The Merchant Shipping (Passenger Boarding Cards) Regulations 1988
These Regulations apply to United Kingdom passenger ships operating as passenger ships of Classes II and II(A), and require the operation of a boarding card system for all voyages on which passengers are carried. They require documentation to be retained for future inspection by persons duly authorised by the Secretary of State, and supplementary arrangements to be made for the determination of the numbers of passengers who remain on board the ship from a previous voyage. It is to be an offence under the Regulations for a ship to leave its berth before the total number of passengers on board has been determined by means of the boarding card system and the master informed. It is also to be an offence for any person to make a false statement in connection with the boarding card system, or to falsify the documentation.