Unseaworthy Ships

Unseaworthy Ships

Unseaworthy ships not to be sent to sea

• A ship is “unseaworthy” within the meaning of this Act, when the materials of which she is made, her construction, qualifications of the Master, the number, description and qualifications of the crew including officers, the weight, the description and stowage of the cargo and ballast, the condition of her hull and equipment, boilers and machinery are not such as to render her in every respect fit for the proposed voyage or service.
• Every person who sends or attempts to send an Indian ship to sea from any port in India in such an unseaworthy state that the life of any person is likely to be thereby endangered shall, unless he proves that he used all reasonable means to ensure her being sent to sea in a seaworthy state or that her going to sea in such unseaworthy state was under the circumstances, reasonable and justifiable, be guilty of an offence under this section.
• Every Master of an Indian ship who knowingly takes such a ship to sea in such an unseaworthy state that the life of any person is likely to be thereby endangered shall, unless he proves that her going to sea in such unseaworthy state was, under the circumstances, reasonable and justifiable, be guilty of an offence under this section.
• For the purpose of giving such proof, every person charged under this section may give evidence in the same manner as any other witness.
• No prosecution under this section shall be instituted except by, or with the consent of, the Central Government.

Obligation of the Owner to crew with respect to seaworthiness

• In every contract of service, express or implied between the owner of an Indian ship and the Master or any seaman thereof, and in every contract of apprenticeship whereby any person is bound to serve as an apprenticeship on board any such ship, there shall be implied, notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary, an obligation on the owner that such owner and the Master and every agent charged with the loading of such ship or the preparing thereof for sea, or the sending thereof to sea, shall use all reasonable means to ensure the seaworthiness of such ship for the voyage at the time when such voyage commences, and to keep her in a seaworthy state during the voyage.
• For the purpose of seeing that the provisions of this section has been complied with, the Central Government may, either at the request of the owner or otherwise, arrange for a survey of the hull, equipment or machinery of any sea-going ship by a Surveyor. 

DETENTION OF UNSAFE SHIPS BY THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENTPower to detain unsafe ship and procedure for detention

Where an Indian ship in any port to which the Central Government may specially extend this section is an unsafe ship, that is to say, is by reason of the defective condition of her hull, equipment or machinery, or by reason of overloading or improper loading, unfit to proceed to sea without serious danger to human life, having regard to the nature of the service for which she is intended, such ship may be provisionally detained for the purpose of being surveyed and either finally detained or released as follows, namely:-

• The Central Government, if it has reason to believe, on complaint or otherwise, that any such ship is unsafe, may order the ship to be provisionally detained as an unsafe ship for the purpose of being surveyed.
• A written statement of the ground of such detention shall be forthwith served on the Master of such ship.
• When the Central Government provisionally orders the detention of a ship, it shall either refer the matter to the court of survey for the port where the ship is detained, or forthwith appoint some competent person to survey such ship and report thereon; and, on receiving the report, may either order the ship to be released or if in its opinion the ship is unsafe, may order her to be finally detained, either absolutely or until the performance of such condition with respect to the execution of repairs or alterations, or the unloading or reloading of cargo, as the Central Government thinks necessary for the protection of human life.
• Before an order for final detention is made, a copy of the report shall be served upon the Master of the ship, and within 7 days after such service, the owner or Master may appeal against such report, in the manner prescribed, to the court of survey for the port where the ship is detained.
• Where a ship has been provisionally detained and a person has been appointed under this section to survey such ship, the owner or Master of the ship, at any time before such person makes that survey, may require that he shall take with him as assessor such person as the owner or Master may select, being a person named in the list of assessors for the Court of survey or, if there is no such list, or if it is impracticable to procure the attendance of any person named in such list, a person of nautical, engineering or other special skill and experience. If the Surveyor and assessor agree that the ship should be detained or released, the Central Government shall cause the ship to be detained or released accordingly, and the owner or Master shall have no right of appeal. If the Surveyor and assessor differ in their report, the Central Government may act as if the requisition had not been made, and the owner or Master shall have a right of such appeal touching the report of the Surveyor as is provided in this section earlier.
• Where a ship has been provisionally detained, the Central Government may at any time if it thinks it expedient, refer the matter to the Court of survey for the port where the ship is detained.
• The Central Government may at anytime, if satisfied that a ship detained under this section is not unsafe, order her to be released either upon or without any conditions.

Any person appointed by the Central Government for the purpose (in this Act referred to as a detaining officer) shall have the same power as the Central Government has under this section of provisionally ordering the detention of a ship for the purpose of being surveyed, and of appointing a person to survey her, and if he thinks that a ship so detained by him is not unsafe, may order her to be released.

• Detaining officer shall forthwith report to the Central Government any order made by him for the detention or release of a ship.
• Ship detained under this section shall not be released by reason of her Indian register being subsequently closed.

COSTS OF DETENTION AND DAMAGES INCIDENTAL THERETOLiability of the Central Government for costs and damage when a ship is wrongly detained.If it appears that there was not reasonable and probable cause, by reason of the condition of the ship or the act or default of the owner or the Master, for the provisional detention of a ship, the Central Government shall be liable to pay to the owner of the ship his costs of and incidental to the detention and survey of the ship, and also compensation for any loss or damage as sustained by him by reason of the detention survey.
Liability of the shipowner for costs when a ship is rightly detained.If a ship is finally detained under this section, or if it appears that a ship provisionally was at the time of such detention unsafe, or if a ship is detained in pursuance of any provision of this Section which provides for the detention of a ship until a certain event occurs, the owner of the ship shall be liable to pay to the Central Government its costs of and incidental to the detention and survey of the ship, and the ship shall not be released until such costs are paid.
Application to ships other than Indian ships of provisions as to detentionWhen a foreign-flag ship, is in a port in India and is, whilst at that port, unsafe by reason of the defective condition of her hull, equipment or machinery, or by reason of overloading or improper loading, the provisions of this section with respect to the detention of ships shall apply to that ship, as if she were an Indian ship with the following modifications, namely:

• A copy of the order for the provisional detention of the ship, shall forthwith be served on the consular officer of that foreign country, to which the ship belongs at or nearest to the port in which such ship is detained;
• The consular officer, at the request of the owner or Master of the ship, may require that the person appointed by the Central Government to survey the ship shall be accompanied by such person as the consular officer may select, and in that case, if the surveyor and that person agree, the Central Government shall cause the ship, to be detained or released accordingly. However, if they differ, the Central Government may act as if the requisition had not been made, and the owner and Master shall have the like right of appeal to a Court of survey touching the report of the Surveyor as is herein before provided in the case of an Indian ship; and,
• Where the owner or Master of the ship appeals to the Court of survey, the consular officer, at the request of the owner or Master, may appoint a competent person to be an assessor in the case in lieu of the assessor who, if the ship were an Indian ship, would be appointed otherwise than by the Central Government.