Having officially been introduced on 1st January 2019, the new Intended Pleasure Vessels (IPV) Code has now been formally adopted, following the launch event held on Friday (10th January 2019). Providing a framework that enables pleasure vessels to act temporarily under commercial usage for specific and limited purposes, the new code is being promoted as a means of recognising the needs of owners and operators with regards the trialling and delivery of sea-going vessels.

The introduction of the new IPV Code means that UK vessels, and indeed non-UK pleasure vessels operating from UK ports while in UK waters, can be operated under temporary commercial use on a single-voyage basis by vessel owners, manufacturers, brokers, surveyors, or repairers for business purposes relating to repair, post-production, post-repair or mid-survey sea trials, customer sea trials, or vessel delivery outside the definition of ‘Pleasure Vessel’.

The new IPV Code has been established because there are often scenarios where vessels occasionally have to operate outside of the legal definition of ‘pleasure vessels’ (as listed above) meaning that they are technically under ‘commercial operation’. As clarified by British Marine, “Any time a leisure vessel is used not for the sport or leisure of the owner or his immediate family and friends, the vessel under law, is in in commercial use.”

Prior to the new code, the legal framework offered two scenarios; either Code the vessel under the relevant commercial vessel legislation or equivalent code such as MGN 280 or the coloured codes, or gain an individual vessel and journey exemption from the MCA. Both outlined options can prove not only costly, but impractical as they may result in altering certain aspects of the vessel in question’s status.

The introduction and implementation of the IPV code came after the MCA acknowledged that the options formerly available to the market were creating a serious burden and were impractical for the market to comply with. The code has been described by British Marine in a statement to the press as, ‘a huge step forward for the UK’s leisure marine sector.’

“The need for pleasure vessel users to have a simpler way of complying with existing regulations was identified. Working in partnership with the pleasure vessel community, and with the help of the consultation which ran in 2018, the code has been developed. This really is a positive step for pleasure vessel users and the wider community.”

- Brian Johnson, MCA chief executive, at the code’s official launch.

“The need for pleasure vessel users to have a simpler way of complying with existing regulations was identified,” says Brian Johnson, MCA chief executive, at the code’s official launch. “Working in partnership with the pleasure vessel community, and with the help of the consultation which ran in 2018, the code has been developed. This really is a positive step for pleasure vessel users and the wider community.”

“British Marine is delighted to have collaborated on this important and far-reaching development, which will have huge implications for many of our members across the sector”, says British Marine’s CEO, Lesley Robinson. “The introduction of the IPV Code paves the way for additional activity on a single-voyage basis without the need for additional external approval, streamlining processes and reducing costs.”

Applicable to sea-going vessels, the new code aims to alleviate the burden on the industry surrounding the delivery of a vessel.

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