---
title: "The Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) (Amendment) Regulations 2026"
id: c3980d1c-8f6f-477d-814a-c808af3a05e7
authority: uk
place: "United Kingdom"
applies_also_from: []
kind: regulation
in_force: true
publisher_url: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/234
attribution: "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
solon_url: https://solon.orangecat.ch/law/c3980d1c-8f6f-477d-814a-c808af3a05e7
language: en
in_force_from: 2026-04-01
date_basis: publisher
status: consolidated
source_url: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/234/data.xml
read_on: 2026-11-10
sha256: 7c145df44b9a3f16e549ad35f1fd973af6f53641a5a3de472246ef42e1bc5dd5
provisions: 3
---

# The Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) (Amendment) Regulations 2026

## Title and introductory text {#prelims}

This Statutory Instrument has been made in consequence of a defect in SI 2025/278 and is being issued free of charge to all known recipients of that Statutory Instrument.
2026 No. 234
MERCHANT SHIPPING
The Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
Made
4th March 2026
Laid before Parliament
9th March 2026
Coming into force
1st April 2026
The Secretary of State makes these Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 205(5) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.

## 1 Citation, commencement and extent {#regulation-1}

(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 and come into force on 1st April 2026.
(2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

## 2 Amendment of the Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) Regulations 2025 {#regulation-2}

(1) The Merchant Shipping (Light Dues) Regulations 2025 are amended as follows.
(2) In regulation 2 (interpretation), after the definition of “pleasure vessel” insert—
“registered length” means the measurement which—
is recorded as the registered length in a vessel’s certificate of registry issued under regulation 37 of the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Regulations 1993, in the case of a vessel which is registered in the United Kingdom,
is recorded as the registered length in any equivalent certificate issued in the case of a vessel which is registered outside the United Kingdom, or
would be recorded as the registered length if the vessel were registered in the United Kingdom, in the case of an unregistered vessel;
.
(3) In regulation 4 (periodical payments)—
(a) in paragraphs 3(a) and (b) and (4), for “load line” substitute “registered”;
(b) in paragraph (4), for “less than” substitute “not exceeding”.
(4) In regulation 5 (payments per voyage), for paragraph 2 substitute—
(2) The amount of light dues per voyage must be calculated on the basis of the tonnage of the ship—
(a) from 1st April 2026 at the rate of 46 pence per ton subject to—
(i) a minimum charge of £60, and
(ii) a maximum charge of £23,000;
(b) from 1st April 2027 at the rate of 47 pence per ton subject to—
(i) a minimum charge of £60, and
(ii) a maximum charge of £23,500.
.
(5) In Schedule 1 (vessels exempt from light dues)—
(a) in paragraph 5, for “load line” substitute “registered”;
(b) for paragraph 13, substitute—
13 Vessels arriving solely for the purpose of moderation, alteration or scrapping.
.