Merchant Shipping Act, 1951

Act 57 of 1951

This is the latest version of this Act.

Citation: Act 57 of 1951
Date: 1 November 2004
Language: English
Type: Act

Merchant Shipping Act, 1951

Act 57 of 1951

Published in South African Government Gazette 4684 on 24 August 1951
Assented to on 27 June 1951
There are multiple commencements

Provisions	Status
Section 1–3; Chapter I (section 4–9); Chapter II, section 10–51, section 52–67; Chapter III (section 73–89); Chapter IV (section 90–189); Chapter V (section 190–263); Chapter VI (section 264–292); Chapter VII, section 293–304, section 305–306; Chapter VIII (section 307–311); Chapter IX, section 312–343, section 344–353; Chapter X, section 354–356, section 357–358	commenced on 1 January 1960 by Proclamation 298 of 1959.
Chapter II, section 68–72	commenced on 1 November 1961 by Proclamation R92 of 1961.
Chapter X, section 356bis	commenced on 10 May 1963 by Act 40 of 1963.
Chapter IX, section 343bis	commenced on 13 March 1968 by Act 13 of 1965.
Chapter VII, section 304A	commenced on 17 March 1976 by Act 5 of 1976.
Chapter II, section 51A	commenced on 3 June 1977 by Act 70 of 1977.
Chapter II, section 72A	commenced on 13 February 1981 by Act 3 of 1981.

[This is the version of this document from 1 November 2004 and includes any amendments published up to 23 August 2024.]

[Amended by Merchant Shipping Amendment Act, 1959 (Act 30 of 1959) on 1 May 1959]
[Amended by Commonwealth Relations Act, 1962 (Act 69 of 1962) on 20 June 1962]
[Amended by Merchant Shipping Amendment Act, 1963 (Act 40 of 1963) on 10 May 1963]
[Amended by Substitution for the International Regulation for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1948, of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1960 (Proclamation R228 of 1965) on 24 September 1965]
[Amended by Unemployment Insurance Act, 1966 (Act 30 of 1966) on 1 January 1967]
[Amended by Substitution for the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1948, of the International Convention for the Safety of life at Sea, 1960 (Proclamation R12 of 1968) on 13 March 1967]
[Amended by Merchant Shipping Amendment Act, 1965 (Act 13 of 1965) on 13 March 1968]
[Amended by Substitution for the International Convention Respecting Load Lines, 1930, of the International Convention on Load Lines, 1966 (Proclamation R280 of 1968) on 27 September 1968]
[Amended by Merchant Shipping Amendment Act, 1969 (Act 42 of 1969) on 7 May 1969]
[Amended by Births, Marriages and Deaths Registration Amendment Act, 1970 (Act 58 of 1970) on 1 February 1972]
[Amended by Amendment of the International Convention on Load Lines, 1966 (Proclamation R209 of 1972) on 1 September 1972]
[Amended by Merchant Shipping Amendment Act, 1974 (Act 24 of 1974) on 13 March 1974]
[Amended by Merchant Shipping Amendment Act, 1976 (Act 5 of 1976) on 17 March 1976]
[Amended by Merchant Shipping Amendment Act, 1977 (Act 70 of 1977) on 3 June 1977]
[Amended by Substitution for the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1960, of the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (Proclamation R107 of 1977) on 15 July 1977]
[Amended by Merchant Shipping Amendment Act, 1978 (Act 62 of 1978) on 17 May 1978]
[Amended by Native Laws Amendment Proclamation, 1979 (Proclamation AG3 of 1979) on 1 August 1978]
[Amended by Substitution for the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1960, of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 (Proclamation R203 of 1980) on 24 October 1980]
[Amended by Merchant Shipping Amendment Act, 1981 (Act 3 of 1981) on 13 February 1981]
[Amended by Modifications and additions to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 (Proclamation R168 of 1982) on 10 September 1982]
[Amended by Merchant Shipping Amendment Act, 1982 (Act 3 of 1982) on 1 October 1982]
[Amended by Admiralty Jurisdiction Regulation Act, 1983 (Act 105 of 1983) on 1 November 1983]
[Amended by Addition of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978 as a schedule to the Act (Proclamation R71 of 1984) on 28 April 1984]
[Amended by Merchant Shipping Amendment Act, 1985 (Act 25-SA of 1985) on 12 July 1985]
[Amended by Addition of the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969, as set out in the Schedule to the Merchant Shipping Act, 1951 (Proclamation R162 of 1985) on 20 September 1985]
[Amended by Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 1986 (Act 1 of 1986) on 4 July 1986]
[Amended by Transport Advisory Council Act, 1987 (Act 58 of 1987) on 15 October 1987]
[Amended by Merchant Shipping Amendment Act, 1989 (Act 3 of 1989) on 8 March 1989]
[Amended by Merchant Shipping Act, 1991 (Act 7 of 1991) on 5 June 1991]
[Amended by Namibian Ports Authority Act, 1994 (Act 2 of 1994) on 1 March 1994]
[Amended by Wreck and Salvage Act, 2004 (Act 5 of 2004) on 1 November 2004]

[brought into force in South Africa and South West Africa, with the exceptions of sections 68-72, on 1 January 1960 by SA Proc. 298/1959 (SA GG 6337); remaining sections brought into force in South Africa and South West Africa on 1 November 1961 by RSA Proc. 92 /1961 (RSA GG 94) (see section 3(1) of Act)][APPLICABILITY TO SOUTH WEST AFRICA: Section 3(1), as amended by Act 69 of 1962 and prior to its post-independence repeal by Act 7 of 1991, stated “This Act and any amendment thereof shall apply to the Territory of South West Africa and the port and settlement of Walvis Bay, and the said territory shall for the purposes of this Act be deemed to form part of the Republic.” Prior to its repeal, section 3(1) also expressly confirmed “the competency of the Legislative Assembly for the said Territory to make Ordinances dealing with matters relating to sealing and sea fisheries and the licensing of vessels engaged in sealing and sea fishing, in the exercise of its powers under section twenty-five of the South-West Africa Constitution Act, 1925 (Act No. 42 of 1925), as extended by section thirteen bis of the Sea Fisheries Act, 1940 (Act No. 10 of 1940), as inserted by section three of the Sea Fisheries Amendment Act, 1949 (Act No. 58 of 1949), nor the validity of any such Ordinances made before the coming into operation of any of the provisions of this Act.”][TRANSFER TO SOUTH WEST AFRICA: The relevant Transfer Proclamation is the Executive Powers (Transport) Transfer Proclamation, AG 14 of 1978, dated 15 March 1978. However, section 3(1)(c) of this transfer proclamation excluded this Act from the operation of section 3(1) of the Executive Powers Transfer (General Provisions) Proclamation, AG 7 of 1977, meaning that the administration of the Act was not transferred to South West Africa.]ACTTo provide for the control of merchant shipping and matters incidental thereto.(Afrikaans text signed by the Governor-General)BE IT ENACTED by the King’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate and the House of Assembly of the Union of South Africa, as follows:-[Act 30 of 1959 amends the Act throughout to substitute “Secretary” for “Director”.
Act 40 of 1963 amends the Act throughout to substitute “Republic” for “Union” and “State President” for “Governor-General”.
Act 3 of 1981 amends the Act throughout to substitute “Director-General” for “Secretary”.
Act 7 of 1991 makes the following substitutions throughout the Act: (a) “President” for “State President”; (b) “Permanent Secretary” for “Director-General”; (c) “the official language” for “either of the official languages” and “one of the official languages”; (d) “Namibian” and “non-Namibian” for “South African” and “non-South African”, respectively; (e) “Ministry of Health and Social Services” for “Department of Health”; (f) “the High Court” for “the superior court within whose area of jurisdiction the port of registry of the ship is situated”, “the superior court within the area of jurisdiction of which that person resides”, “superior courts”, “a superior court”, “any superior court”, “the Supreme Court”, wherever they occur, and for the words “any court” in section 44; (g) “Namibia” for “the Republic”; (h) “State Revenue Fund” for “Consolidated Revenue Fund” in section 323(3); (i) “Transnamib Limited” for “the Railway Administration” in section 3(3) and “Transnamib Limited” and “it” for “the Railway Administration” and “that Administration”, respectively.
These substitutions have not been applied to the Schedules, which reproduce international documents.]

PRELIMINARY

1. Repeal and amendment of laws

The laws mentioned in the First Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed or amended to the extent set out in the fourth column of that Schedule: Provided that until all the provisions of this Act have been brought into operation in terms of section three hundred and fifty-eight, any provision of any such law which corresponds to a provision of this Act which has not yet been so brought into operation shall, in so far as it is not inconsistent with any provision of this Act which has been so brought into operation, continue to apply in relation to the ships in respect of which the provisions of this Act which have been so brought into operation apply, and in relation to the owners, masters, seamen and apprentice-officers of such ships as if this section had not been enacted.[Section 1 is amended by Act 30 of 1959 to add the proviso. A colon has been added accordingly.]

