The Act Detention of vessels in connection with court proceedings Section 36 – Power to detain vessels in connection with court proceedings
118.Section 36 makes provision for BSFOs to detain a vessel either to ensure the attendance of the alleged offenders in court where the BSFO believes that the offender will not attend court unless the vessel is detained or believes a court will order the vessel to be detained following a conviction and a fine. This power may be used where a BSFO has reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence has been committed by the owner, master or charterer of a fishing vessel and there is a real risk that the alleged offenders will not attend court unless the vessel is detained in port.
119.Section 36(2) provides that a BSFO may take, or may arrange for others to take, a vessel and its crew to the nearest convenient port for the purposes of detaining it. It allows a BSFO to give instructions to anyone who appears to be in charge of the vessel to take it and its crew, to port.
120.Section 36(4) and (5) requires a BSFO to serve a notice of detention on the person who appears to be in charge of the vessel, which must include the reasons for detaining it and the circumstances under which it may be released. A notice of detention under section 36(4) must be withdrawn if any ground of release specified in section 37(5) applies.