CHAPTER 234 MERCHANT SHIPPING ACT to Regulate Merchant Shipping
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MERCHANT SHIPPING [CAP. 234. 1 CHAPTER 234 MERCHANT SHIPPING ACT To regulate merchant shipping. 6th April, 1973; 1st June, 1973; 13th August, 1974; 16th December, 1974; 8th November, 1986 ACT XI of 1973, as amended by Legal Notice No. 148 of 1975 and Acts: XI of 1977, XXXI of 1981, XIII of 1983, XXIV of 1986 and XXXVII of 1988; Legal Notices Nos. 37 of 1989 and 152 of 1989; Acts VIII and XXXVII of 1990, and XVII of 1991; Legal Notices Nos. 86 of 1993 and 125 of 1995; Acts XXIV of 1995 and XXII of 2000; Legal Notices 278 and 340 of 2002, and 361 of 2003; Acts XIII of 2004 and XIV of 2006; Legal Notices 181 of 2006, and 411 and 439 of 2007; by Resolution of the House of Representatives No. 329 of the 9th January, 2008; and Acts XV of 2009, and VII and VIII of 2010. ARRANGEMENT OF ACT Articles Part I. Preliminary 1-2 Part II. Registry 3-84 Registration of Maltese Ships 3-5 Registration fees 6-9 Procedure for registration 10-18A Certificate of registry 19-27 Closure of Registry 28-30 Transfer and Transmissions 32-37 Maritime Privileges and Mortgages 37A-49 Special Privileges 50-54A Name of Ship 55-56 Registry of alteration, Registry anew and Transfer of Registry 57-63 Declarations 64-65 Returns, Inspection of register, and Evidence 67-68 Forms 69 Forgery and false declarations 70-71 Flag and national character 72-76 Forfeiture of ship 77 Closure of registry 79 Measurements of ships and Tonnage 81-84 Part IIA. Bareboat Charter Registration 84A-84Y Part III. Shipping Companies and other Organisations 84Z-88A Part IV. Masters and Seamen 89-206 Certificates of Competency 89-98 Masters 99-105 Conditions for admission to employment 106-111 Engagement of seamen 112-122C 2 CAP. 234.] MERCHANT SHIPPING Articles Certification of able seamen and ship’s cooks 123-124 Discharge of seamen 125-130 Payment of wages 131-137A Rights of seamen in respect of wages 138-146 Power of Court to receive contracts 147 Accommodation, Provisions and Health 148-154 Facilities for making complaint 155 Deceased and distressed seamen and seamen left behind 156-168A Provisions as to discipline 169-182 Stowaways and seamen carried under compulsion 184-189 Official Logs 190-194 Identity Cards 195-203 Application of Part IV 204-206 Part V. Safety of Life at Sea 206A-308 1. Construction and Equipment of Ships 207-249 Rules as to construction, equipment and safety 207-213 Declarations of survey 214-216 Certificates in respect of ships 217-231 Enforcement of Rules 232-241 Foreign Safety Convention Ships 242-246 Exemption from safety requirements, and Interpretation 247-249 2. Load Line and Loading 250-277 General Provisions 250-251 Maltese ships 252-260 Foreign ships 261-266 Exemptions 267-271 Subdivision load lines and deck cargo 272-273 Miscellaneous and supplementary provisions 274-276 Ships not subject to load line provisions 277 3. Unseaworthy Ships 278-283C 4. Carriage of Dangerous Goods 284-291 5. Prevention of Collisions 292-297 6. Miscellaneous Provisions 298-308 Part VA. Prevention of Pollution From Ships 308A Part VI. Emigrant Ships 309-311 Part VII. Special Shipping Inquiries and Courts 312-329 Inquiries and investigations as to shipping casualties 312-317 Provisions as to certified officers 318-324 Rehearing of investigations and inquiries 325 Court of survey 326-328 Rules 329 Part VIII. Wreck and Salvage 330-346 Vessels in distress 330-334 Dealing with wreck 335-338 MERCHANT SHIPPING [CAP. 234. 3 Articles Removal of wrecks 339-341 Salvage 342-346 Part IX. Liability of Shipowners 347-362 Liability and limitation thereof 347-358 Apportionment of liability 359-362 Part X. General Provisions 363-374 Registrar-General and registrars 363-366 Surveyors of ships 367-369 Jurisdiction and proceedings 370-372C Application of Act to Foreign Ships by Order 373 Regulations, Rules and Orders 374-375 SCHEDULES First Schedule Registration fees Second Schedule Documents to be in the form prescribed by the Minister Third Schedule National Colours of Maltese Ships Fourth Schedule Form of Maltese Seaman’s Card Fifth Schedule Declaration in lieu of tax return in respect of a company owning and, or, operating an exempted ship. 4 CAP. 234.] MERCHANT SHIPPING PART I PRELIMINARY Short title. 1. The short title of this Act is Merchant Shipping Act. Interpretation. 2. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires or it Amended by: is otherwise expressly provided - XXXVII. 