51   Offence to operate unregistered vessel

(1)  The owner of a registrable vessel must not operate the vessel in State waters unless the vessel is registered under this Act and the owner is the holder of the vessel registration certificate.

(2)  The master of a registrable vessel must not operate the vessel in State waters if the vessel is not registered under this Act or is being operated in contravention of any conditions of its vessel registration certificate. It is a defence to a prosecution under this subsection if the master establishes that he or she did not have any reasonable cause to believe that the vessel was not registered or was being so operated.

Maximum penalty: 75 penalty units.

Note. The registration of a vessel is a marine safety licence—Part 4 deals with the grant of, and other matters relating to, any such licence. A contravention of the conditions of such a licence by the owner is an offence—see section 32.