2. Definitions and interpretation of certain references

(1)In this Act, unless the context indicates otherwise -“apprentice-officer” means an indentured apprentice to the sea service;“cadet” means an unindentured apprentice to the sea service;“cargo ship safety construction certificate” means a certificate issued under sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (1) or sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (2) of section one hundred and ninety-three, or deemed in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (b) of sub-section (1) of section two hundred and two to have been so issued;[definition of “cargo ship safety construction certificate” inserted by Act 13 of 1965]“cargo ship safety equipment certificate” means a certificate issued under sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (1) or sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (2) of section one hundred and ninety-three, or deemed in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (b) of sub-section (1) of section two hundred and two to have been so issued;[definition of “cargo ship safety equipment certificate” inserted by Act 13 of 1965]“cargo ship safety radiotelegraphy certificate” means a certificate issued under sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (3) or item (i) of sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (4) of section one hundred and ninety-three, or deemed in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (b) of sub-section (1) of section two hundred and two to have been so issued;[definition of “cargo ship safety radiotelegraphy certificate” inserted by Act 13 of 1965]“cargo ship safety radiotelephony certificate” means a certificate issued under sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (3) or item (ii) of sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (4) of section one hundred and ninety-three, or deemed in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (b) of sub-section (1) of section two hundred and two to have been so issued;[definition of “cargo ship safety radiotelephony certificate” inserted by Act 13 of 1965]“carrier” includes the owner or the charterer who enters into a contract of carriage with a shipper;“clearance” includes any clearance or transire referred to in the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No. 91 of 1964);[The definition of “clearance” is amended by Act 30 of 1959 and substituted by Act 5 of 1976. The Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964 has been replaced by the Customs and Excise Act 20 of 1998.]“coasting ship” means a ship employed in plying between ports in the same country, but does not include any fishing, sealing or whaling boat;[definition of “coasting ship” amended by Act 30 of 1959]“collision regulations” means the regulations made under paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 356 to give effect to the relative provisions of the International Collision Regulations Convention Act 40 of 1963, and Annexures thereto, or such regulations as applied under subsection (3) of that section;[definition of “collision regulations” amended by Act 40 of 1963 and by Act 3 of 1982; not all changes made by Act 3 of 1982 indicated by amendment markings][definition of “Commonwealth ship” deleted by Act 69 of 1962]“conditions of assignment” means such of the load line regulations as are made to give effect to the relative provisions of the Load Line Convention and Annexes thereto, or such regulations as applied under sub-section (3) of section three hundred and fifty-six;[definition of “conditions of assignment” substituted by Act 13 of 1965]“construction regulations” means the regulations made under paragraph (a) of sub-section (2) of section three hundred and fifty-six to give effect to the relative provisions of the safety Convention, or such regulations as applied under sub-section (3) of the said section;[definition of “construction regulations” amended by Act 30 of 1959 and substituted by Act 13 of 1965]“contract of carriage” applies only to contracts of carriage covered by a bill of lading or any similar document of title, in so far as such document relates to the carriage of goods by sea, including any bill of lading or any similar document as aforesaid issued under or pursuant to a charter party from the moment at which such bill of lading or similar document of title regulates the relations between a carrier and a holder of the same;“country to which the Load Line Convention applies” means -(a)a country the Government of which has been declared by the President, by proclamation in the Gazette, to have ratified or acceded to the Load Line Convention, and has not been so declared to have denounced that Convention; or(b)a country to which it has been so declared that the Load Line Convention has been applied under the provisions of the relative Article thereof, not being a country to which it has been so declared that that Convention has ceased to apply under the provisions of that Article;[paragraph (b) of the definition of “country to which the Load Line Convention applies” substituted by Act 13 of 1965]“country to which the Safety Convention applies” means -(a)a country the Government of which has been declared by the President, by proclamation in the Gazette, to have accepted the Safety Convention, and has not been so declared to have denounced that Convention; or(b)a territory to which it has been so declared that the Safety Convention has been extended under the provisions of the relative Article thereof, not being a territory to which it has been so declared that that Convention has ceased to extend under the provisions of that Article;[paragraph (b) of the definition of “country to which the Safety Convention applies” substituted by Act 13 of 1965]“crew accommodation” includes sleeping rooms, store rooms, galleys, mess rooms, sanitary accommodation, hospitals and recreation spaces provided for use by or for the benefit of seamen and apprentice-officers;“dangerous goods” means goods which by reason of their nature, quantity or mode of stowage, are either singly or collectively liable to endanger the lives or the health of persons on or near the ship or to imperil the ship, and includes all substances within the meaning of the expression “explosives” as used in the Explosives Act, 1956 (Act No. 26 of 1956), as amended, and any other goods which the Minister by notice in the Gazette may specify as dangerous goods;[definition of “dangerous goods” amended by Act 30 of 1959]“deck line” means a mark on each side of a ship indicating the position of the uppermost complete deck, as defined by the load line regulations;[definition of “Director” deleted by Act 30 of 1959][definition of “Director-General” inserted by Act 3 of 1981 and deleted by Act 7 of 1991]“equipment” includes boats, tackle, pumps, apparel, furniture, life-saving appliances of every description, spars, masts, rigging and sails, fog signals, lights and signals of distress, medicines and medical and surgical stores and appliances, charts, radio apparatus, apparatus for preventing, detecting or extinguishing fires, buckets, compasses, axes, lanterns, loading and discharging gear and apparatus of all kinds, and all other stores or articles belonging to or to be used in connection with, or necessary for, the navigation and safety of a ship;“exemption certificate” means a certificate issued under paragraph (c) of section one hundred and ninety-two, sub-paragraph (a) or (b) of paragraph (2) or sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (4) of section one hundred and ninety-three, or deemed in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (a) or (b) of sub-section (1) of section two hundred and two to have been so issued;[definition of “exemption certificate” inserted by Act 13 of 1965]“fishing boat” means any ship engaged in sea fishing for financial gain or reward, but does not include any sealing boat or whaling boat;[definition of “fishing boat” amended by Act 30 of 1959 and substituted by Act 13 of 1965]“foreign country” means a country which is not a treaty country;[definition of “foreign country” amended by Act 69 of 1962]“foreign-going ship” means -(a)a ship plying between a port in one country and a port in another country; or(b)[paragraph (b) deleted by Act 30 of 1959](c)[paragraph (c) deleted by Act 30 of 1959](d)a whaling boat other than a shore-based whaling boat;“foreign ship” means a ship other than a treaty ship;[definition of “foreign ship” amended by Act 69 of 1962]“freight” includes passage money and hire;[definition of “general safety certificate” deleted by Act 13 of 1965]“goods” includes all animals, matter or things, save that in Chapter VIII “goods” does not include animals or cargo which by a contract of carriage it is provided shall be carried on deck and is so carried;“International Collision Regulations Convention” means the convention set out in the Third Schedule to this Act;[definition of “International Collision Regulations” substituted by Act 40 of 1963 and amended by Act 3 of 1982]“international load line certificate” means a certificate issued under paragraph 1 of section 207, or deemed in accordance with the provisions of section 215 (1) to have been so issued and includes an international load line exemption certificate;[definition of “international load line certificate” inserted by Act 13 of 1965 and substituted by Act 42 of 1969]“international load line exemption certificate” means a certificate issued under section 204(1)(a);[definition of “international load line exemption certificate” inserted by Act 42 of 1969]“international load line ship” means a load line ship of 24 metres or more in length, which is engaged on an international voyage;[definition of “international load line ship” substituted by Act 42 of 1969 and by Act 5 of 1976]“international voyage”, when used with reference to ships registered in a country to which the Load Line Convention applies, means a voyage from a port in one country to a port in another country, either of those countries being a country to which the Load Line Convention applies, and when used with reference to ships registered in a country to which the Safety Convention applies, means a voyage from a port in one country to a port in another country either of those countries being a country to which the Safety Convention applies; and “short international voyage” means an international voyage· in the course of which a ship is not more than two hundred nautical miles from a port in which the passengers and crew could be placed in safety, and which does not exceed six hundred nautical miles in length between the last port of call in the country in which the voyage begins and the final port of destination; and in the application of this definition -(a)no account shall be taken of any deviation by a ship from her intended voyage due solely to stress of weather or any other circumstance which neither the master nor the owner nor the charterer (if any) of the ship could have prevented or forestalled; and(b)every colony, overseas territory, protectorate, territory for whose international relations a State that has accepted the Safety Convention is responsible, territory for which the United Nations are the administering authority, and territory administered by a State in whose favour a mandate thereover was issued by the Council of the former League of Nations, shall be deemed to be a separate country;[definition of “international voyage” amended by Act 7 of 1991 to delete the proviso]“life-saving equipment regulations” means the regulations made under paragraph (a) of sub-section (2) of section three hundred and fifty-six to give effect to the relative provisions of the Safety Convention, or such regulations as applied under subsection (3) of the said section;[definition of “life-saving equipment regulations” amended by Act 30 of 1959 and substituted by Act 13 of 1965]“load lines” means the marks indicating the several maximum depths to which a ship is entitled to be loaded in various circumstances prescribed by the load line regulations;“load line certificate” means an international load line certificate or a local load line certificate;[definition of “load line certificate” substituted by Act 13 of 1965]“Load Line Convention” means the convention set out in the Fourth Schedule to this Act;[definition of “Load Line Convention” substituted by Act 40 of 1963][definition of “load line convention certificate” deleted by Act 13 of 1965]“load line exemption certificate” means an international load line exemption certificate or a local load line exemption certificate;[definition of “load line exemption certificate” inserted by Act 42 of 1969]“load line regulations” means the regulations made under paragraph (c) of sub-section (2) of section three hundred and fifty-six to give effect to the relative provisions of the Load Line Convention and Annexes thereto, or such regulations as applied under sub-section (3) of the said section;[definition of “load line regulations” substituted by Act 13 of 1965]“load line ship” means any ship of 14 metres or more in length, which is not solely engaged in fishing and is not a pleasure yacht;[definition of “load line ship” substituted by Act 42 of 1969 and by Act 5 of 1976]“local general safety certificate” means a certificate issued under section 194(1)(a) or (b)(ii);[definition of “local general safety certificate” substituted by Act 42 of 1969]“local load line certificate” means a certificate issued under paragraph 2 of section 207 and includes a local load line exemption certificate;[definition of “local load line certificate” substituted by Act 42 of 1969]“local load line exemption certificate” means a certificate issued under section 204(1)(b);[definition of “local load line exemption certificate” inserted by Act 42 of 1969]“local load line ship” means a load line ship (a)engaged on an international voyage and of less than 24 metres in length; or(b)not engaged on an international voyage;[definition of “local load line ship” substituted by Act 42 of 1969 and by Act 5 of 1976]“local safety certificate” means a local general safety certificate or a local safety exemption certificate;[definition of “load safety certificate” substituted by Act 13 of 1965]“local safety exemption certificate” means a certificate issued under sub-paragraph (i) of paragraph (b) of sub-section (1) of section one hundred and ninety-four;“master” means, in relation to a ship, any person (other than a pilot) having charge or command of such ship;“medical practitioner” means -(a)at a place in Namibia, a person registered as such under the Medical, Dental and Supplementrary Health Service Professions Act, 1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974); or[The word “Supplementary” in the phrase “Supplementary Health Service Professions Act” is misspelt in the Government Gazette, as reproduced above. Medical practitioners in Namibia are now registered under the Medical and Dental Act 10 of 2004.](b)at a place outside Namibia, a person who is entitled to practise as such under the law in force in that place;[definition of “medical practitioner” substituted by Act 5 of 1976]“Minister” means the Minister of Works, Transport and Communication;[definition of “Minister” amended by Act 30 of 1959, Act 3 of 1981 and Act 7 of 1991]“Namibian ship” means a ship registered in Namibia in terms of this Act or deemed to be so registered;[definition of “Namibian ship” inserted by Act 7 of 1991]“nautical mile” means a distance of 1 852 metres;[definition of “nautical mile” inserted by Act 3 of 1981]“near relative” in relation to a seaman means the wife or parent or a grandparent, child, grandchild, brother or sister of the seaman or the guardian or the person having the custody of a child of the seaman;“officer of customs” means an officer as that expression is defined by section 1 of the Customs and Excise Act, 1964 (Act No. 91 of 1964);[The definition of “officer of customs” is amended by Act 30 of 1959 and substituted by Act 5 of 1976. The Customs and Excise Act 91 of 1964 has been replaced by the Customs and Excise Act 20 of 1998.]“owner” means any person to whom a ship or a share in a ship belongs;[definition of “part of the Commonwealth” deleted by Act 69 of 1962]“passenger” means any person carried in a ship, except -(a)a person 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 circumstance that neither the master nor the owner nor the charterer (if any) could have prevented; and(c)a child under one year of age;“passenger ship” means a ship which carries more than twelve passengers;“passenger ship safety certificate” means a certificate issued under paragraph (a) or (c) of section one hundred and ninety-two, or deemed in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (a) of sub-section (1) of section two hundred and two to have been so issued;[definition of “passenger ship safety certificate” inserted by Act 13 of 1965][definition of “passenger ship’s exemption certificate” deleted by Act 13 of 1965]“Permanent Secretary” means the Permanent Secretary: Works, Transport and Communication;[definition of “Permanent Secretary” inserted by Act 7 of 1991]“port”, in relation to -(a)a port in a country other than Namibia, means a place, whether proclaimed a public harbour or not, and whether natural or artificial, to which ships may resort for shelter or to ship or unship goods or passengers;(b)a port in Namibia means the Walvis Bay port or the Lüderitz port as defined in Schedule 1 to the Namibian Ports Authority Act, 1994, or a fishing harbour contemplated in the Sea Fisheries Act, 1992 (Act 29 of 1992), or any place which has under this Act or any other law been designated as a place from or at which any vessel or a vessel of a particular type may be launched, beached, moored or berthed;[The definition of “port” substituted by Act 25 of 1985, and amended by Act 17 of 1991 and by Act 2 of 1994. The the Sea Fisheries Act 29 of 1992 has been replaced by the Marine Resources Act 27 of 2000,]“port of registry” means, in relation to a ship, the port at which she is registered or is to be registered;“prescribed” means prescribed by this Act;“principal officer” means the officer in charge of the section 31 of the office of the Marine Division of the Department of Transport at a port;[definition of “principal officer” inserted by Act 24 of 1974]“proper officer” means the officer designated by the Permanent Secretary to be the proper officer at the place or in respect of the area and in respect of the matter to which reference is made in the provision of this Act in which the expression occurs; or if no such designation has been made -(a)at a place in Namibia, a principal officer or, where there is no principal officer, the Controller of Customs and Excise; or(b)at a place outside Namibia but within a treaty country, in the following order:(i)a career consular representative of Namibia; or(ii)a diplomatic representative of Namibia; or(iii)the person who, in terms of the law in force in the treaty country, is entrusted with the function or charged with the duty to which reference is made in the provision of this Act in which the expression occurs; or(iv)a consular representative of a treaty country (other than Namibia); or(v)a diplomatic representative of a treaty country (other than Namibia); or(c)at a place outside any treaty country, the person, and in the order, indicated, in sub-paragraphs (i), (ii), (iv) and (v) of paragraph (b); or(d)at a place outside Namibia, where there is no proper officer as defined in paragraph (b) or (c), any master of a Namibian ship who is specially authorized in writing to act as proper officer by the Permanent Secretary, but only in relation to the functions and duties in respect of which, and subject to the conditions subject to which, he has been so authorized to act;[definition of “proper officer” amended by Act 69 of 1962, Act 42 of 1969 and Act 24 of 1974]“proper return port”, in relation to a master, seaman or apprentice-officer discharged or left behind, means (a)the port at which the master, seaman or apprentice-officer was engaged; or(b)a port in a country in which the master, seaman or apprentice-officer is domiciled; or(c)a port agreed to as such by the master, seaman or apprentice-officer,as decided by the proper officer;[definition of “qualified local safety certificate” deleted by Act 13 of 1965][definition of “qualified safety certificate” deleted by Act 13 of 1965][definition of “qualified safety equipment certificate” deleted by Act 13 of 1965][definition of “qualified safety radio exemption certificate” deleted by Act 13 of 1965][definition of “qualified safety radiotelegraphy certificate” deleted by Act 13 of 1965][definition of “qualified safety radiotelephony certificate” deleted by Act 13 of 1965]“radio” includes radiotelegraphy and radiotelephony;“radio regulations” means the regulations made under paragraph (a) of sub-section (2) of section three hundred and fifty-six to give effect to the relative provisions of the Safety Convention, or such regulations as applied under sub-section (3) of the said section;[definition of “radio regulations” substituted by Act 13 of 1965]“recognized non-Namibian”, used in relation to a safety convention certificate or an international load line certificate, signifies that the certificate has been issued by or under the authority of the Government of a country other than Namibia to which the Safety Convention or the Load Line Convention, as the case may be, applies, and that the certificate complies with the regulations made under paragraph (a) of sub-section (2) of section 356 to give effect to the relative provisions of the Safety Convention or with those made under paragraph (c) of that subsection to give effect to the relative provisions of the Load Line Convention, respectively;[definition of “recognized non-Union” amended by Act 40 of 1963, to become a definition of “recognized non-South African”, substituted by Act 13 of 1965 and then amended by Act 7 of 1991 to become a definition of “recognized non-Namibian”]“register tons” and “register tonnage” mean, in relation to a Namibian ship, the tonnage of the ship, either gross or net as the case may be, recorded in the register mentioned in section fifteen; and in the case of any other ship, the tonnage accepted or determined by the Minister, Permanent Secretary or proper officer;“regulation” means a regulation made under this Act;“Safety Convention” means the convention set out in the Second Schedule to this Act;[definition of “Safety Convention” substituted by Act 40 of 1963]“safety convention certificate” means a passenger ship safety certificate, a cargo ship safety construction certificate, a cargo ship safety equipment certificate, a cargo ship safety radiotelegraphy certificate, a cargo ship safety radiotelephony certificate or an exemption certificate;[definition of “safety convention certificate” substituted by Act 13 of 1965][definition of “safety equipment certificate” deleted by Act 13 of 1965][definition of “safety equipment exemption certificate” deleted by Act 13 of 1965][definition of “safety radio exemption certificate” deleted by Act 13 of 1965][definition of “safety radiotelegraphy certificate” deleted by Act 13 of 1965][definition of “safety radiotelephony certificate” deleted by Act 13 of 1965]“savings bank” means the Post Office Savings Bank, or a banking institution registered under the Banking Act, 1965 (Act No. 23 of 1965), or a building society registered under the Building Societies Act, 1986 (Act 2 of 1986), or, in respect of the allotment of premiums, a person registered or deemed to be registered as an insurer under the Insurance Act, 1943 (Act No. 27 of 1943), or any other body designated by the Minister;[The definition of “savings bank” is substituted by Act 5 of 1976 and amended by Act 7 of 1991. The Banks Act 23 of 1965 (the reference to the “Banking Act” is incorrect) has been replaced by the Banking Institutions Act 2 of 1998. The Insurance Act 27 of 1943 has been replaced by the Short-term Insurance Act 4 of 1998 and the Long-term Insurance Act 5 of 1998.]“sealing boat” means any ship exclusively employed in seal-catching;[definition of “sealing boat” amended by Act 30 of 1959]“seaman” means any person (except a master, pilot or apprentice-officer) employed or engaged in any capacity as a member of the crew of a ship;[definition of “Secretary” inserted by Act 30 of 1959 and deleted by Act 3 of 1981]“ship” means any vessel used for transportation or for any other purpose on or under the surface of the water;[definition of “ship” amended by Act 25 of 1985]“ship’s officer” means a navigating officer or engineer officer, whether certificated or uncertificated, employed as such on board a ship, but does not include a master; and any reference to a ship’s officer shall, in its application to a ship in which a mate, boatswain, marine engineman or assistant marine engineman is employed, be construed as including a reference to a mate, boatswain, marine engineman or assistant marine engineman;“shore-based whaling boat” means a whaling boat which delivers the whole of its catch to be processed in a factory established ashore in Namibia;[definition of “short voyage safety certificate” deleted by Act 13 of 1965]“small vessel” means a vessel of less than twenty-five gross tons and of more than three metres in length;[definition of “small vessel” inserted by Act 3 of 1981][definition of “South African ship” deleted by Act 7 of 1991]“special load line certificate” means a certificate issued under sub-section (1) of section two hundred and seventeen;“sport or recreation” means any sporting or recreational activity carried on in, on or under the water, irrespective of whether that activity is of a competitive nature or whether prizes are involved, provided it is not carried on for commercial purposes;[definition of “sport or recreation” inserted by Act 25 of 1985][definition of “superior court” substituted by Act 5 of 1976, amended by Act 105 of 1983 and deleted by Act 7 of 1991]“surveyor” means any person recognized or appointed in terms of section 4(b) or any qualified person employed as surveyor by an organization referred to in an instrument of delegation issued under section 4(d);[definition of “surveyor” substituted by Act 42 of 1966]“this Act” includes any proclamation, notice, rule or regulation issued or made thereunder;“timber cargo regulations” means the regulations made under paragraph (c) of sub-section (2) of section three hundred and fifty-six to give effect to the relative provisions of the Load Line Convention, or such regulations as applied under sub-section (3) of the said section;[definition of “timber cargo regulations” substituted by Act 13 of 1965]“Tonnage Convention” means the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969;[definition of “Tonnage Convention” inserted by Act 25 of 1985]“treaty country”, in relation to any provision of this Act, means Namibia and any country, including any colony, protectorate or territory subject to the authority or under the suzerainty of such country or any territory over which a mandate or trusteeship is exercised by such country, which is a party to any bilateral treaty or agreement entered into by Namibia in connection with any matter dealt with in such provision;[definition of “treaty country” inserted by Act 69 of 1962]“treaty ship” means a ship registered at any place in a treaty country under the relative laws in force at that place or any ship which by the law of a treaty country is recognized as a ship belonging to that treaty country;[definition of “treaty ship” inserted by Act 69 of 1962]“unseaworthy”, used in relation to a vessel, means that she -(a)is not in a fit state as to the condition of her hull, equipment or machinery, the stowage of her cargo or ballast, or the number or qualifications of her master or crew, or in any other respect, to encounter the ordinary perils of the voyage upon which she is engaged or is about to enter; or(b)does not comply with the conditions of assignment to the extent set forth in paragraph (c) of section two hundred and seven; or(c)is loaded beyond the limits allowed -(i)by a load line certificate issued in Namibia under this Act; or(ii)if she is a load line ship, registered in a country in which the Load Line Convention applies, by a recognized non-Namibian international load line certificate; or(iii)by a load line certificate to which a notice issued under section two hundred and eighteen applies:Provided that a safety convention ship not registered in Namibia, in respect of which a recognized non-Namibian safety convention certificate is produced, shall not be deemed unseaworthy, as regards the condition of her hull, equipment or machinery, unless it appears, on the report of a surveyor, that she cannot proceed to sea without danger to human life owing to the fact; that the actual condition of her hull, equipment or machinery does not correspond substantially with the particulars stated in the certificate;[definition of “unseaworthy” amended by Act 40 of 1963 and by Act 13 of 1965]“vessel” includes any ship, or any boat, small vessel or other description of vessel used or designed to be used in navigation;[definition of “vessel” amended by Act 3 of 1981]“wages” includes any emoluments;“whaling boat” means any ship engaged exclusively in whale-catching, or on which any processing takes place of the bodies or any portion of the bodies of the whales caught by other whaling boats;“wreck” includes flotsam, jetsam, lagan and derelict found in or on the shores of the sea or of any tidal waters of Namibia, any portion of a ship or aircraft lost, abandoned, stranded or in distress, any portion of the cargo, stores or equipment of such ship or aircraft and any portion of the personal property on board such ship or aircraft when it was lost, abandoned, stranded or in distress and belonged to any person who was on board that ship or aircraft at that time;“year” means the calendar year, but for the purpose of the inspection ofvessels required by this Act it means twelve calendar months from the date of the certificate of inspection or survey.

(2)[subsection (2) deleted by Act 69 of 1962]

(3)Whenever in this Act reference is made to -

(a)an act or omission by or a duty resting upon or a fault committed by a vessel; or

(b)damage or loss suffered by a vessel; or

(c)a liability resting upon a vessel,

such reference shall, unless the context indicates otherwise, be construed as a reference to -

(i)an act or omission by or a duty resting upon or a fault committed by the person responsible for the navigation of the vessel in connection with the navigation thereof; or

(ii)damage or loss suffered by the owner or the person having an interest in the vessel or her cargo or freight, in connection with the vessel or her cargo or freight; or

(iii)a liability resting upon the person in charge of the vessel or upon the person who in law is answerable for the conduct of the person in charge of the vessel, in connection with such conduct, respectively.

(4)In this Act references to a ship built before or after any date shall be construed as references to a ship the keel of which has been laid before or after that date, as the case may be.

(5)Any reference in this Act to an entry of an occurrence or other fact in the official log-book of a ship shall, in the application of the provision in which the reference occurs to a ship for which no official log-book is kept, be construed as a reference to a record of such occurrence or fact made otherwise than in an official log-book.

(6)Any reference in this Act to any order or entry made or document issued under any provision of this Act shall, unless otherwise indicated, be construed as including a reference to an order or entry made or document issued under the corresponding provision of any law repealed by section one.

3. Application of Act

(1)[subsection (1) amended by Act 69 of 1962 and deleted by Act 7 of 1991]

(2)[subsection (2) amended by Act 69 of 1962 deleted by Act 7 of 1991]

(3)This Act shall bind the State: Provided that the Minister may by notice direct that sections one hundred and two to one hundred and nine, inclusive, one hundred and thirteen, one hundred and twenty to one hundred and twenty jour, inclusive, one hundred and thirty-three, one hundred and thirty-four, one hundred and forty-five, one hundred and eighty-eight and three hundred and twenty-three shall not apply in respect of the master, seamen or apprentice-officers of any ship named in the notice and belonging to the Government of Namibia (including Transnamib Limited), whose conditions of service are governed by laws other than this Act or statutory regulations other than regulations made under this Act.[subsection (3) amended by Act 40 of 1963]

(4)Unless otherwise indicated, those provisions of this Act which apply to vessels which are registered or licensed in Namibia or which in terms of this Act are required to be so registered or licensed shall so apply wherever such vessels may be.