1988.4; XVII. 1991.82; "approved jurisdiction" means any member country of the XXII. 2000.3; XV. 2009.52; Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and any VIII. 2010.61. other country approved for the purposes of this Act by the Minister by notice; "Authority" means the Authority for Transport in Malta Cap. 499. established by the Authority for Transport in Malta Act; "clearance" includes a transire; "cargo ship" means every ship which is not a passenger ship, a fishing vessel or a pleasure yacht; "collision regulations" means the regulations made under article 292; "company" means a limited liability company; "consular officer" when used in relation to Malta, means the diplomatic or consular representative of the Government of Malta or a person serving in a diplomatic, consular or other foreign service of any country which, by arrangement with the Government of Malta, has undertaken to represent that Government’s interest; and when used in relation to any other country, means the officer recognised by the Government of Malta as a consular officer of the country; "court of survey" means the court established by article 326; "crew accommodation" includes sleeping rooms, mess rooms, sanitary accommodation, hospital accommodation, recreation accommodation, store rooms and catering accommodation provided for the use of seamen and apprentices, not being accommodation which is also used by, or provided for the use of, passengers; "effects" in relation to persons, includes clothes and documents belonging to such persons; "Gazette" means the Malta Government Gazette; "law" includes any instrument having the force of law; "Malta" has the same meaning as is assigned to it by article 124 of the Constitution of Malta; "master" includes every person (except a pilot) having command or charge of a ship; "Minister" means the Minister responsible for shipping and includes any person acting under his authority; "month" means calendar month; "name" in relation to a person, includes surname; MERCHANT SHIPPING [CAP. 234. 5 "Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development" means the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development established in 1961 under the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development; "passenger" means any person carried in a ship except - (a) persons employed or engaged in any capacity on board the ship on the business of the ship; (b) a person on board the ship either in pursuance of the obligation laid upon the master to carry shipwrecked, distressed or other persons, or by reason of any circumstances that neither the master nor the owner could have prevented or forestalled; and (c) a child under the age of one year; "passenger ship" means any ship which carries more than twelve passengers; "person" includes a body of persons; "pilot" means any person not belonging to a ship who has the conduct thereof; "prescribed" means prescribed by regulations, rules, orders or instructions under this Act; "proper officer" means an officer authorised in that behalf by the Minister or other appropriate authority; "proper return port" means either the port at which a seaman or an apprentice was shipped or a port in the country to which he belongs or some other port agreed to by the seaman or the apprentice; "radio navigation aid" means radio apparatus on board a ship being apparatus designed for the purpose of determining the position or direction of ships or other objects; "register" means the record to be kept by the registrar under article 365; "registered" means registered under this Act; "registrar" means a person appointed as registrar under article 364, and includes any person acting under his authority with the permission of the Registrar-General; "Registrar-General" means the Registrar-General of Shipping and Seamen as provided in article 363, and includes any person acting under his authority; "seaman" includes every person (except masters, pilots and apprentices) employed or engaged in any capacity on board a ship; "ship" means every description of vessel used in navigation, whether self propelled or not, and it includes barges, pontoons, floating establishments, installations or structures, oil rigs and other similar vessels, and for those parts of the Act wherever applicable it shall also include a ship under construction; "shipping master" means an officer in the office of the Registrar- 6 CAP. 234.] MERCHANT SHIPPING General designated by the Minister to perform the functions of shipping master under this Act and, whether such an officer has or has not been so designated, includes the Registrar-General; "surveyor of ships" and "surveyor" means a person appointed as a surveyor of ships under article 367; "tonnage regulations" means the regulations for ascertaining the tonnage of a ship made under article 81; "vessel" includes any ship or boat, or any other description of vessel used in navigation; "wages" includes emoluments. (2) Any notice required to be sent under this Act to the master, owner, or any other person representing the ship shall be deemed to have been duly received and notified if sent by registered post to the last address of the owner registered with the registrar. PART II REGISTRY Registration of Maltese ships Maltese ships. 3. (1) No ship, other than a ship exempted from registry, or a Amended by: ship referred to in subarticle (7), shall enjoy the rights and XXXVII.