174Purpose of Part

174 Purpose of Part The purpose of this Part is to establish an "owner onus" system for certain offences arising out of the operation of recreational vessels based on the principle that, if the identity of the master or person in charge is not established at the time the offence is detected, the owner should generally be liable for the offence unless that person can establish that they were not responsible for the vessel at the time of the offence and provide information sufficient to identify and locate who was.