Some important provisions with respect to Safety
Power to enforce detention of ship
- Where under this Act a ship is authorized or ordered to be detained, any commissioned officer of the Indian Navy or any port officer, pilot, harbour master, Conservator of Port or Customs Collector may detain the ship.
- If any ship after detention, or after service on the Master of any notice of, or order for, such detention proceeds to sea before she is released by the competent authority, the Master of the ship shall be guilty of an offence under this sub-section.
- When a ship so proceeding to sea, when on board thereof in the execution of his duty any person authorised under this Act to detain or survey the ship, the owner, Master or agent of such ship shall each be liable to pay all expenses of, and incidental to, such person being so taken to sea and shall also be guilty of an offence under this sub-section.
- When any owner, or Master or agent is convicted of an offence under sub-section (3), the convicting Magistrate may inquire into and determine the amount payable on account of the expenses by such owner, Master or agent under that sub-section and may direct that the same shall be recovered from him in the manner provided for the recovery of fines.
Power to detain a foreign ship that has occasioned damage
- Whenever any damage has in any part of the world been caused to property belonging to the Government or to any citizen of India or a Company by a ship other than an Indian ship and at any time thereafter that ship is found within Indian jurisdiction, the High Court may, upon the application of any person who alleges that the damage was caused by the misconduct or want-of-skill of the Master or any member of the crew of the ship, issue an order directed to any proper officer or other officer named in the order requiring him to detain the ship until such time as the owner, Master or consignee thereof has satisfied any claim in respect of the damage or has given security to the satisfaction of the High Court to pay all costs and damages that may be awarded in any legal proceedings that may be instituted in respect of the damage, and any officer to whom the order is directed shall detain the ship accordingly.
- Whenever it appears that before an application can be made under this section, the ship in respect of which the application is to be made, will have departed from India or the territorial waters of India, any proper officer may detain the ship for such time as to allow the application to be made and the result thereof to be communicated to the officer detaining the ship, and that officer shall not be liable for any costs or damages in respect of the detention unless the same is proved to have been made without reasonable grounds.
- In any legal proceedings in relation to any such damage aforesaid, the person giving security shall be made a defendant and shall for the purpose of such proceeding be deemed to be the owner of the ship that has occasioned the damage.
INVESTIGATIONS AND INQUIRIES
Shipping Casualties and report thereof
- For the purpose of investigations and inquiries under this section, a shipping casualty shall be deemed to occur when –
- On or near the coasts (for all of these sections, includes the coasts of creeks and tidal rivers) of India, any ship is lost, abandoned, stranded or materially damaged;
- On or near the coasts of India, any ship causes loss or material damage to any other ship;
- Any loss of life ensues by reason of any casualty happening to or on board any ship on or near the coasts of India;
- In any place, any such loss, abandonment, stranding, material damage or casualty as mentioned above occurs to or on board any Indian ship, and any competent witness thereof is found in India;
- Any Indian ship is lost or is supposed to have been lost and any evidence is obtainable in India as to the circumstances under which she proceeded to sea or was last heard of.
In the cases mentioned in clauses (a), (b) and (c) of sub-section 1 above, the Master, pilot, harbour master or any other person in charge of the ship, or, where two ships are concerned, in charge of each ship at the time of the shipping casualty, and In the cases mentioned in clause (d) of sub-section 1, where the Master of the ship concerned or (except in the case of a loss) where the ship concerned proceeds to any place in India from the place where the shipping casualty has occurred, the Master of the ship, shall, on arriving in India, give immediate notice of the shipping casualty to the officer appointed in this behalf by the Central Government.
Report of Shipping Casualties to the Central government
- Whenever any such officer as mentioned in the previous section receives credible information that a shipping casualty has occurred, he shall forthwith report in writing the information to the Central Government; and may proceed to the make a Preliminary Inquiry into the casualty.
- An officer, making a Preliminary Inquiry as mentioned at “1” above, shall send a report thereof to the Central Government or such other authority as may be appointed by it in this behalf.
Power of the Central Government to direct inquiry into charges of incompetency or misconduct
- If the Central Government has reason to believe that there are grounds for charging any Master, mate or engineer with incompetency or misconduct, otherwise than in the course of a formal investigation into shipping casualty,
- If the Master, mate or engineer holds a certificate under this Act, in any case;
- If the Master, mate or engineer holds a certificate under the law of any country outside India, in any case where the incompetency or misconduct has occurred on board an Indian ship; may transmit a statement of the case to any court having jurisdiction under the section “Court empowered to make formal investigation” of this Act, which is at or nearest to the place where it may be convenient for the parties and witnesses to attend, and may direct that court to make an inquiry into that charge
- Before commencing the inquiry, the court shall cause the Master, mate or engineer so charged to be furnished with a copy of the statement transmitted by the Central Government.
Opportunity to be given to the person to make defenceFor the purpose of any inquiry under this section, into any charge against a Master, mate or engineer, the court may summon him to appear, and shall give him an opportunity of making a defence, either in person or otherwise.
Power to arrest witnesses and enter shipsIf any court making an investigation or inquiry under this section, thinks it necessary for obtaining evidence that any person should be arrested, it may issue a warrant for his arrest, and may, for the purpose of effecting the arrest, authorise any officer, subject, nevertheless, to any general or special, instructions from the Central Government, to enter any vessel and any officer so authorised may, for the purpose of enforcing the entry, call to his aid any officer of the police or customs or any other person.
Powers of the Central Government to cancel, suspend etc. certificate of the Master, mate or engineer Any certificate which has been granted by the Central Government under this Act to any Master, mate or engineer, may be cancelled or suspended for any specified period, by the Central Government, in the following cases:
- If, on an investigation made by any court, tribunal or other authority, reports that the Master, mate or engineer is incompetent or has been guilty of any gross act of misconduct, drunkenness or tyranny, or in a case of collision has failed to render assistance, or to give information to the Masters of the other ships the name of his own ship and the port to which she belongs, or that the loss, stranding or abandonment of, or damage to, any ship or loss of life has been caused by his wrongful act or default;
- If the Master, mate or engineer is proved to have been convicted: of any offence under this Act or of any non-bailable offence committed under any other law for the time being in force in India; or of an offence committed outside India, which, if committed in India, would be a non-bailable offence.