(5)Unless otherwise indicated, those provisions of this Act which apply to vessels other than those referred to in subsection (4) shall so apply only while such vessels are within Namibia or the territorial waters thereof.

(6)The provisions of this Act shall not apply to ships belonging to the defence forces of Namibia or of any other country.[subsection (3) substituted by Act 13 of 1965]

(7)The provisions of this Act shall apply to any vessel or ship contemplated in section 68(3)(b) as if such vessel or ship were licensed in terms of this Act.[subsection (7) amended by Act 30 of 1959 and by Act 25 of 1985]

(8)The Minister may by notice in the Gazette declare that any of the provisions of this Act which are by that proclamation specified; subject to the exemptions, modifications and restrictions so specified, and which do not by virtue of the other provisions of this Act apply to a particular ship or to ships of a particular class, category or tonnage, shall apply to that ship or to ships of that class, category or tonnage: Provided that provisions which in terms of this Act apply only to Namibian ships shall not by any such notice be applied also to ships not registered in Namibia and vice versa.[subsection (8) amended by Act 30 of 1959]

(9)The Minister may by notice in the Gazette declare that any of the provisions of this Act which are by that proclamation specified, subject to the exemptions, modifications and restrictions so specified, shall apply to any dams or other inland waters so specified.[subsection (9) amended by Act 30 of 1959]

(10)If it has been made to appear to the Minister that the Government of any country other than Namibia is desirous that any of the provisions of this Act, which do not apply to the ships of that country should so apply, and there are no special provisions in this Act for that application, the Minister may by notice in the Gazette declare that such of those provisions as are by that notice specified (subject to the limitations, if any, contained therein) shall apply to the ships of that country and to the owners, masters, seamen and apprentice-officers of those ships, when not locally within the jurisdiction of the government of that country, in the same manner in all respects as if those ships were ships registered in Namibia; and thereupon the provisions so specified shall, subject to such limitations, if any, so apply.[subsection (10) amended by Act 30 of 1959]

(11)If the Minister is satisfied -

(a)that ships registered in any country other than Namibia are required by the law in force in that country to comply with any provisions which are substantially the same as, or equally effective with, any of the provisions of this Act which apply to such ships while they are within Namibia or the territorial waters thereof; and

(b)that that country has made or has undertaken to make provision for the exemption of Namibian ships while they are within that country or the territorial waters thereof from the corresponding requirements of the law of that country,

he may by notice in the Gazette declare that the said provisions of this Act shall not apply to any ship of that country, while she is within Namibia or its territorial waters, if it is proved that the ship complies with the corresponding provisions of the law in force in that country; and thereafter upon such proof being furnished, the said provisions of this Act shall not apply to such ship.[subsection (11) substituted by Act 40 of 1963]

Chapter I
Administration

4. Powers of Minister

The Minister may -

(a)subject to the laws governing the public service, appoint such officers as he considers necessary for the administration of this Act;

(b)recognize or, subject to the laws governing the public service, appoint as a ship surveyor, engineer surveyor or radio or other surveyor any qualified person whom he deems fit to act as such for the purposes of this Act;

(c)by notice in the Gazette declare a port in Namibia to be a port of registry for the registration of ships;

(cA)subject to such conditions as may be determined by him exempt any person from any of or all the provisions of the regulations made under section 356;[paragraph (cA) inserted by Act 5 of 1976]

(d)delegate any of his powers under this Act (except the power of delegation) to any officer or organization with respect to the powers or matters specified or the port or area defined in the instrument of delegation.

[paragraph (d) substituted by Act 42 of 1969]

5. Permanent Secretary to be responsible for administration of Act

(1)The Permanent Secretary shall, subject to the control of the Minister, be responsible for the administration of this Act, and shall have the control of all matters incidental thereto.

(2)The Permanent Secretary shall, subject to the provisions of this Act or any other law, have such powers and perform such duties as are assigned to him by the Minister.

(3)All powers conferred and all duties imposed upon the Permanent Secretary may be exercised or performed by the Permanent Secretary personally or by an officer or, with respect to conditions prescribed under section 68(3)(b), by a person or organization under a delegation from or under the control or direction of the Permanent Secretary.[section 5 substituted by Act 30 of 1959 and amended by Act 25 of 1985]

6. National Marine Advisory Council, National Advisory Council for the welfare of merchant seamen, port welfare committees and ad hoc advisory committees

[All references to the National Marine Advisory Council and the National Advisory Council for the welfare of merchant seamen have been removed from this section but the heading has not been amended accordingly.]

(1)[subsection (1) substituted by Act 5 of 1976 and deleted by Act 58 of 1987]

(2)[subsection (2) deleted by Act 30 of 1959]

(3)[subsection (3) amended by Act 30 of 1959 and deleted by Act 58 of 1987]

(4)[subsection (4) substituted by Act 5 of 1976 and deleted by Act 58 of 1987]

(5)[subsection (5) deleted by Act 30 of 1959]

(6)The Minister may at any port in Namibia appoint a port welfare committee for the purposes of collecting information on the conditions in which seamen in the port live, advising departments of State, the local authority of the port and bodies engaged in promoting the welfare of seamen at the port as to the application, adaption and co-ordination of measures for the improvement of such conditions, and collaborating in the carrying out of such measures.[subsection (6) amended by Act 40 of 1963]

(7)The Minister may from time to time appoint a committee for the purpose of advising him in regard to any particular matter dealt with by this Act and referred to it.

(8)The members of every port welfare committee and every committee referred to in sub-section (7) shall be appointed by the Minister in accordance with the regulations, and the said councils and committees shall perform their functions in accordance with the regulations.[subsection (8) amended by Act 30 of 1959 and by Act 58 of 1987]

(9)There shall be paid to members of any port welfare committee and any committee appointed under sub-section (7) such allowances towards subsistence and transport as may be prescribed by the regulations made under this Act, or, if they are members of the public service, such allowances towards subsistence and transport as are prescribed by or under the laws governing the public service.[subsection (9) amended by Act 30 of 1959 and by Act 58 of 1987]

(10)In sub-section (6) the expression “seamen” includes all persons who are or have been employed, or are seeking employment, in any capacity on board any ship.[subsection (10) inserted by Act 30 of 1959]

7. Survey of ship to ascertain whether she complies with the Act

Subject to the provisions of this Act, a surveyor may inspect any Namibian ship wherever she may be or any ship not registered in Namibia while she is within Namibia or the territorial waters of Namibia for the purpose of ascertaining whether she complies with the provisions of this Act.

8. Duty of proper officer to ensure compliance with this Act

If a proper officer has reason to suspect that the provisions of this Act are not being or have not been complied with in respect of any ship within Namibia or the territorial waters of Namibia, which is not registered in Namibia, or in respect of any Namibian ship wherever she may be, he shall take such steps as in his opinion are necessary to ensure compliance with the said provisions.

9. Powers of officers and courts

(1)Any -

(a)proper officer or surveyor; or

(b)court of marine enquiry, maritime court or court of survey; or

(c)person appointed in terms of section two hundred and, sixty four or sub-section (1) of section two hundred and eighty-one, or to whom an appeal is referred in terms of sub-section (1) or (2) of section two hundred and eighty-two; or

(d)other person authorized or required by or under this Act, or generally or specially authorized or required by the Permanent Secretary, to make any survey or inspection or conduct any investigation,

may, in the execution of or its duty or the exercise of his or its functions -

(i)board any Namibian ship wherever she may be, or any ship other than a Namibian ship while she is within Namibia or the territorial waters of Namibia, and inspect the same or any part thereof, or any equipment thereof, or any articles on board, or any log-books, certificates or other documents relating to the ship or the crew thereof, and muster the crew of the ship and interrogate them;

(ii)enter any premises, including any land, structure, vehicle or vessel, and inspect the same or any articles therein;

(iii)by written notice or otherwise summon any person who in his or its opinion may be able to give information which is likely to assist him or it in the carrying out of such duty, or who he or it suspects or believes has in his possession or custody or under his control any book, document or thing the inspection of which is likely to assist him or it in the carrying out of such duty, to appear before him or it at a time and place specified, to be interrogated or to produce that book, document or thing;

(iv)administer an oath to any person appearing in obedience to any summons or otherwise, and interrogate him and inspect and detain any book, document or thing produced;

(v)require any person interrogated to subscribe to a declaration of the truth of the statement made by him; and

(vi)copy any document inspected by or produced to him or it.

[subsection (1) amended by Act 30 of 1959]

(2)Every person -

(a)shall upon demand assist to the best of his ability any officer or other person or court in the exercise of any of the powers conferred by sub-section (1);

(b)summoned under paragraph (iii) of sub-section (1) whose reasonable expenses have been paid or offered to him shall attend at the time and place specified, and remain in attendance until excused by the officer or other person or court from further attendance;[paragraph (b) amended by Act 30 of 1959]

(c)shall take the oath administered to him by any officer or other person or court under paragraph (iv) of subsection (1);

(d)shall answer fully and satisfactorily, to the best of his ability, all questions lawfully put to him by any officer or other person or court under paragraph (i) or (iv) of sub-section (1), and, upon being required to do so, produce any book, document or thing in his possession or under his control: Provided that in connection with the interrogation of any such person by, or the production of any such book, document or thing to any such officer or other person or court, the law relating to privilege, as applicable to a witness summoned to give evidence or produce any book, document or thing before a court of law shall apply; and

(e)upon being required to do so, shall subscribe to a declaration of the truth of any statement made by him.

(3)Any person who, after being sworn by an officer or other person or court in the exercise of the said powers, gives a false answer to any question put to him, or makes a false statement on any matter, knowing that answer or statement to be false, shall be deemed to be guilty of perjury.

(4)Any person or court referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of sub-section (1) may in the execution of his or its duty or the exercise of his or its functions, if he or it deems it necessary to do so, direct that any Namibian ship wherever she may be, or any ship other than a Namibian ship while she is within Namibia or the territorial waters of Namibia, be taken into dock at the owner’s expense, in order that every part of the hull thereof may be inspected.

Chapter II
Recording, Registering and Licensing of Ships

10. Notification of building of vessels

(1)Every person who at the coming into operation of the Merchant Shipping Amendment Act, 1991, is building, or after such coming into operation intends to build, a vessel which when completed will be required to be registered or licensed in terms of this Act, shall within sixty days of such coming into operation or before beginning to build the vessel, as the case may be, furnish to the proper officer at the port where the vessel will be registered or licensed or to the Permanent Secretary such written particulars of the vessel as may be prescribed.[subsection (1) substituted by Act 42 of 1969 and amended by Act 7 of 1991]

(2)The person on whose account any vessel is built shall for the purposes of sub-section (1) be deemed to build that vessel.

11. Qualification for owning ship registered under this Act

(1)No ship shall be registered in Namibia unless the whole of the ship is owned by the Government of Namibia or by persons to each of whom one or other of the following descriptions applies:

(a)Namibian citizens;

(b)citizens of a treaty country (other than Namibia); and[paragraph (b) amended by Act 69 of 1962]

(c)corporate bodies established under and subject to the law in force in any treaty country and having their principal place of business in any treaty country.[Paragraph (c) is amended by Act 69 of 1962. The full stop at the end should be a semicolon now that it is no longer the last paragraph in subsection (1).]

(d)persons of any country other than a treaty country approved by the Minister.

[paragraph (d) inserted by Act 7 of 1991]

(2)No person other than the Government of Namibia or a person who is included in a category mentioned in sub-section (1) shall acquire, except by such transmission as is referred to in section forty-three, any interest in a ship registered in Namibia.[section 11 amended by Act 40 of 1963]

12. Power to enquire into the title of a registered ship to be registered

(1)If the Minister has reason to believe that there is some doubt as to the title of any ship registered as a Namibian ship to be so registered, he may direct the proper officer of the port of registry of the ship to require that evidence be given to his satisfaction that the ship is entitled to be registered as a Namibian ship.

(2)If within such time as may be determined by the Minister, evidence to the satisfaction of the proper officer of the title of the ship to be registered is not given, the ship shall be liable to forfeiture.

13. Obligation to apply for registry of a ship

(1)Whenever the whole of a ship of twenty-five or more gross tons is owned -

(a)by the Government of Namibia; or[paragraph (a) amended by Act 40 of 1963]

(b)by persons all of whom in terms of section eleven are qualified to own a Namibian ship, and -

(i)a majority of the owners either in number or extent of ownership are persons resident in Namibia or corporate bodies having their principal place of business within Namibia; or

(ii)the ship is, as to her management and use, principally controlled in Namibia,

the said Government or the other owners, as the case may be, shall, unless she is already registered in Namibia or elsewhere apply to the proper officer at one of the ports of registry appointed in terms of paragraph (c) of section four for the ship to be registered in terms of this Act.

(2)The application for registry mentioned in sub-section (1) shall be made -

(a)in the case of a ship already owned at the coming into operation of this section by persons who in terms of section eleven are qualified to own a Namibian ship, within one month of such coming into operation; and

(b)in the case of a ship acquired after the coming into operation of this section by persons so qualified, within one month of the date on which she is so acquired.

(3)The Minister may in his discretion exempt the owners of certain classes of ships of less than one hundred gross tons, to be determined by him, or the owners of ships which are not self-propelled and which are used exclusively in a port, from the provisions of this section.[subsection (3) substituted by Act 42 of 1969]

14. ***

[section 14 amended by Act 40 of 1963 deleted by Act 7 of 1991]

15. Register to be kept

The proper officer shall enter all ships registered by him in a special book to be kept for the purpose (hereinafter referred to as the register), and such entries shall be made in the prescribed manner.

16. Survey and measurement of ship before registry

The owner of a ship in respect of which application for registry is made shall, upon demand by the proper officer, cause such ship to be surveyed by a surveyor, and the tonnage of the ship ascertained, in the prescribed manner. The surveyor shall grant a tonnage certificate specifying the ship’s tonnage and build and such other particulars as may be required by the regulations, and that certificate shall be delivered to the proper officer by the owner before the ship is registered.

17. Tonnage once ascertained to be the tonnage of ship

Whenever the tonnage of a ship has been ascertained and registered in accordance with this Act, that tonnage shall thenceforth be deemed to be the tonnage of the ship, and shall be repeated in every subsequent registry thereof, unless any alteration is made in the form or capacity of the ship, or unless it is discovered that the tonnage of the ship has been erroneously computed, in either of which cases the ship shall be resurveyed, and her tonnage redetermined in accordance with this Act.

18. Tonnage of ships of other countries

(1)Whenever the Minister is satisfied that provisions substantially the same as those of this Act relating to the measurement of the tonnage of ships are in force in any other country, he may by notice in the Gazette direct that ships registered in that country shall without being resurveyed in Namibia be presumed to be of the tonnage denoted in their certificates of registry or other national papers, in the same manner, to the same extent, and for the same purposes as the tonnage denoted in the certificate of registry of a Namibian ship is presumed to be the tonnage of that ship, and that the space shown by the certificate of registry or other national papers of any ship registered in such other country, as deducted from tonnage on account of being occupied by seamen or apprentice-officers and appropriated to their use, shall for the purpose of determining her tonnage be presumed to have been certified by a surveyor under sub-section (2) of section two hundred and sixty-two to comply with those of the provisions of this Act which apply to such a space in the case of a Namibian ship.

(2)Whenever the Minister has given any such direction as is mentioned in sub-section (1), the presumptions referred to shall apply in respect of any ship registered in the country to which the direction relates.

(3)If any question arises as to whether the tonnage of any ship registered in any country to which any such direction relates, as denoted in her certificate of registry or other national papers, materially differs from that which would be her tonnage if measured under this Act, or as to whether the construction and the equipment of any ship so registered as regards the said space do for the purpose of determining the tonnage of the ship conform to the standards required under this Act, the Permanent Secretary may direct that a surveyor inspect the ship.

(4)If from the report of a surveyor so directed to inspect a ship it appears to the Minister that the tonnage of that ship as so denoted, materially differs from that which would be her tonnage if measured under this Act or that her construction and equipment as regards the said space do not, for the purpose of determining her tonnage conform to the said standards, or if for any reason it appears to the Minister that the tonnage of any ship so registered has been erroneously computed, he may order that, notwithstanding any direction for the time being in force under this section, that ship or any ship registered in the country to which the direction relates shall, for all or any ofthe purposes ofthis Act, be surveyed in accordance with this Act.

19. Marking of ship

(1)The owner ofa ship who applies for registry under this Act shall before registry cause her to be marked permanently and conspicuously in the prescribed manner and to the satisfaction of the proper officer, and any ship not so marked may be detained by that officer.

(2)The owner and the master of a Namibian ship shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that the ship remains marked as required by this section or by sub-section (2) of section thirty-six, or, in the case of a ship referred to in section fourteen, that she remains marked as required by the law under which she was registered, and the said owner or master shall not cause or permit any alternations of such marks to be made, except in the event of any of the particulars thereby denoted being altered in the manner provided in this Act, or except to evade capture by an enemy or by a foreign ship of war in the exercise of some belligerent right.

