shipping Maritime transport (or ocean transport) or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by watercraft has been widely used throughout recorded history, as it pro ...

. Merchant shipping acts and regulations also exist as well in other countries, and they are sometimes referred to as "Merchant Shipping Act" such as in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Each country has its specific rules regarding merchant shipping.

List

Malaysia

*The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Act 1994

United Kingdom

Merchant Shipping Act 1979 A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

(c. 39)Merchant Shipping Act 1979 as originally enacted
/ref> *The Merchant Shipping Act 1981 (c. 10) *The Merchant Shipping (Liner Conferences) Act 1982 (c. 37) *The Merchant Shipping Act 1983 (c. 13) *The Merchant Shipping Act 1984 (c. 5) *The Merchant Shipping Act 1985 *The Safety at Sea Act 1986 (c. 23) *The Merchant Shipping Act 1988 (c. 12) *The Merchant Shipping (Registration, etc.) Act 1993 (c. 22) *The Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Pollution) Act 1994 (c. 28) *The

Merchant Shipping Act 1995 The Merchant Shipping Act 1995 (c. 21) 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 t ...

(c. 21) *The Merchant Shipping and Maritime Security Act 1997 (c. 28) *The

Merchant Shipping (Pollution) Act 2006 The Merchant Shipping (Pollution) Act 2006 (c 8) is an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It has three main purposes: to give effect to the Supplementary Fund Protocol 2003, to give effect to A ...

(c. 8)

Merchant Shipping Act 1894

The Merchant Shipping Act 1894 ( 57 & 58 Vict. c. 60) consolidated a large number of previous merchant shipping laws into a single, large act. Laws it repealed included:

Merchant Shipping (Liability of Shipowners and others) Act 1900

The ( 63 & 64 Vict. c. 32) introduced new rules relating to the liability of shipowners and the liability of harbour conservation authorities. The section on liability of shipowners was superseded by the Merchant Shipping (Liability of Shipowners and Others) Act 1958, but the other sections remain in force.

"The Merchant Shipping Acts"

Each Merchant Shipping Act defines a

collective title A collective title is an expression by which two or more pieces of legislation may, under the law of the United Kingdom, be cited together. A famous example is the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949. Construction of references to citation with a group ...

beginning "Merchant Shipping Acts", including itself and other acts whose short titles include "Merchant Shipping"; for example "The Merchant Shipping Acts 1894 to 1994". The earliest act included is always the Merchant Shipping Act 1894.

References

{{UK legislation Lists of legislation by short title and collective title