47Courts may make order authorising issue of restricted mariners certificate

47 Courts may make order authorising issue of restricted mariners certificate

(1)  A court of petty sessions may, on an application under section 46 , make an order authorising the issue of a restricted mariners certificate if it is satisfied that –

(a) the applicant's disqualification is imposing or will impose severe and unusual hardship on the applicant or the applicant's dependants; and

(b) the restricted mariners certificate should be issued to mitigate or alleviate that hardship; and

(c) the issue of the restricted mariners certificate will not be contrary to the public interest.

(2)  However, the court is not to make an order under subsection (1) in respect of a conviction for an offence under this Act if –

(a) the offence was committed during any period of disqualification, or within 3 years after the end of any period of disqualification, imposed under this Act; or

(b) the offence was under section 13(1) or section 16(1) and the offender had alcohol in his or her blood of a concentration equal to or greater than 0.200 grams of alcohol in 210 litres of breath or 100 millilitres of blood; or

(c) the offence was an obstructive offence; or

(d) at the time of the offence the applicant was not authorised by a mariners certificate to operate, in the relevant capacity, the vessel in respect of which the offence was committed or cannot satisfy the court that he or she would, but for an unintentional failure to comply with an administrative requirement, have been so authorised to operate the vessel in that capacity at that time; or

(e) at the time of the offence the applicant was operating a vessel prescribed for this paragraph.

(3)  The court may make an order under subsection (1) on such terms as the court thinks fit and, without limiting the generality of this, may provide for a restricted mariners certificate to have general application or application that is qualified by such factors as time, geographic area or maritime activity.

(4)  MAST must, on application by a person in whose favour an order under has been made and on payment of the prescribed fee, if any, issue the person with a restricted mariners certificate that conforms with the terms of the order.