20. Evidence on first registry

(1)On the first registry of a ship in Namibia the owner shall produce -

(a)a declaration of ownership, in the prescribed form;

(b)a certificate signed by the builder and containing a true account of the size and dimensions and the tonnage of the ship as estimated by the said builder, and of the time when and the place where she was built, and of the name of the person on whose account she was built, unless the person who makes the declaration of ownership declares that the time and place of building are unknown to him, or that the builder’s certificate cannot be obtained, in which case there shall be required only the deed of sale under which the ship became vested in the applicant for registry;[paragraph (b) substituted by Act 42 of 1969]

(c)if there has been any sale, the deed of sale under which the ship has been vested in the applicant for registry;

(d)in the case of a ship that has been forfeited, an official copy of the notice of forfeiture.

(2)The builder of a ship shall not refuse or omit upon request by the owner to grant the certificate required by this section.[subsection (2) substituted by Act 42 of 1969]

(3)The proper officer may demand proof of ownership of the ship to his satisfaction before proceeding with the registry of the ship.

21. Entry of particulars in register

As soon as the requirements of this Act preliminary to registry have been complied with the proper officer shall enter in the register the following particulars:

(a)the name of the ship and the name of the port to which she belongs;

(b)the details contained in the tonnage certificate referred to in section sixteen;

(c)the origin of the ship, as stated in the declaration of ownership;

(d)the name, address and occupation of the owner of the ship, and if there are more owners than one, what share in the ship is held by each owner.

22. Documents to be retained by proper officer

On the registry of a ship in Namibia the proper officer shall retain in his possession the following documents:

(a)all declarations of ownership;

(b)the tonnage certificate;

(c)the builder’s certificate;

(d)all deeds of sale of the ship previously made and no longer of force and effect; and

(e)the copy of the notice of forfeiture, if any.

23. Certificate of registry

On completion of the registry of a ship, the proper officer shall grant a certificate of registry in the prescribed form, containing the particulars respecting the ship entered in the register in accordance with section twenty-one and stating the name of her master.

24. Custody of certificate of registry

(1)A certificate of registry granted in terms of section twenty-three shall not be subject to detention by reason of any title to, lien on, charge against, or interest in the ship held or claimed by any person.

(2)No person who has in his possession or under his control the certificate of registry of a ship shall refuse or omit without reasonable cause to deliver such certificate on demand to the person entitled to the custody thereof.

25. Improper certificate of registry not to be used

The owner or master -

(a)of a Namibian ship, wherever she may be; or

(b)of a ship other than a Namibian ship, while she is within Namibia or the territorial waters of Namibia,

shall not use or allow to be used for the navigation of that ship a certificate of registry not lawfully granted in respect of that ship, or produce or put off as a certificate of registry of that ship any document other than the certificate of registry lawfully granted in respect of that ship.

26. Power to grant new certificate of registry

(1)The proper officer at the port of registry of a Namibian ship may, on delivery to him of the certificate of registry of the ship, grant a new certificate in lieu thereof.

(2)If the certificate of registry of a Namibian ship is mislaid, lost, or destroyed, the proper officer at the port of registry shall, subject to the regulations, grant a new certificate of registry in lieu of the original certificate.

(3)If the port at which a Namibian ship is at the time the event referred to in sub-section (2) occurs, or first arrives after the event occurs, is not in Namibia, the master of the ship or some other person having knowledge of the facts of the case shall furnish the proper officer at that port with a declaration stating the facts of the case and the names and descriptions of the registered owners of the ship, and the proper officer may thereupon grant a provisional certificate, containing a statement of the circumstances in which it is granted.

(4)The master of a ship in respect of which a provisional certificate has been granted under sub-section (3) shall, within ten days after the first subsequent arrival of the ship at a port in Namibia, deliver the provisional certificate to the proper officer at the port of registry, and the proper officer shall thereupon grant a new certificate of registry.

27. Endorsement of change of master on certificate of registry

(1)Whenever the master of a Namibian ship is changed, a memorandum of such change shall be endorsed on the certificate of registry -

(a)if the change is made in consequence of the finding of a court of marine enquiry or a maritime court, by the presiding officer of that court;

(b)if the change occurs from any other cause, by the proper officer at the place where the change takes place.

(2)The person who makes the endorsement referred to in sub-section (1) shall forthwith report the change of master to the Permanent Secretary, and the proper officer at any port in Namibia may refuse to permit any person to do any act there as master of a Namibian ship unless such person’s name is inserted in or endorsed on the certificate of registry as the last appointed master of that ship.

(3)This section shall not apply in respect of any ship belonging to Transnamib Limited and used by it in connection with the working of its harbours.

28. Endorsement of change of ownership on certificate of registry

(1)Whenever a change occurs in the registered ownership of a Namibian ship, such change of ownership shall be endorsed on the certificate of registry by the proper officer at the ship’s port of registry, or by the proper officer at any other port at which the ship arrives after such officer has been advised of the change by the proper officer at the ship’s port of registry.

(2)If a change of ownership of a Namibian ship occurs when the ship is at her port of registry, the master shall, for the purpose of endorsement in terms of sub-section (1), deliver the certificate of registry to the proper officer immediately after such change of ownership takes place, or upon the ship’s return to that port, if the change occurs during the absence of the ship from that port and no endorsement in terms of sub-section (1) has been made by a proper officer at some other port.

(3)The proper officer at any port who is by this section required to make an endorsement on the certificate of registry of a Namibian ship, may require the master to produce such certificate forthwith.

29. Procedure when ship is lost or ceases to be a Namibian ship

(1)

(a)In the event of a Namibian ship being either actually or constructively lost, taken by the enemy, burnt or broken up, or ceasing to be a Namibian ship by reason of transfer to a person not qualified to own a Namibian ship or for any other cause, the registered owner of the ship or of any share in the ship shall immediately on obtaining knowledge of the event report the particulars thereof to the proper officer at the port of registry of the ship, who shall record such particulars in the register and, subject to the provisions of paragraph (c), close the registry of the ship in that register.

(b)The registered owner of a Namibian ship or of any share in such ship subject to any unsatisfied mortgage or existing certificate of mortgage entered in the register shall not in any manner transfer such ship or share to any other person without the written consent of all the mortgagees.

(c)Where a Namibian ship or share referred to in paragraph (b) is transferred without the written consent contemplated in that paragraph, the proper officer concerned shall not close the registry of such ship in the relevant register without the written consent of all the mortgagees.

[subsection (1) substituted by Act 70 of 1977]

(2)Where any of the events referred to in subsection (1)(a) occurs, except where the ship’s certificate of registry is lost or destroyed, the master of the ship shall immediately, if the event occurs in port, or within three days after his arrival in port, if it occurs elsewhere, deliver the certificate to the proper officer, and that officer shall forthwith forward the certificate to the proper officer at the port of registry of the ship.[subsection (2) substituted by Act 70 of 1977]

(3)Where a Namibian ship or share in such ship subject to any unsatisfied mortgage or existing certificate of mortgage entered in the register is in any manner transferred to any person without the written consent contemplated in subsection (1)(b) and the ship thereafter comes within the area of jurisdiction of any court in Namibia or in any other treaty country which has jurisdiction to give judgment upon any unsatisfied mortgage entered in the register, including any mortgage made under a certificate of mortgage entered in the register, and to order that the ship be sold in execution of the judgment, or which would have had such jurisdiction if the transfer of the ship had not been made, the court may exercise such jurisdiction notwithstanding the transfer of the ship, without prejudice, in a case in which the ship has been sold under a judgment of a court, to the effect of that judgment.[subsection (3) amended by Act 69 of 1962 and substituted by Act 70 of 1977]

(4)For the purposes of sub-section (1) a ship shall be deemed to be constructively lost if -

(a)she is reasonably abandoned on account of her actual total loss appearing to be unavoidable; or

(b)she cannot be preserved from actual total loss without an expenditure which would exceed her value when the expenditure had been incurred; or

(c)she has been so damaged that the cost of repairing the damage would exceed her value when repaired.

30. Provisional certificate for ship which elsewhere than in Namibia becomes the property of a person qualified to own a Namibian ship

(1)If at a port outside Namibia a ship becomes the property of a person qualified to own a Namibian ship, and if that person declares to the proper officer at that port or the Permanent Secretary that it is his intention to apply to have her registered in Namibia, the proper officer or the Permanent Secretary, as the case may be, may grant to the master of the ship, on application by him, a provisional certificate stating -

(a)the name of the ship;

(b)the time and place of her purchase, and the name and address of the purchaser;

(c)the name of the master; and

(d)the best particulars respecting the tonnage, build, and description of the ship which he is able to obtain,

and the proper officer shall, if the certificate is issued by him, forward a copy thereof at the first convenient opportunity to the Permanent Secretary.[subsection (1) amended by Act 40 of 1963]

(2)A provisional certificate issued in terms of sub-section (l) shall be deemed to be a certificate of registry until the expiry of six months from the date on which it was issued, or until the ship’s arrival at a port of registry in Namibia, whichever is the earlier date, but shall thereafter have no effect.

31. Temporary passes in lieu of certificates of registry

Whenever by reason of special circumstances it appears desirable to the Permanent Secretary that permission should be granted to a ship which, in terms of this Act, is entitled to be registered in Namibia, or, in terms of the laws in force in any other treaty country is entitled to be registered in that treaty country to proceed to sea without being previously registered, he may authorize the granting of a pass in the prescribed form for the ship to be taken from any port in Namibia to any other port in Namibia or, as the case may be, to any port in that other treaty country, and that pass shall for the time and within the limits therein mentioned be deemed to be a certificate of registry.[section 31 amended by Act 69 of 1962]

32. Notifications of alterations in ships

(1)The master or owner of a Namibian ship which is so altered that she does not correspond with the particulars contained in the register relating to her tonnage or description shall -

(a)if at the time when the alteration is made the ship is at a port which has in terms of paragraph (c) of section four been declared to be a port of registry, within three days after the making of the alteration, notify the proper officer there of the alteration; or

(b)if the ship is not at such a port at the time when the alteration is made, but arrives at such a port within three months after the making of the alteration, within three days after she first arrives at such a port, notify the proper officer there of the alteration; or

(c)if the ship is not at such a port at the time when the alteration is made and does not arrive at such a port during the period of three months after the making of the alteration, as soon as practicable after the expiry of the said period, notify the proper officer at the ship’s port of registry of the alteration.

(2)Every notification in terms of sub-section (1) shall be in writing and shall -

(a)in the case referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of that sub-section, be delivered to the proper officer, accompanied by the certificate of registry of the ship and a certificate by a surveyor stating the particulars of the alteration; or

(b)in the case referred to in paragraph (c) of that sub-section, be sent by registered post to the proper officer, accompanied by an application for registry anew of the ship.

[section 32 substituted by Act 30 of 1959]

33. Registry of alterations

(1)If the proper officer to whom a notification of any alteration is given in terms of paragraph (a) or (b) of sub-section (1) of section thirty-two is the proper officer at the ship’s port of registry, he shall, upon receipt by him of the notification and of the certificate of registry and surveyor’s certificate referred to in paragraph (a) of sub-section (2) of that section, either direct that the ship be registered anew or endorse the particulars of the alteration on the existing certificate of registry and in the latter event he shall record in the register the particulars of the alteration and the fact that they have been endorsed on the certificate of registry.

(2)

(a)If the proper officer to whom notification of any alteration is given in terms of paragraph (a) or (b) of sub-section (1) of section thirty-two is not the proper officer at the ship’s port of registry, he shall, upon receipt by him of the notification and of the certificate of registry and surveyor’s certificate referred to in paragraph (a) of sub-section (2) of that section, either withdraw the existing certificate of registry and direct that the ship be registered anew and, upon receipt of the application for registry anew of the ship, grant a provisional certificate of registry describing the ship as altered or endorse the particulars of the alteration on the existing certificate of registry.

(b)Where a proper officer has granted a provisional certificate of registry or endorsed a certificate of registry in terms of paragraph (a), he shall forthwith report to the proper officer at the ship’s port of registry the particulars of the case and transmit to him the surveyor’s certificate delivered in terms of paragraph (a) of sub-section (2) of section thirty-two and, where a provisional certificate has been granted, the application in pursuance of which it was granted and the withdrawn certificate of registry.

(3)Upon receipt by the proper officer at the ship’s port of registry of the report made and documents transmitted to him in terms of sub-section (2), he shall record in the register the particulars of the alteration and the fact that a provisional certificate of registry has been granted, or, as the case may be, that the particulars of the alteration have been endorsed on the existing certificate of registry.

(4)

(a)The master or owner of a ship in respect of which a provisional certificate of registry has been granted under sub-section (2) shall, unless she has been registered anew in terms of paragraph (b), within three days after the first subsequent arrival of that ship at her port of registry deliver that certificate to the proper officer at that port, who shall retain that certificate and register the ship anew.

(b)If the proper officer at the ship’s port of registry has reason to believe that the ship will not arrive at that port within a reasonable period, he may register the ship anew and transmit the new certificate of registry granted by him in terms of sub-section (1) of section thirty-five to the proper officer at any port at which the ship is or for which she is bound, for delivery to the master or owner of the ship against the surrender of the provisional certificate of registry.

(c)The proper officer to whom the provisional certificate of registry is surrendered shall forthwith transmit it to the proper officer at the ship’s port of registry.

(5)

(a)Upon receipt by the proper officer at the ship’s port of registry of the notification and application referred to in paragraph (b) of sub-section (2) of section thirty-two, he shall register the ship anew and transmit the new certificate of registry granted by him in terms of sub-section (1) of section thirty-five to the proper officer at any port at which the ship is or for which she is bound, for delivery to the master or owner of the ship against the surrender of the old certificate of registry.

(b)The proper officer to whom the old certificate of registry is surrendered shall forthwith transmit it to the proper officer at the ship’s port of registry.

(6)If a proper officer directs that a ship be registered anew, the owner of the ship shall forthwith make application for registry anew of the ship.[section 33 substituted by Act 30 of 1959]

34. Registry anew on change of ownership

If the ownership ofa Namibian ship is changed, the proper officer of the port at which the ship is registered may on application by the owner of the ship register the ship anew, but, subject to the provisions of paragraph (f) of section fifty-five, the owner shall not be obliged to apply for registry anew in such circumstances.

35. Procedure for registry anew

(1)If a Namibian ship is to be registered anew the proper officer shall proceed as in the case of first registry, and shall, subject to the provisions of this Act make such registry anew, and grant a certificate thereof.[subsection (1) amended by Act 30 of 1959]

(2)When a Namibian ship is registered anew her former registry shall be considered as closed except so far as relates to any unsatisfied mortgages or existing certificates of sale or mortgage entered therein, but the names of all persons appearing in the former registry as being interested in the ship as owners or mortgagees shall be entered in the new registry, and the registry anew shall not in any way affect the rights of any of those persons.

36. Transfer of registry

(1)The registry of a Namibian ship may be transferred in accordance with the regulations from one port to another on application to the proper officer by the owner of the ship, and on completion of the transfer the ship shall be considered as registered at the new port of registry.

(2)The owner shall cause to be made such changes in the marking of the ship consequent upon the transfer of registry as may be prescribed.

(3)Transfer of the registry of a ship under sub-section (1) shall in no way affect the rights of any person appearing on the register to be interested in the ship as owner or mortgagee.

37. Re-registration of abandoned ships

If a ship has ceased to be registered as a Namibian ship by reason of having been wrecked or abandoned, or for any other reason except capture by the enemy or transfer to a person not qualified to own a Namibian ship, the ship shall not be re-registered until she has at the expense of the applicant for registration been inspected by a surveyor and certified by him to be seaworthy.

38. Names of ships

A Namibian ship shall not be described or registered by or marked with any name, and the name of a registered ship shall not be altered, except in accordance with the regulations.

39. Transfer of ships or shares

(1)A Namibian ship or a share therein when disposed of to a person qualified to own a Namibian ship shall be transferred by deed of sale.

(2)The deed of sale shall contain such description of the ship as is contained in the surveyor’s certificate, or some other description sufficient to identify the ship to the satisfaction of the proper officer, and shall be in the prescribed form.

40. Declaration of transfer

When a Namibian ship or a share therein is transferred the transferee shall not be entitled to be registered as owner thereof until he has made and signed a declaration of transfer in the prescribed form.

41. Registry of transfer

(1)Every duly executed deed of sale for the transfer of a Namibian ship or of a share therein shall be produced to the proper officer at the port of registry of the ship, with the declaration of transfer and any other documents which in terms of the regulations have to accompany such deed, and the proper officer shall thereupon enter in the register the name of the transferee as owner of the ship or share, and shall endorse on the deed of sale the fact that such entry has been made, with the date and time of entry.[subsection (1) amended by Act 30 of 1959]

(2)Deeds of sale of a ship or of a share therein shall be entered in the register in the order of their production to the proper officer.

42. Transmission of property in ship on marriage or death, etc.

(1)When ownership of a Namibian ship or share therein is transmitted on marriage or death of any registered owner, or by any lawful means other than by a transfer under this Act, to a person qualified to own a Namibian ship, that person shall execute a declaration in the prescribed form certifying that the transmission has taken place.

(2)If the transmission takes place by virtue of marriage, the declaration shall be accompanied by a copy of the register or other legal evidence of the marriage.

(3)If the transmission is consequent on death, the declaration shall be accompanied by a certificate signed by the Master of the High Court having jurisdiction in respect of the estate of the deceased person from whom the ownership of the ship or share has been transmitted, stating the name of the person to whom the ship or share has been transmitted, and the letters of administration of the executor, or if no master of the High Court has such jurisdiction, the declaration shall be accompanied by other proof of the transmission to the satisfaction of the proper officer.

(4)The proper officer, on receipt of the duly executed declaration and the documents by which in terms of sub-sections (2) and (3) and the regulations it must be accompanied, shall enter in the register as owner the name of the person to whom the ownership of the ship or share has been so transmitted.[subsection (4) amended by Act 30 of 1959]

43. Order for sale on transmission to unqualified person

(1)When ownership of a Namibian ship or share therein is transmitted on marriage or death or otherwise to a person not qualified to own a Namibian ship, that person may apply to the Permanent Secretary for an order directing that the property be sold and the proceeds of the sale, after deduction of the expenses thereof, be paid to him.

(2)The application shall be made in the form and manner prescribed, and shall be accompanied by proofs of the applicant’s claim.

(3)Upon any such application being made to him, the Permanent Secretary shall direct that notice of the application be published in the Gazette and in such newspapers and be served upon such persons as he may determine. The notice shall be in a form approved by the Permanent Secretary and shall call upon all persons who may object to the order being made to lodge their objections in writing with the Permanent Secretary within a period determined by him and mentioned in the notice.

(4)Upon proof of the due publication and service of the notice, the Permanent Secretary shall, if no objection in writing has been lodged with him within the period mentioned in the notice, and if he is satisfied of the justice of the applicant’s claim, make the order applied for.

(5)If objection in writing is lodged with the Permanent Secretary within the period mentioned in the notice, or ifhe is not satisfied of the justice of the applicant’s claim, he shall refuse to make the order.

(6)If the Permanent Secretary refuses to make the order, the applicant may apply to the High Court for such an order as is referred to in sub-section (1).

(7)The court may make the order on any terms and conditions it thinks fit, or may refuse to make the order, or generally may do what it considers best in the interests of the justice of the case.

(8)Every such application to the Permanent Secretary shall be made within thirty days after the date on which the event occurred on which the transmission took place, and every such application to the court shall be made within thirty days after the refusal by the Permanent Secretary to make the order. The court may allow an extension of the time (not exceeding in all one year from the said date) within which the application to the Permanent Secretary or the court must be made.

(9)If such application is not made within the time fixed by or extended under sub-section (8), or if the court refuse an order for sale, the ship or share transmitted shall be liable to forfeiture.

44. Transfer of ship or sale by order of Permanent Secretary or court

When the Permanent Secretary, in terms of section forty-three, or when the High Court, whether in terms of that section or otherwise, orders the sale of any Namibian ship or share therein, the order shall contain a declaration vesting in some person named therein the right to transfer the ship or share. The person so named shall thereupon be entitled to transfer the ship in the same manner and to the same extent as if he were the registed owner thereof, and the proper officer shall in respect of any such transfer regard that person as the registered owner.[The word “registered” in the phrase “as if he were the registered owner thereof” is misspelt in the Government Gazette, as reproduced above.]

45. Power of court to prohibit transfer

On the application of an interested party the High Court may, without prejudice to the exercise of any other power of the court, make an order prohibiting for a time specified any dealing with that ship or any share therein, and may make the order on any terms or conditions it deems fit, or may refuse to make the order, or may discharge the order when made, and generally may do what it considers best in the interests of the justice of the case, and the proper officer shall on being served with the order or an official copy thereof obey the same.

46. Mortgage of ship or share not to be registered in deeds registry

(1)Notwithstanding anything contained in the Deeds Registries Act, 1937 (Act No. 47 of 1937), or in any other law, but subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), a Namibian ship or a share in a Namibian ship shall not after the coming into operation of this section be mortgaged by bond registered in a deeds registry, and no bond so registered -

(a)before such coming into operation shall after the expiration of sixty days from such coming into operation; or

(b)after such coming into operation shall after its registration,

confer upon the mortgagee any preference as against other creditors.

(2)The mortgagee under any bond by which is hypothecated a Namibian ship or a share in a Namibian ship and which is registered in a deeds registry at the coming into operation of this section may produce to the proper officer at the ship’s port of registry within sixty days after such coming into operation or within such further period as the Permanent Secretary in the particular case may allow a copy of the duplicate original of the bond filed in the deeds registry certified by the registrar of deeds in charge of that registry. Thereupon the proper officer shall record the mortgage in the register, and thereafter the provisions of this Act relating to the mortgage of ships and shares in ships shall apply in respect of that mortgage: Provided that for the purposes of section forty-nine and paragraph (e) of section fifty-six the mortgage shall be deemed to have been registered in the register on the date on which and at the time at which the said bond was registered in the deeds registry.

(3)Whenever the proper officer records any mortgage in terms of sub-section (2) he shall send written notice thereof to the registrar of deeds in charge of the deeds registry in which the bond was registered. Upon receipt of such notice the registrar shall endorse upon the duplicate original of the bond filed in the deeds registry the fact that the mortgage has been so recorded.[The Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937 has been replaced by the Deeds Registries Act 14 of 2015.]

47. How ship or share mortgaged

(1)A Namibian ship or share therein may be mortgaged as security for a loan or other debt, and the instrument creating the mortgage shall be called a deed of mortgage and shall be in the prescribed form. On the production of such instrument the proper officer at the ship’s port of registry shall record the mortgage in the register.

(2)Mortgages shall be recorded by the proper officer in the order in which the deeds creating them are produced to him, and he shall endorse on each deed that it has been so recorded, stating the date and time of that record.

48. Discharge of mortgage

If a registered mortgage is discharged the proper officer shall, on the production of the deed of mortgage, with a receipt for the mortgage money endorsed thereon, duly signed and attested, make an entry in the register to the effect that the mortgage has been discharged, and shall cancel the deed of mortgage.

49. Priority of mortgages

If there are more mortgages than one registered in respect of the same Namibian ship or share in a Namibian ship, the respective mortgagees claiming thereunder shall, notwithstanding any express, implied or constructive notice, but subject to the proviso to sub-section (2) of section forty-six be entitled in priority, one before the other, according to the date and time at which each mortgage is recorded in the register, and not according to the date and time at which each deed of mortgage was executed.

50. Rights of mortgagee

(1)The mortgagee under a registered mortgage of a ship or a share in a ship shall be entitled to recover the amount due under the mortgage in any court of competent jurisdiction, and when giving judgment or thereafter the court may direct that the mortgaged ship or share be sold in execution of the judgment.

(2)Subject to the provisions of sub-section (i), the mortgagee under a registered mortgage of a ship or a share in a ship shall not merely by virtue of the mortgage be entitled to sell or otherwise dispose of the mortgaged ship or share.

51. Preference under mortgage not affected by insolvency

(1)The right of preference given to a mortgagee by a registered mortgage of a Namibian ship or a share in a Namibian ship shall not be affected by any act of insolvency committed by the mortgagor, or by the sequestration of the estate of the mortgagor after the date of the record of the mortgage.

(2)The provisions of sub-section (1) shall be subject to the provisions of sections twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one and eighty-eight of the Insolvency Act, 1936 (Act No. 24 of 1936); and in the application of the said section eighty-eight to the mortgage of a ship or share the references in that section to the registrar of deeds and a mortgage bond shall be construed as references to the proper officer and a deed of mortgage, respectively.

51A. ***

[section 51A inserted by Act 70 of 1977 and deleted by Act 105 of 1983]

52. Transfer of mortgage

(1)A registered mortgage of a Namibian ship or a share in a Namibian ship may be transferred to any person by deed of cession in the prescribed form, and on the production of such deed and the relative deed of mortgage, the proper officer shall record the transfer of the mortgage by entering in the register the name of the transferee as mortgagee of the ship or share, and shall endorse on the deeds of mortgage and cession that the transfer of the mortgage has been so recorded, stating the date and time of the record.

(2)The person to whom a registered mortgage of a ship or a share in a ship has been transferred shall enjoy the same right of preference as was enjoyed by the transferor.

53. Transmission of interest in mortgage by death, etc.

(1)Whenever the rights of the mortgagee under a deed of mortgage over a Namibian ship or a share in a Namibian ship are transmitted on marriage or death or by any other lawful means other than by a transfer under this Act to any person, that person shall execute a declaration in the prescribed form certifying that the transmission has taken place.

(2)The proper officer on the receipt of the declaration accompanied by documents similar to those required by section fifty-two in the case of a corresponding transmission of the ownership of a ship or share, shall enter in the register as mortgagee the name of the person to whom the rights have been transmitted.

54. Authority to sell or mortgage outside Republic

(1)Upon written application by the registered owner of a Namibian ship who wishes to sell the ship, or the registered owner of a Namibian ship or a share therein who wishes to mortgage the ship or share, by a deed of sale or mortgage to be executed outside Namibia, the proper officer of the port of registry of the ship shall issue to him a certificate of sale or a certificate of mortgage.

(2)In any such application there shall be set forth, and the proper officer shall enter in the register, the following particulars:

(a)the name and address of the person by whom the sale or mortgage is to be entered into on behalf of the owner, and in the case of -

(i)a sale, the minimum price at which a sale is to be made, if it is intended to fix any such minimum; and

(ii)a mortgage, the maximum amount thereof, if it is intended to fix any such maximum;

(b)the place where the power is to be exercised, or if no place is specified, a declaration that it may be exercised anywhere, subject to the provisions of this Act;

(c)the limit of time within which the power may be exercised.

In the case of a certificate of mortgage, the proper officer shall also enter in the register the date and time of the entry.

(3)A certificate of sale or of mortgage shall not authorize any sale or mortgage to be made in Namibia or by any person not named in the certificate.

(4)A certificate of sale and a certificate of mortgage shall contain a statement of the particulars referred to in subsection (2) and also a statement of any registered mortgages or certificates of sale or mortgage affecting the ship or share in respect of which the certificate is given.

(5)Any certificate of sale or certificate of mortgage issued under any law repealed by section one shall be deemed to have been issued under this Act.

55. Rules as to certificates of sale

The following rules shall be observed as to certificates of sale:

(a)a certificate of sale shall not be issued except for the sale of an entire ship;

(b)the power shall be exercised in conformity with the directions contained in the certificate;

(c)a sale made thereunder in good faith to a purchaser without notice shall not be impeached by reason of the person by whom the power was given dying before the execution of the deed of sale;

(d)whenever the certificate specifies the place at which, and the limit of time not exceeding twelve months within which, the power is to be exercised, a sale made thereunder in good faith to a purchaser without notice shall not be impeached by reason of the fact that before the deed of sale was executed the estate of the person by whom the power was given was sequestrated as insolvent;

(e)a transfer made to a person qualified to be the owner of a Namibian ship shall be by a deed of sale in accordance with this Act;

(f)if the ship is sold -

(i)to a person who would, if the ship were not already registered in Namibia, be required, in terms of section thirteen, to apply for the ship to be so registered, the ship shall be registered anew; or

(ii)to a person who is qualified to be the owner of a Namibian ship, but who would, if the ship were not already registered in Namibia, not be required, in terms of section thirteen, to apply for the ship to be so registered, the ship may be registered anew;

[paragraph (f) substituted by Act 30 of 1959]

(g)before registry anew there shall be produced to a proper officer the application for registry anew, the deed of sale by which the ship is transferred, the certificate of sale and the certificate of registry of the ship;[paragraph (g) amended by Act 30 of 1959]

(h)if the proper officer to whom the documents referred to in paragraph (g) are produced, is the proper officer at the ship’s port of registry, he shall retain those documents, except the deed of sale, and register the ship anew;[paragraph (h) substituted by Act 30 of 1959]

(hbis)if the proper officer to whom the documents referred to in paragraph (g) are produced, is not the proper officer at the ship’s port of registry, he shall retain those documents, except the deed of sale, and shall, after having endorsed on the certificate of sale and the certificate of registry an entry of the fact that a sale has taken place, forward those certificates and the application for registry anew to the proper officer at the ship’s port of registry;[paragraph (h)bis inserted by Act 30 of 1959]

(hter)upon receipt by the proper officer at the ship’s port of registry of the certificates and application referred to in paragraph (h)bis he shall register the ship anew and transmit the new certificate of registry granted by him in terms of sub-section (1) of section thirty-five to the proper officer at any port at which the ship is or for which she is bound, for delivery to the master or owner of the ship;[paragraph (h)ter inserted by Act 30 of 1959]

(i)on registry anew in terms of paragraph (h) or (h)ter the description of the ship contained in her former certificate of registry shall be entered in the register, without her being resurveyed, and the purchaser shall make a declaration of transfer in the prescribed form;[paragraph (i) amended by Act 30 of 1959]

(j)if the ship is sold to a person not qualified to be the owner of a Namibian ship, or to such a person as is referred to in sub-paragraph (ii) of paragraph (f) who does not wish the ship to be registered anew, that person shall produce or cause to be produced to a proper officer the deed of sale by which the ship is transferred, the certificate of sale and the certificate of registry of the ship;[paragraph (j) substituted by Act 30 of 1959]

(jbis)if the proper officer to whom the documents referred to in paragraph (j) are produced, is the proper officer at the ship’s port of registry, he shall retain the certificate of sale and the certificate of registry;[paragraph (j)bis inserted by Act 30 of 1959]

(jter)if the proper officer to whom the documents referred to in paragraph (j) are produced, is not the proper officer at the ship’s port of registry he shall retain the certificate of sale and the certificate of registry and shall, after having endorsed thereon an entry of the fact that the ship has been sold to a person not qualified to be the owner of a Namibian ship, or, as the case may be, to such a person as is referred to in sub-paragraph (i) of paragraph (f) who does not wish the ship to be registered anew, forward them to the proper officer at the ship’s port of registry;[paragraph (j)ter inserted by Act 30 of 1959]

(jquat)any proper officer who has retained the certificate of sale and the certificate of registry of any ship in terms of paragraph (j)bis and any proper officer to whom such certificates have been forwarded in terms of paragraph (j)ter shall make a memorandum of the sale in his register, and close the registry of the ship in that register except in the case of the transfer of a ship subject to any unsatisfied mortgage or existing certificate of mortgage entered therein in respect of which the written consent contemplated in section 29(1)(b) has not been given. The provisions of section 29(1) and (3) shall apply in respect of such mortgage or certificate of mortgage;[paragraph (j)quat inserted by Act 30 of 1959 and substituted by Act 70 of 1977]

(k)if on a sale being made to a person referred to in paragraph (j) the certificates mentioned in that paragraph are not produced as required by that paragraph that person shall be considered not to have acquired any title to or interest in the ship;[paragraph (k) substituted by Act 30 of 1959]

(l)if no sale is made in conformity with the directions contained in the certificate of sale, the proper officer by whom it was issued shall, on delivery of the certificate to him, cancel the certificate and enter the fact of its cancellation in the register.

56. Rules as to certificates of mortgage

The following rules shall be observed as to certificates of mortgage:

(a)the power shall be exercised in conformity with the directions contained in the certificate;

(b)every mortgage made thereunder shall be registered by the endorsement of a record of the registration on the certificate by a proper officer who shall therein state the date and time of that record;

(c)a mortgage made thereunder in good faith to a mortgagee without notice shall not be impeached by reason of the person by whom the power was given dying before the execution of the deed of mortgage;

(d)whenever the certificate specifies the place at which, and the limit of time not exceeding twelve months within which, the power is to be exercised, a mortgage made thereunder in good faith to a mortgagee without notice shall not be impeached by reason of the fact that before the deed of mortgage was executed the estate of the person by whom the power was given was sequestrated as insolvent;

(e)every mortgage so registered by being recorded on the certificate shall have priority over all mortgages of the same ship or share recorded in the register subsequently to the entry of the certificate in the register; and if there are more mortgages than one so registered, the respective mortgagees claiming thereunder shall, notwithstanding any express, implied or constructive notice, but subject to the proviso to sub-section (2) of section forty-six, be entitled in priority one before the other, according to the date and time at which each mortgage is recorded on the certificate and not according to the date and time at which each deed of mortgage was executed;

(f)subject to the foregoing rules, every mortgagee whose mortgage is registered by being recorded on the certificate shall have the same rights and be subject to the same liabilities as he would have had and been subject to if his mortgage had been recorded in the register instead of on the certificate;

(g)the discharge of any mortgage registered by being recorded on the certificate may be endorsed on the certificate by any proper officer on the production of the documents which are by section forty-eight required to be produced to the proper officer on the discharge of a mortgage in the register;

(h)on the delivery of any certificate of mortgage to the proper officer by whom it was issued, he shall record in the register, in such manner as to preserve its priority, any undischarged mortgage registered by being recorded thereon and cancel the certificate and enter the fact of the cancellation in the register.

57. Loss of certificate of mortgage or sale

On proof at any time to the satisfaction of the Permanent Secretary that a certificate of sale or mortgage has been lost or destroyed or so damaged as to be useless, and that the powers thereby given have never been exercised, or if they have been exercised, then on proof of the several matters and things that have been done thereunder, the proper officer may, if authorized thereto by the Permanent Secretary, either issue a new certificate, or direct such entries to be made in the register or such other things to be done as might have been made or done if the loss, destruction or damage had not taken place.

58. Revocation of certificate of mortgage or sale

(1)The registered owner of a Namibian ship or a share therein in respect of which a certificate of sale or mortgage has been issued, specifying the places where the power thereby given is to be exercised, may, by an instrument under his hand, authorize the proper officer by whom the certificate was issued, to give notice to the proper officer at every such place that the certificate is revoked.

(2)Notice shall thereupon be given accordingly and shall be recorded by the proper officer receiving it, and after it is recorded the certificate shall be deemed to be revoked and of no effect in respect of any sale or mortgage to be thereafter made at that place.

(3)The notice after it has been recorded shall be exhibited to every person applying for the purpose of effecting or obtaining a transfer or mortgage under the certificate.

(4)A proper officer on recording any such notice shall inform the proper officer by whom the certificate was issued whether any previous exercise of the power to which such certificate refers has taken place.

59. Access to register

Any person may upon payment of the prescribed fee have access to the register at any port of registry at any reasonable time during the hours of official attendance of the proper officer.

60. Provision for cases of minority or other incapacity

If by reason of minority, mental disorder or defect or any other cause any person interested in a Namibian ship or a share therein is incapable of making any declaration or doing any act required or permitted by this Act to be made or done in connection with the registry of the ship or share, the legal guardian or curator bonis of that person, or, if there is no such guardian or curator bonis, any person appointed, on application made on behalf of the incapable person or of any other person interested, by the master of the superior court within whose area of jurisdiction the incapable or other interested person is domiciled may make such declaration or a declaration as nearly corresponding thereto as circumstances permit, and do such act in the name and on behalf of the incapable person.[Similar phrases referring to the “superior court” were replaced by “the High Court” by Act 7 of 1991, but the phrase “the superior court within whose area of jurisdiction the incapable or other interested person is domiciled” was not included in this direction for this global substitution. This was probably an oversight.]

61. Right of registered owner to dispose of ship or share

No record of any interest in a ship or a share in a ship, other than by way of ownership or mortgage, shall be made in the register, and, subject to the provisions of section 29(1)(b) and to any rights recorded in the register as being vested in any other person under mortgage or under certificate of sale or mortgage, the registered owner of a ship or share therein shall have the right, absolutely to dispose of the ship or share.[section 61 substituted by Act 70 of 1977]

62. Rights and liabilities of person holding an interest in a ship or share

(1)Subject to the provisions of this Act, any interest in a ship or share therein arising out of any contract, testamentary disposition or otherwise may be enforced by or against an owner or a mortgagee of the ship or share in respect of his interest therein in the same manner as in respect of any other movable property.

(2)Any person who holds any interest (otherwise than by way of mortgage) in a ship or share therein, arising under any contract, testamentary disposition or otherwise, shall be subject to all pecuniary penalties imposed by this or any other Act on the owners of ships or shares therein, and proceedings may be taken for the enforcement of any such penalties against both the person holding any such interest and the registered owner, or either of them, jointly, or jointly and severally.

63. National character of ship to be declared before clearance

(1)An officer of customs shall not grant a clearance for any ship until the master of the ship has declared to that officer the name of the country to which he claims the ship belongs, and that officer shall thereupon inscribe that name on the clearance.

(2)If a ship attempts to proceed to sea without such clearance, it may be detained by the officer of customs until the declaration is made.

64. Ships recognized as ships of Namibian nationality

The following classes of ships shall be recognized as ships of Namibian nationality, to wit:

(a)any ship registered under this Act;

(b)any ship which in terms of subsection (2) of section 30 is deemed to be registered under this Act;[paragraph (b) amended by Act 7 of 1991]

(c)any ship licensed under this Act;

(d)any ship (other than a ship referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c)) which is owned by the Government of Namibia; and [paragraph (d) amended by Act 40 of 1963]

(e)any vessel or ship contemplated in section 68(3)(b)

(i)the whole of which is owned by persons all of whom in terms of section eleven are qualified to own a Namibian ship; and

(ii)the majority of the owners of which, either in number or extent of ownership, are persons resident in Namibia.

[paragraph (e) amended by Act 25 of 1985]

65. Flag to be flown on ships of Namibian nationality

(1)The National Flag of Namibia is hereby declared to be the national colours for all ships registered in Namibia.

(2)The master of a ship of Namibian nationality, shall cause the National Flag of Namibia to be hoisted -

(a)on a signal being made to the ship by any ship in the naval service of Namibia or of any other treaty country; and

(b)on entering or leaving any port other than a port in Namibia; and

(c)if the ship is of fifty or more gross register tons, on entering or leaving any port in Namibia.

[subsection (2) amended by Act 69 of 1962 and by Act 40 of 1963]

(3)No person on board a ship of Namibian nationality shall hoist any distinctive national colours (except the National Flag of Namibia) or any colours usually worn by ships in the naval service of Namibia or of any other treaty country, or colours resembling those colours, or any pennant usually carried by ships in any such naval service, or any pennant resembling such pennant, and the master ofthe ship, and the owner thereof if on board, shall not permit any hoisting of any colours or any pennant in contravention of this sub-section.[subsection (3) amended by Act 69 of 1962]

66. Unlawful assumption of Namibian national character

No person on board a ship not of Namibian nationality shall, wherever the ship may be, for the purpose of making the ship appear to be a ship of Namibian nationality use or permit the use of the National Flag of Namibia or cause or permit the ship to assume the national character of Namibia.

67. Concealment of Namibian national character

The owner or master of a ship of Namibian nationality shall not knowingly or wilfully do or permit anything to be done, or carry or permit to be carried on board that ship any papers or documents with intent to conceal the national character of the ship or with intent that a non-Namibian national character be assumed for the ship.

68. Small vessels to be licensed

(1)The owner or master -

(a)of a small vessel which -**

(ii)is not registered as a ship in Namibia or elsewhere; and

(iv)operates at or from a port in or from anywhere else on the coast of Namibia; or

(b)of a ship which has been exempted under the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 13,

shall before such small vessel or ship is used in Namibia be in possession of a licence issued to him in terms of this Act by a proper officer.[subsection (1) amended by Act 13 of 1965 and by Act 3 of 1981; not all changes made by Act 3 of 1981 indicated by amendment markings]

(2)An application for a licence in terms of subsection (1) shall be made in the prescribed form and the owner or master shall produce to the proper officer a local general safety certificate and, where applicable, a local safety exemption certificate.[subsection (2) substituted by Act 13 of 1965]

(3)The provisions of this section shall not apply in respect of any ship or vessel -

(a)unless the whole of the vessel is owned -

(i)by the Government of Namibia; or

(ii)by persons all of whom in terms of section eleven are qualified to own a Namibian ship; and

(aa)a majority of the owners of the ship or vessel, either in number or extent of ownership, are persons resident in Namibia or bodies corporate having their principal place of business within Namibia; or

(bb)the ship or vessel is, as to her management and use, principally controlled in Namibia;

(b)used, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, solely for sport or recreation.

[subsection (3) amended by Act 40 of 1963 and by Act 25 of 1985; not all changes made by Act 25 of 1985 are indicated by amendment markings]

(4)[subsection (4) inserted by Act 3 of 1981 and deleted by Act 25 of 1985]

69. Renewal of licences

(1)The owner or master of any vessel which in terms of section sixty-eight is required to be licensed, and in respect of which a licence has been issued, shall before or at the expiration of the period for which the licence was issued or renewed apply to the proper officer by whose office the licence was issued for a renewal thereof.

(2)The provisions of sub-section (2) of section sixty-eight shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to any application for the renewal of a licence.

70. Issue and duration of licences

A licence issued upon an application made under section sixty-eight or sixty-nine shall be in the prescribed form and shall be issued for one year under such conditions as may be prescribed.

71. Cancellation of licences

(1)If the proper officer is satisfied that a licence issued under this Act was obtained fraudulently or on wrong information he may cancel the licence.

(2)If by reason of the contents of a report by a surveyor, or for any other reason, a proper officer is satisfied that -

(a)material alterations which affect the seaworthiness of a vessel which has been licensed under this Act have taken place since the licence was issued; or

(b)the life-saving appliances have not been maintained on such vessel in an effective condition; or

(c)the master of such a vessel is not a fit and proper person to operate the vessel,

he may cause the vessel to be detained and direct that the deficiency or other cause for the detention of the vessel be remedied; and if after due notice the directions of the proper officer are not complied with, the licence shall be cancelled.

72. Unlicensed vessels not to be used

No person shall use a vessel which in terms of section 68 is required to be licensed, for any purpose whatsoever, unless the owner or master of the vessel holds a valid and current licence issued in respect thereof.[section 72 substituted by Act 42 of 1969]

72A. Prohibition of use of vessels of less than three metres in length

(1)No vessel of less than three metres in length shall go to sea from any port in or from anywhere else on the coast of Namibia.

(2)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) the Minister may by regulation -

(a)prescribe the purpose for and the area in which a vessel of less than three metres in length may be used; and

(b)apply the provisions of section 68 mutatis mutandis to any such vessel in any area.

[section 72A inserted by Act 3 of 1981]

Chapter III
Certificates of Competency and Service

73. What certificated officers and other persons to be employed on certain ships

(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, the owner and the master of every-

(a)Namibian ship going to sea from any port whatsoever; or

(b)ship (other than a Namibian ship) embarking passengers at, and going to sea from, any port in Namibia,

shall ensure that there is employed on board that ship in their appropriate capacities the number of officers or other persons, duly certificated as prescribed by regulation, or deemed to be so certificated.[subsection (1) amended by Act 30 of 1959, Act 40 of 1963 and substituted by Act 5 of 1976 and by Act 3 of 1989]

(2)The Minister may by notice in the Gazette require that more or more highly certificated officers or other persons than are prescribed by subsection (1) shall be employed on board any class of ships of any tonnage or power specified in that notice; and after the publication of any such notice the owner of any ship to which it applies shall ensure that there are employed on board that ship the number of officers or other persons prescribed by that notice, duly certificated or deemed to be certificated under this Act.[subsection (2) substituted by Act 5 of 1976]

(3)Whenever the Minister is satisfied from a report by a surveyor that it would be unreasonable to require the owner of a ship built before the coming into operation of this section to provide the accommodation on board that ship necessary to accommodate the numbers of officers or other persons required to be employed in terms of sub-section (1), or in terms of a notice issued under sub-section (2), he may vary the requirements of sub-section (1) or of that notice in respect of that ship as he deems fit.

(4)The owner of every treaty ship (other than a ship embarking passengers at a port in Namibia) going to sea from any port in Namibia shall ensure that there are employed on board that ship in their appropriate capacities a master and so many ships’ officers holding certificates of such grades as, by the relative laws in force in the treaty country in which the ship is registered, she is required to carry when going to sea from a port in that treaty country.[subsection (4) amended by Act 69 of 1962 and Act 40 of 1963]

(5)No person who has been engaged for the purpose of subsection (1) or (2) as master or ship’s officer shall go to sea as such unless he is duly certificated, or deemed to be so certificated, in terms of this Act.

(6)No person shall for the purpose of sub-section (1) or (2) employ a master or ship’s officer as such without first ascertaining that he is duly certificated, or deemed to be so certificated, in terms of this Act.

(7)[subsection (7) deleted by Act 30 of 1959]

(8)This section shall not apply in respect of any vessel belonging to Transnamib Limited and used by it in connection with the working of its harbours, if that vessel goes to sea in an emergency.

74. When ship’s officers and other persons deemed to be duly certificated

(1)Subject to the provisions of section eighty-three, eighty-four and three hundred and fifty-four, a master or ship’s officer shall not be deemed to be duly certificated as such for the purpose of this Act unless he is the holder for the time being of a valid certificate of competency or certificate of service, issued in terms of this Act, of a grade appropriate to the ship in which he is employed and to his station in the ship, or of a higher grade: Provided that a citizen of a foreign country who holds a certificate of competency issued in terms of this Act shall not be deemed to be duly certificated for employment on board a treaty ship, except in such cases and on such conditions as the Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, specify.[Subsection (1) is amended by Act 69 of 1962 to insert the proviso. A colon has been inserted accordingly.]

(2)Whenever the question arises whether any certificate is of a higher grade than any other certificate, that question shall be determined by the Permanent Secretary, in accordance with the regulations relative thereto, if any.

75. Grades of certificates of competency

(1)Certificates of competency may be granted for each of the following grades:

(a)master of a foreign-going ship;

(b)chief navigating officer of a foreign-going ship;

(c)second navigating officer of a foreign-going ship;

(d)master of a coasting ship of one hundred or more gross register tons;

(e)navigating officer of a coasting ship of one hundred or more gross register tons;

(f)skipper of a fishing, sealing or shore-based whaling boat of one hundred or more gross register tons;

(g)mate of a fishing, sealing or shore-based whaling boat of one hundred or more gross register tons;

(h)boatswain of a fishing, sealing or shore-based whaling boat of one hundred or more gross register tons;

(i)skipper of a coasting ship or a fishing, sealing or shore-based whaling boat of less than one hundred gross register tons;

(j)mate of a coasting ship or a fishing, sealing or shore-based whaling boat of less than one hundred gross register tons;

(k)chief engineer-officer of a foreign-going ship;[paragraph (k) substituted by Act 40 of 1963]

(kbis)chief engineer-officer of a coasting ship;[paragraph (k)bis inserted by Act 40 of 1963]

(l)second engineer-officer of a foreign-going ship;[paragraph (l) substituted by Act 40 of 1963]

(lbis)second engineer-officer of a coasting ship;[paragraph (l)bis inserted by Act 40 of 1963]

(m)marine engineman;

(n)assistant marine engineman.

[Section 12(2) of Act 40 of 1963 includes the following transitional provision: “Any certificate of competency granted for the grade of chief engineer-officer or second engineer-officer before the coming into operation of sub-section (1) [the provision of Act 40 of 1963 which amended subsection (1) of section 75] shall be deemed to have been granted in respect of a foreign-going ship and any such certificate shall on production thereof to the Secretary be endorsed to that effect by him.”]

(2)A certificate of competency granted for the grade of chief or second engineer-officer, marine engineman or assistant marine engineman shall state whether it entitles the holder to act as engineer-officer or marine engineman in ships fitted with steam engines or in ships fitted with internal combustion engines or in ships fitted with any other type of engines, and the holder shall not be entitled to act as engineer-officer or marine engineman in a ship fitted with a type of engines not stated in the certificate.

(3)Certificates testifying to the competency of the holders to act in grades or capacities other than those referred to in sub-section (1) may be issued in accordance with the regulations.

76. ***

[section 76 deleted by Act 3 of 1989]

77. Examinations for certificates of competency

(1)Examinations of applicants for certificates of competency under this Act shall be held in such places in Namibia and at such times as the Minister may determine and under such conditions as may be prescribed by regulation.

(2)No person shall be admitted to examination for a certificate of competency unless he produces proof that he is a Namibian citizen or a citizen of a treaty country (other than Namibia) and possesses the qualifications prescribed by regulation: Provided that the Minister may, in his discretion and subject to any conditions which he may impose, admit to such examination a person who is a citizen of any other country if he possesses either the qualifications prescribed by regulation or qualifications which are in the opinion of the Minister of a standard not lower than those so prescribed.[subsection (2) amended by Act 69 of 1962 and substituted by Act 13 of 1965]

(3)[subsection (3) deleted by Act 13 of 1965]

(4)The Minister may appoint examiners for the conduct of such examinations, and remove any examiner so appointed.

78. Granting of certificates of competency after examination under this Act

(1)Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), the Minister may grant a certificate of competency to every applicant who passes the examination prescribed for the certificate satisfactorily, and produces satisfactory evidence that he possesses the qualifications prescribed for the holder of the certificate and of his sobriety, experience, ability, physical fitness and general good conduct.

(2)The Minister may, at any time before the delivery of a certificate, require a re-examination of the applicant by the examiners who made the examination or by any other examiners, and order a further enquiry into his testimonials or character or both, and if not satisfied with the result may order that a certificate be not granted to him.

79. Granting of certificates of competency otherwise than after examination under this Act

(1)Any person who -

(a)is a Namibian citizen or a citizen of a treaty country (other than Namibia) and is the holder of an uncancelled certificate of competency issued under the Merchant Shipping (Certificates of Competency) Act, 1925 (Act No. 45 of 1925); or

(b)is a Namibian citizen and is the holder of an uncancelled certificate of competency issued by a competent authority of a country other than Namibia,

may apply to the Minister for the grant to him of a certificate of competency under this Act.[Subsection (1) is substituted by Act 69 of 1962 and amended by Act 40 of 1963.][The Merchant Shipping (Certificates of Competency) Act 45 of 1925 is repealed by this Act.]

(2)The Minister may grant to the applicant an appropriate certificate of competency which, in the opinion of the Minister, testifies to the possession by the holder thereof of qualifications and a degree of competency not higher than those to which the certificate, upon the possession of which the application is based, testifies: Provided that before the grant is made the Minister may require the last-mentioned certificate to be surrended to him.[Subsection (2) is substituted by Act 13 of 1965. The word “surrendered” is misspelt in the Government Gazette, as reproduced above.]

(3)After the expiration of the period of one year from the date on which this section comes into operation sub-sections (1) and (2) shall no longer apply in respect of certificates of only mate of a foreign-going ship, master of a home-trade ship and mate of a home-trade ship granted under the Merchant Shipping (Certificates of Competency) Act, 1925.

80. ***

[Section 80 is amended by Act 30 of 1959, Act 40 of 1963, Act 42 of 1969 and Act 5 of 1976, and deleted by Act 3 of 1989. Section 3(2) of Act 3 of 1989 provides the following transitional provision: “Any certificate of service granted under section 80 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1951, before the date of commencement of this Act, shall remain in force as if the said section 80 has not been repealed by subsection (1).”]

81. Form and record of certificates of competency or service

(1)All certificates of competency or service shall be made in the prescribed form.[subsection (1) amended by Act 40 of 1963]

(2)A record of certificates of competency or service granted and of the suspension, cancellation or alteration thereof and of any other matter affecting them shall be kept in such manner as the Permanent Secretary may direct.

(3)Any such certificate and any record kept in terms of sub-section (2) shall be admissible in evidence.

82. Loss of certificates of competency or service

If any person proves to the satisfaction of the Permanent Secretary that he has lost or been deprived of a valid certificate of competency or service granted him under this Act or the Merchant Shipping (Certificates of Competency) Act, 1925 (Act No. 45 of 1925), the Permanent Secretary may, upon payment of such fee as may be prescribed, issue to that person a certified copy of the said certificate, and such copy shall be regarded as having the same force and effect as the original.[The Merchant Shipping (Certificates of Competency) Act 45 of 1925 is repealed by this Act.]

83. Certificates granted by competent foreign authorities

(1)The master and every officer on board a foreign ship who has received a certificate of competency or certificate of service granted by a competent authority in a foreign country and still in force shall, if the Minister is satisfied that the certificate is of corresponding value to any certificate of competency granted under this Act or the Merchant Shipping (Certificates of Competency) Act, 1925 (Act No. 45 of 1925), be deemed to be duly certificated under this Act in respect of such ship, provided his certificate is of a grade appropriate to his station in such ship, or of a higher grade.[The Merchant Shipping (Certificates of Competency) Act 45 of 1925 is repealed by this Act.]

(2)Notwithstanding the provisions of section 73 the Minister may, in his discretion, and for such periods and under such conditions as he may specify, permit the engagement on a Namibian ship going to sea from any port whatsoever or on a treaty ship other than a Namibian ship going to sea from a port in Namibia, in lieu of a person duly certificated under this Act or deemed, in terms of the other provisions of this Act, to be so certificated, of a person who is the holder of such a certificate of competency or certificate of service as is referred to in subsection (1), and who possesses a knowledge of the official language of Namibia sufficient to enable him to give the necessary orders in the performance of his duties; and while any such permission remains in force, and if the conditions under which it was granted are complied with, the person so engaged shall be deemed to be duly certificated under this Act in respect of such ship, provided his certificate is of a grade appropriate to his station in such ship, or of a higher grade.[section 83 amended by Act 69 of 1962 and by Act 40 of 1963, and substituted by Act 42 of 1969]

84. Certificates granted in Republic prior to commencement of Act

[Act 7 of 1991 makes a global substitution of “Namibia” for the phrase “the Republic”, but this does not apply to the word “Republic” on its own as it appears here.]

(1)All uncancelled certificates of competency or service issued under the Merchant Shipping (Certificates of Competency) Act, 1925 (Act No. 45 of 1925), shall continue in force as if issued under this Act, but shall be valid only for the purpose for which, and the extent to which, they would have been valid in accordance with the provisions of the aforementioned Act: Provided that such certificates of competency held by citizens of a foreign country shall not continue in force for purposes of employment of the holders on board a treaty ship, except in such cases and on such conditions as the Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, specify.[Subsection (1) is amended by Act 69 of 1962 to insert the proviso. A colon has been inserted accordingly. The Merchant Shipping (Certificates of Competency) Act 45 of 1925 is repealed by this Act.]

(2)Any such certificate may be dealt with as if issued under this Act.

(3)Sub-section (1) shall apply to the certificates of competency mentioned in sub-section (3) of section seventy-nine and to the certificates of service referred to in paragraph (b) of sub-section (1) of section eighty during the period of one year after the coming into operation of this section and no longer

85. Minister may vary requirements as to certificates

Notwithstanding the provisions of section seventy-three the Minister may, in his discretion and for such periods and under such conditions as he may specify if he is satisfied that no suitable holder of a certificate of the required grade and granted under this Act or referred to in section eighty-three or eighty-four or recognized under section three hundred and fifty-four is available, permit a Namibian ship to go to sea from any port whatsoever or a ship other than a Namibian ship to go to sea from a port in Namibia without the prescribed number of certificated officers or other persons, and while any such permission remains in force any person who acts in terms thereof shall not, if the conditions under which it was granted are complied with, be deemed to have contravened the provisions of section seventy-three.[section 85 amended by Act 40 of 1963]

86. Production to proper officer of certificates

(1)[subsection (1) deleted by Act 3 of 1982]

(2)The master -

(a)of a Namibian ship to which the provisions of sub-section (1) of section seventy-three or of a notice issued under sub-section (2) of the said section apply, upon going to sea from any port whatsoever; or

(b)of a ship other than a Namibian ship to which the provisions of sub-section (1) or (4) of the said section apply, upon going to sea from a port in Namibia,

shall produce to the functionary from whom he requests a clearance for the ship the certificates of competency which, by the said provisions, subject to any variation approved by the Minister under sub-section (3) of the said section, the master, officers and other persons on board the ship are required to hold.[subsection (2) amended by Act 40 of 1963]

(3)If the master of a ship fails to comply with the provisions of this section the ship may be detained by the proper officer until the certificates are produced.

87. Holder of certificate incapacitated by ill-health

(1)If at any time it appears to the proper officer that owing to ill-health or mental or physical defect the holder of a certificate of competency or service is unfit to perform the duties required of him, the proper officer may require him to submit himself to examination by a medical practitioner.

(2)If after consideration of the report on the medical examination the Minister is satisfied that the person concerned is owing to continued ill-health or mental or physical defect incapable of performing satisfactorily the duties appertaining to his certificate of competency or service, he may direct that until he is satisfied that the holder of the certificate has again become capable of performing satisfactorily the duties appertaining to the said certificate, the holder shall not be engaged or go to sea in the capacity referred to in the certificate or in any other capacity specified by the Minister.

(3)Any direction by the Minister under sub-section (2) shall -

(a)if the certificate was issued in Namibia, be effective everywhere and in respect of all ships; and

(b)if the certificate was issued elsewhere than in Namibia, be effective -

(i)within Namibia and the territorial waters of Namibia in respect of all ships; and

(ii)outside Namibia and the territorial waters of Namibia in respect of Namibian ships only.

88. Cancellation and suspension of certificates

Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the Minster may cancel or suspend a certificate of competency or service -

(a)if the holder has been convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment without the option of a fine, or has been convicted of any offence under this Act; or

(b)if the holder obtained the certificate on erroneous information.

89. Appeals against cancellation or suspension of certificate

(1)Any person in respect of whom any direction has been given under section eighty-seven or whose certificate of competency or service has been cancelled or suspended under section eighty-eight may appeal against the direction, cancellation or suspension to the High Court, and that court may confirm, set aside or vary the direction, cancellation or suspension.

(2)An appeal under this section shall be made in the manner and subject to the conditions and in accordance with the provisions laid down in the regulations.

Chapter IV
Engagement, Discharge, Repatriation, Payment, Discipline and General Treatment of Seamen, Cadets and Apprentice-Officers

90. Cadets

(1)No person shall be employed as a cadet on board any Namibian ship unless he is a Namibian citizen or a citizen of a treaty country (other than Namibia) or a citizen of any other country whom the Minister has in his discretion and subject to any conditions which he may have imposed, permitted to be so employed, and has attained the age of sixteen years and the master of the ship undertakes to train him or cause him to be trained in navigation and seamanship or in engineering and in the duties of a ship’s officer.[subsection (1) amended by Act 69 of 1962 and substituted by Act 13 of 1965]

(2)The owner or master of any such ship shall not permit the agreement with the crew to be signed by any person who is to be employed as a cadet unless he is satisfied that the provisions of subsection (1) are being complied with.[subsection (2) amended by Act 3 of 1982; not all changes indicated by amendment markings]

91. Excessive number cadets or apprentice-officers not to be employed

No person shall engage or permit cadets or apprentice-officers to serve on board a Namibian ship in excess ofthe number ofcadets or such officers permitted by the regulations.

92. Medical examination of cadets and apprentice-officers

No person shall be employed as a cadet on board any Namibian ship or indentured as an apprentice-officer to the owner ofa Namibian ship until he has passed the colour and form vision tests prescribed and has been certified by a medical practitioner approved by the proper officer as physically fit for the sea service.

93. Indentures of apprenticeship

All indentures of apprenticeship to the sea service entered into in Namibia shall be in accordance with the regulations and shall be executed in the prescribed form by the intended apprentice-officer and the person to whom he is to be bound in the presence of, and shall be attested by, a proper officer, who shall before the execution of the indentures satisfy himself -

(a)that the intended apprentice-officer -

(i)understands the contents and provisions of the indentures;

(ii)freely consents to be bound;

(iii)is a Namibian citizen or citizen of a treaty country (other than Namibia) or a citizen of any other country whom the Minister has in his discretion and subject to any conditions which he may have imposed, permitted to be indentured, and has attained the age of sixteen years;[subparagraph (iii) amended by Act 69 of 1962 and substituted by Act 13 of 1965]

(iv)is in possession· of a certificate by a medical practitioner to the effect that the said apprentice-officer is physically fit for the sea service; and

(v)has passed the colour and form vision tests prescribed;

(b)that the intended apprentice-officer is to be bound to a person who is the owner of a Namibian ship and is a fit and proper person for the purpose and who undertakes to ensure that the intended apprentice-officer shall be trained in navigation and seamanship or in engineering and in the duties of a ship’s officer;

(c)if the intended apprentice-officer is under the age of twenty-one years, that his guardian’s consent has been obtained to his being indentured.

94. Indentures voidable in certain case

All indentures of apprenticeship entered into in Namibia whereby a person under the age of twenty-one years is bound without the consent of his guardian shall be voidable by the guardian.

95. Recording of indentures

(1)The indentures of an apprentice-officer shall be executed in triplicate.

(2)The proper officer shall forward the indentures executed, in triplicate, to the Permanent Secretary, who shall keep and record the one set of indentures, and after endorsing on the others the fact that they have been recorded, transmit one to the master of the apprentice-officer and the other to the apprentice-officer, or, if he is a minor, to his guardian.

96. Notice of cancellation of indentures or death or desertion of apprentice-officer

The master shall notify the cancellation of the indentures, or the death or desertion of the apprentice-officer to the Permanent Secretary or to a proper officer, within three days ofthe occurrence if it occurs within Namibia, or as soon as circumstances permit if it occurs elsewhere.

97. Entry of indentures on agreement with the crew

The master of a Namibian ship shall, before going to sea from a port in Namibia with an apprentice-officer on board -

(a)cause the name of the apprentice-officer to he entered on the agreement with the crew referred to in section one hundred and two, together with the date of his indentures and every assignment thereof, and the name of every port at which the indentures have been registered;

(b)[paragraph (b) deleted by Act 3 of 1982]

(c)[paragraph (c) deleted by Act 3 of 1982]

Provided that -

(i)in the case of a ship other than a foreign-going ship it shall not be necessary to cause the apprentice-officer to reappear before the proper officer more frequently than once in six months; and

(ii)in the case of a foreign-going ship, it shall not be necessary to cause the apprentice-officer to reappear before the proper officer except at the last port of departure from Namibia.

[section 97 amended by Act 40 of 1963]

98. Death, insolvency, etc. of owner

If the owner of a Namibian ship carrying an apprentice-officer dies, or if his estate is sequestrated as insolvent, or if he ceases to have any interest in the ship, the indentures shall cease and a proportionate part of any premium paid shall be repaid, and until repaid shall be a charge on the ship: Provided that the name of the person by whom the ship has been acquired may with his consent and that of the apprentice-officer and, if he is under the age of twenty-one years, that of his guardian, and with the approval of the proper officer, be inserted in the indentures as master of the apprentice-officer in lieu of the previous owner, in which case the indentures shall continue: Provided, further, that if the voyage is continued and the apprentice-officer consents in terms of sub-section (1) of section one hundred and sixteen to complete the voyage, the name of the person by whom the ship has been acquired may with his consent be inserted in the indentures as master of the apprentice-officer in lieu of the previous owner, and the indentures shall continue until the voyage has been completed.

99. Assignment of indentures

(1)Every assignment of the indentures of an apprentice-officer shall be executed in the prescribed form by the apprentice-officer and the person to whom the indentures are to be assigned in the presence of, and shall be attested by, a proper officer, who shall before the execution of the assignment satisfy himself -

(a)that the apprentice-officer freely consents to the assignment;

(b)that the person to whom the indentures are to be assigned is the owner of a ship, and is a fit and proper person for the purpose, and undertakes to ensure that the apprentice-officer shall be taught navigation and seamanship and the duties of an officer; and

(c)if the apprentice-officer is under the age of twenty-one years, that his guardian’s consent has been obtained to the assignment.

(2)An assignment of the indentures of an apprentice-officer shall be executed in triplicate.

(3)The proper officer shall forward the assignment, executed in triplicate, to the Permanent Secretary, who shall keep and record one assignment and after endorsing on the others the fact that they have been recorded, transmit one to the master of the apprentice-officer, and the other to the apprentice-officer, or, if he is under the age of twenty-one years, to his guardian.

100. Certificate of expiration of indentures

Upon the expiration of the period for which any apprentice-officer was indentured, including any period for which the indentures were lawfully extended, the master to whom he has been bound shall issue to him a certificate in the prescribed form, signed by the master and setting forth such matters as may be prescribed, and shall forward to the Permanent Secretary a duplicate of the certificate, signed by the master.

101. Medical examination of crew prior to engagement

(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, the master of a Namibian ship shall not engage a seaman to serve in that ship unless there has been delivered to the master a certificate, valid in terms of sub-section (3), from which it appears that the seaman has been examined, that he is physically fit to serve in the capacity in which it is proposed to employ him, and that he is not suffering from any disease likely to be aggravated by, or to render him unfit for, service at sea or likely to endanger the health of other persons on board.

(2)The certificate mentioned in sub-section (1) shall be signed by a medical practitioner or, if the certificate relates only to the seaman’s sight, by a person approved by the proper officer.

(3)The certificate shall remain in force for a period of six months from the date on which it was granted: Provided that a certificate relating only to colour vision shall remain in force for six years from the date on which it was granted.[subsection (3) amended by Act 30 of 1959]

(4)If required to do so by the proper officer, the master shall produce the certificate referred to in sub-section (1), and if the master fails to do so, the proper officer may refuse to permit the engagement of the seaman concerned.

(5)The proper officer may on the ground of urgency authorize the engagement of a seaman for a single voyage notwithstanding the fact that a certificate has not been delivered to the master as required by sub-section (1).

(6)Any medical examination for the purpose of this section shall be at the expense of the owner of the ship concerned.

(7)The provisions of this section shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the engagement of a master and an apprentice-officer.

(8)This section shall not apply in respect of any -

(a)vessel belonging to Transnamib Limited and used by it in connection with the working of its harbours; or

(b)vessel of less than one hundred gross register tons.

102. Agreements with crew

(1)The master of every Namibian ship of more than one hundred gross register tons shall, and the master of every other Namibian ship may, enter into an agreement (in this Act called the agreement with the crew) with every seaman whom he engages to serve in that ship: Provided that the proper officer may refuse to allow the engagement of a seaman -

(a)who has not completed any period of pre-sea training that may be prescribed; or

(b)who does not possess a knowledge of the official language of Namibia sufficient to enable him to understand fully any necessary orders given him in that language in the performance ofhis duties.

(2)The agreement with the crew shall be in the prescribed form, dated at the time of the first signature thereof, and shall be signed by the master before any seaman signs it,

(3)The agreement with the crew shall contain, inter alia, as terms thereof the following particulars:

(a)the nature and, as far as practicable, either the duration of the intended voyage or engagement, or the maximum period of the voyage or engagement and any places or parts of the world to which the voyage or engagement is not to extend;

(b)the particulars as to the position of the deck line and load lines specified in any load line certificate issued in respect ofthe ship and still in force;

(c)the number and description of the crew;

(d)the time at which each seaman is to be on board or to begin work;

(e)the capacity in which each seaman is to serve;

(f)the wages which each seaman is to receive;[paragraph (f) substituted by Act 42 of 1969]

(g)a scale of the provisions which are to be furnished to each seaman;

(h)any regulations approved by the Minister as to conduct on board and as to fines or other lawful punishment for misconduct which the parties agree to adopt.

(4)If the master of a Namibian ship engages single seamen and there is already in existence in respect of that ship an agreement with the crew made in due form, those seamen may sign that agreement, and the master need not enter into a separate agreement with them.

103. Special provisions as to agreements with crew of foreign-going ships

The following provisions shall apply to agreements with the crew of a foreign-going Namibian ship:

(a)subject to the provisions of this Act as to substitutes, the agreement shall be signed by each seaman in the presence of a witness;[paragraph (a) amended by Act 3 of 1982]

(b)the master, owner or authorized agent of the owner shall cause the agreement to be read over and explained to each seaman, or otherwise ascertain that each seaman understands the same before he signs it in the presence of a witness, who, shall attest each signature;[paragraph (b) amended by Act 3 of 1982]

(c)when the crew is first engaged the agreement shall be signed in duplicate, and one agreement shall be delivered to the proper officer and the other shall be retained by the master, and shall contain a special place or form for the descriptions and signatures ofsubstitutes or persons engaged subsequent to the first departure of the ship;[paragraph (c) amended by Act 3 of 1982]

(d)if a substitute is engaged in the place of a seaman who has duly signed the agreement and whose services are terminated, within twenty-four hours before the ship proceeds to sea, by death, desertion, absence without leave or other unforeseen cause, the engagement of the substitute shall be effected before the master, who shall before the ship proceeds to sea, or as soon thereafter as is practicable, cause the agreement to be read over and explained to the substitute, and the substitute shall thereupon sign the same in the presence of a witness, who shall attest the signature;[paragraph (d) amended by Act 3 of 1982]

(e)the master shall not proceed with the engagement of the crew until he is satisfied that the particulars required by paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 102 have been inserted in the agreement;[paragraph (e) amended by Act 3 of 1982; not all changes indicated by amendment markings]

(f)separate agreements may be made for each single voyage, or an agreement (in this Act referred to as a running agreement) may be made to extend over two or more voyages;

(g)a running agreement shall not be for a longer period than one year, but if the period for which the agreement was entered into expires while the ship is not in a port in Namibia, the agreement shall continue in force until the ship is again in a port in Namibia: Provided that the agreement shall not continue for more than three months after the expiration of the period for which it was entered into unless the seamen concerned agree thereto in writing;[paragraph (g) amended by Act 40 of 1963]

(h)on every return to a port in Namibia before the final termination of a running agreement, the master shall endorse on the agreement particulars of the engagement or discharge of any seaman, or that no engagements or discharges have been made or are intended to be made before the ship leaves port, and also that any engagements or discharges made have been according to law.

[paragraph (h) amended by Act 3 of 1982]

104. Changes in crew to be reported

(1)Where an agreement has been entered into with the crew of a Namibian ship, the master or the owner thereof shall -

(a)before the ship leaves the port where the agreement was entered into, sign and render to the proper officer at that port a full and accurate statement in a form approved by the Permanent Secretary of every change that has taken place in the crew since the agreement was entered into; and

(b)before the ship leaves any port subsequently entered by her during the currency of the agreement, sign and render to the proper officer at that port a full and accurate statement in a form approved by the Permanent Secretary of every change that has taken place in the crew since he last rendered a statement in terms of this section.

[subsection (1) substituted by Act 42 of 1969 and amended by Act 3 of 1982]

(2)Every statement rendered in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be admissible in evidence.[section 104 substituted by Act 30 of 1959]

105. Certificates as to agreements with crew of foreign-going ships

(1)In the case of a foreign-going Namibian ship

(a)on the due execution of an agreement with the crew; or

(b)where the agreement is a running agreement, on compliance by the master with paragraph (h) of section 103,

the master shall issue a certificate to that effect.[subsection (1) amended by Act 3 of 1982; not all changes indicated by amendment markings]

(2)The master of every foreign-going Namibian ship shall before proceeding to sea from a port in Namibia produce to the officer of customs, if that officer should so require, the certificate mentioned in sub-section (1), and any such ship may be detained until the certificate is so produced.

(3)The master of every foreign-going Namibian ship shall, within forty-eight hours after the ship’s arrival at her final port of destination for the voyage, or, in the case of a running agreement, within forty-eight hours of her arrival at her final port of destination for the last voyage over which the agreement extends, or upon the discharge of the crew, whichever event first occurs, deliver the agreement with the crew to the proper officer, who shall give the master a certificate of that delivery.

106. Special provisions as to agreements with crew of coasting ships, and fishing, sealing or shore-based whaling boats

The following provisions shall have effect in respect of agreements with the crew of a coasting ship or a fishing, sealing or shore-based whaling boat registered in Namibia:

(a)agreements may be made either for service in a particular ship or for service in two or more ships belonging to the same owner;

(b)crews or single seamen shall be engaged in the same manner as they are required to be engaged for foreign-going ships and the provisions of section 103 with regard to substitutes shall apply;[paragraph (b) amended by Act 3 of 1982; not all changes indicated by amendment markings]

(c)an agreement for service in two or more ships belonging to the same owner may be made by the owner of the ship instead or by the master, and the relative provisions of this Act shall apply mutatis mutandis to such an agreement;

(d)an agreement shall not be for a longer period than two years, but if the period for which the agreement was entered into expires while the ship is not in a port in Namibia, the agreement shall continue in force until the ship is again in a port in Namibia: Provided that the agreement shall not continue for more than three months after the expiration of the period for which it was entered into unless the seamen concerned agree thereto in writing.

[paragraph (d) amended by Act 40 of 1963]

107. Certificate as to agreements with crew of coasting ships, and fishing, sealing or shore-based whaling boats

When the agreement with the crew of a coasting ship or a fishing, sealing or shore-based whaling boat registered in Namibia has expired, the master or owner of the ship shall deliver such agreement to the proper officer within twenty-one days after such expiry, and the proper officer on receiving such agreement shall give the master or owner a certificate to that effect.

108. Alterations in agreements with crew

No erasure, interlineation or alteration in any agreement with the crew of a Namibian ship (except additions made for the purpose of shipping substitutes or persons engaged after the first departure of the ship) shall be of force or effect unless proved by the written attestation of a proper officer to have been made with the consent of the members of the crew interested in such erasure, interlineation or alteration.

109. Copy of agreement to be displayed

The master of a Namibian ship shall at the beginning of every voyage or engagement cause a legible copy or the agreement with the crew (omitting the signatures) to be framed and displayed in some conspicuous place on board the ship which is accessible to the crew, and shall cause it to be kept so framed and displayed during its currency.

110. Employment of children on ships prohibited

The owner or master of a ship which is registered in Namibia, or of a ship which is not registered in Namibia and is wholly engaged in plying between ports in Namibia, shall not knowingly take into employment or keep in employment or permit the employment of any person under the age of fifteen years in any capacity on board the ship.[section 110 amended by Act 40 of 1963]

111. Employment of young persons as trimmers or firemen

(1)Subject to the provisions of this section the owner or master of a Namibian ship shall not knowingly take into employment, or keep in employment, or permit the employment of, a young person as a trimmer or fireman in that ship: Provided that -

(a)this sub-section shall not apply -

(i)to the employment of a young person on such work as aforesaid in a school-ship or training-ship, if the work is of a kind approved by the Minister and is carried on subject to supervision by officers approved or appointed by him; or

(ii)to the employment of a young person on such work as aforesaid in a ship which is mainly propelled otherwise than by means of steam; and

(b)if in any port a trimmer or fireman is required for any ship and no person over the age of eighteen years is available to fill the place, a young person over the age of sixteen years may be employed as a trimmer or fireman, but in any such case two young persons over the age of sixteen years shall be employed to do the work which would otherwise have been performed by one person over the age of eighteen years.

(2)There shall be included in every agreement with the crew of a Namibian ship a list of the young persons who are members of the crew, together with particulars of the dates of their birth, and, in the case of a ship in which there is no such agreement, the master of the ship shall, if young persons are employed therein, keep a register of those persons with particulars of the dates of their birth and of the dates on which they become or cease to be members of the crew.

(3)There shall be included in every agreement with the crew of a Namibian ship a short summary of the provisions of this section.

(4)Subject to the provisions of this section, the owner or master of a Namibian ship shall not knowingly employ a young person in any capacity in that ship unless there has been delivered to the master of the ship a certificate, valid in terms of sub-section (15), signed by a medical practitioner approved by the proper officer, to the effect that the young person is fit to be employed in that capacity: Provided that -

(a)this sub-section shall not apply to the employment of a young person in a ship in which only members of the same family are employed; and

(b)a proper officer may on the ground of urgency authorize a young person to be employed in a ship notwithstanding that no such certificate as aforesaid has been delivered to the master of the ship, but a young person in respect of whom any such authorization is given shall not be employed beyond the first port at which the ship calls after he has embarked (hereon, except subject to and in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this section.

(5)A certificate such as is referred to in sub-section (4) shall be effective for a period of six months from the date on which it is signed: Provided that if the said period of six months expires at some time during the course of the voyage of the ship in which the young person is employed, the certificate shall remain effective until the end of the voyage.

(6)The guardian of a young person shall not knowingly cause or permit him to be employed in contravention of the terms of this section.

(7)The master of a Namibian ship shall on demand by a proper officer produce to that officer for the purpose of inspection the register mentioned in sub-section (2) and every certificate delivered to the said master in terms of this section.

(8)In this section -“young person” means a person who is under the age of eighteen years;“ship” means any sea-going ship or boat of any description, and includes a fishing-boat, but does not include any tug, dredger, sludge vessel, barge, or other craft whose navigation does not extend beyond the seaward limits of the jurisdiction of the harbour authority of the port at which such vessel is regularly employed.

112. Rating of seamen

(1)After such date as may be fixed by the regulations a seaman engaged in any Namibian ship shall not be rated as able seaman, unless -

(a)he is the holder of a certificate of qualification as able seaman issued under this Act; or

(b)he is deemed in terms of section three hundred and fifty-four to be the holder of such a certificate.

(2)The Permanent Secretary may grant a certificate of qualification as able seaman to any candidate who passes the examination prescribed and produces satisfactory evidence that he possesses the qualifications prescribed.[subsection (2) amended by Act 3 of 1981]

(3)

(a)The Permanent Secretary shall grant to every person who produces proof to his satisfaction that he was serving as able seaman or in an equivalent or superior deck rating in a Namibian ship prior to the coming into operation of this section a certificate of qualification as able seaman.

(b)The Permanent Secretary may grant to every person who is a Namibian citizen and who produces proof to the Permanent Secretary’s satisfaction that he is the holder of an uncancelled certificate issued in a country other than Namibia which entitles him to serve as able seaman, a certificate of qualification as able seaman.

[subsection (3) amended by Act 40 of 1963 to insert paragraph (b)]

(4)The Permanent Secretary may make provision for the instruction of seamen who wish to undergo the examination prescribed for the certificate of qualification of able seaman.

(5)The Minister may appoint examiners for the conduct of the examination referred to in sub-section (4) and remove any examiner so appointed.

(6)The master or owner in whose presence a seaman is engaged in a Namibian ship after the date referred to in subsection (1) shall not enter the seaman as an able seaman on the agreement with the crew unless the seaman produces a certificate of qualification as able seaman issued under this Act or produces other proof that he is the holder of such certificate or proof that in terms of this Act he is deemed to be the holder of such a certificate.[subsection (6) amended by Act 3 of 1982; not all changes indicated by amendment markings]

113. Discharge of seamen

(1)The master of a Namibian ship shall not discharge a seaman who has signed the agreement with the crew from the ship, except before a proper officer, where the seaman does not consent to his discharge, and in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

(2)Upon the discharge of a seaman the master shall issue to the seaman a certificate of his discharge in the prescribed form.

(3)Upon the discharge of a seaman the master shall return to him any certificate of competency or qualification belonging to him which may have been in the custody of the master.

(4)When a seaman is discharged and the master declines to express an opinion on the conduct, character and ability of the seaman, the discharge shall be made before a proper officer, to whom he shall furnish a report in the prescribed form stating that he so declines, and the proper officer shall, if the seaman so desires, give to him or endorse on his certificate of discharge a copy of such report. The master shall enter in the official log-book his reasons for so declining, and shall, upon the request of the seaman, read out to him, in the presence of the proper officer, the reasons so entered. The proper officer shall, whenever practicable, give the seaman a reasonable opportunity to make a statement upon such report.

(5)The proper officer shall transmit the report, together with the seaman’s statement, if any, furnished to him in terms of sub-section (4) to the proper officer at the port where the agreement with the crew was entered into.[section 113 amended by Act 42 of 1969 and by Act 3 of 1982]

114. Repatriation of seamen whose service terminates elsewhere than at proper return port

(1)When the service of a seaman or apprentice-officer belonging to a Namibian ship terminates without the consent of the said seaman or apprentice-officer at a place other than a proper return port, and before the expiration of the period for which the seaman was engaged or the apprentice-officer was indentured, the master or owner of the ship shall, in addition to any other relative obligation imposed on either of them by this Act, make adequate provision for the maintenance of the seaman or apprentice-officer according to his rank or rating, and for the return of that seaman or apprentice-office to a proper return port.

(2)If the master or owner fails without reasonable cause to comply with the provisions of sub-section (1), the expenses of maintenance and of the journey to the proper return port shall, if defrayed by the seaman or apprentice-officer, be recoverable as wages due to him, and if defrayed by the proper officer, be regarded as expenses falling within the provisions of sub-sections (4) and (5) of section one hundred and fifty-four. Inability to provide the said expenses shall not, for the purposes of this sub-section, be regarded as reasonable cause.

(3)The provisions of this section shall not apply in the case of a seaman who is not a Namibian citizen or a citizen of a “treaty country (other than Namibia) and who was engaged at a port out of Namibia and discharged at a port outside Namibia.[subsection (3) amended by Act 69 of 1962]

115. Entries and certificates of desertion outside Namibia

(1)In every case of desertion from a Namibian ship at a port outside Namibia, the master shall as soon as possible after the event produce the entry of the desertion in the official log-book to a proper officer, and shall request that officer to make and certify a copy of such entry, and the proper officer shall, in the absence of reasonable cause to the contrary, comply with that request.

(2)The certified copy made in terms of subsection (1) shall be transmitted by the master to the proper officer at the port where the agreement was entered into and shall be admissible in evidence.[subsection (2) amended by Act 3 of 1982; not all changes indicated by amendment markings]

116. Discharge of seamen on change of ownership

(1)If a Namibian ship is transferred or disposed of while she is at or on a voyage to any port outside Namibia, every seaman or apprentice-officer belonging to that ship shall be discharged at that port, unless he consents in writing in the presence of a proper officer to complete the voyage in the ship if continued.

(2)If a seaman or apprentice-officer is discharged from a Namibian ship in terms of sub-section (1), the provisions of section one hundred and fourteen shall apply as if the service of the seaman or apprentice-officer had terminated without his consent and before the expiration of the period for which the seaman was engaged or the apprentice-officer was indentured, and, in the case of a seaman, the provisions of the said section shall, notwithstanding sub-section (3) thereof, be applicable whatever may be his nationality and wherever may be situated the port where he was engaged.

(3)Every seaman or apprentice-officer discharged in terms of sub-section (1) shall, if the voyage for which he was engaged is not continued, be entitled to the wages to which he would have been entitled if his service had been wrongfully terminated by the owner before the expiration of the period for which the seaman was engaged or the apprentice-officer was indentured.

117. Discharge and leaving of seamen behind

(1)The master of a Namibian ship shall not -

(a)discharge a seaman before the expiration of the period for which he was engaged, unless the seaman consents to his discharge; nor

(b)except in circumstances beyond his control, leave a seaman or apprentice-officer behind,

without the authority of the proper officer, who shall certify on the agreement with the crew that he has granted such authority, and also the reason for the seaman’s being discharged or the seaman or apprentice-officer’s being left behind.

(2)The proper officer to whom application is made for authority in terms of sub-section (1) shall investigate the grounds on which the seaman is to be discharged or the seaman or apprentice-officer left behind and may in his discretion grant or refuse to grant such authority: Provided that he shall not refuse to grant his authority if he is satisfied that the seaman has without reasonable cause -

(a)failed or refused to join his ship or to proceed to sea therein; or

(b)been absent from his ship without leave, either at the commencement or during the progress of a voyage for a period of more than forty-eight hours.

(3)The proper officer shall keep a record in the prescribed form of all seamen or apprentice-officers discharged or left behind in Namibia with his authority; and whenever any charge is made against a seaman or apprentice-officer under section one hundred and seventy-five or one hundred and seventy-six the fact that no such authority is so recorded shall be prima facie evidence that it was not granted.

118. Leaving seamen behind

No person shall cause a seaman or apprentice-officer to be wrongfully left behind -

(a)at any place in Namibia, in the ease of a ship other than a Namibian ship;

(b)at any place whatsoever, in the case of Namibian ship.

119. Wages and other property of seaman or apprentice-officer left behind

(1)If a seaman or apprentice-officer belonging to a Namibian ship is left behind, the master of the ship shall enter in the official log-book a statement of the amount due to the seaman or apprentice-officer in respect of wages at the time when he was left behind and of all property left on board by him, and shall take such property into his charge.

(2)Within forty-eight hours after the arrival of the ship at the port at which the voyage terminates, the master shall deliver to the proper officer -

(a)a statement of the amount due to the seaman or apprentice-officer in respect of wages, and of all property left on board by him; and

(b)a statement, with full particulars, of any expenses that may have been caused to the master or owner of the ship by the absence of the seaman or apprentice-officer, where the absence is due to a contravention by the seaman or apprentice-officer of section one hundred and seventy-five or one hundred and seventy-six,

and if required by the proper officer to do so, shall furnish such vouchers as are reasonably required to verify the statements.

(3)The master shall at the time when he delivers the statements referred to in sub-section (2) to the proper officer also deliver to him the amount due to the seaman or apprentice-officer in respect of wages and the property that was left on board by him, and the proper officer shall give to the master a receipt therefor in the prescribed form.

(4)The master shall be entitled to be reimbursed out ofthe wages or property referred to in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) such expenses shown in the statement referred to in paragraph (b) of that sub-section as appear to the proper officer to be properly chargeable.

(5)If the master or owner of the ship is not satisfied with any decision of the proper officer under sub-section (4), he may appeal therefrom to the Permanent Secretary, whose decision shall be final.

(6)The seaman or apprentice-officer concerned may within thirty days of his first becoming aware of any such decision of the proper officer under sub-section (4) appeal therefrom to the Permanent Secretary, whose decision in the matter shall be final. The Permanent Secretary may on such appeal direct that any money paid to the master in accordance with the decision of the proper officer shall be paid over by the master or the owner of the ship to the seaman or apprentice-officer, who may recover the amount as wages.

120. Payment of wages on discharge of a seaman of a Namibian ship

When a seaman of a Namibian ship is discharged, he may or if he has a dispute regarding his wages, he shall be paid his wages, or the balance thereof, in the manner directed by the proper officer, and the owner or master of the ship, as the case may be, shall, in the case of a dispute, not pay the wages of the seaman, or the balance thereof, in any other manner.[section 120 amended by Act 30 of 1959 and substituted by Act 42 of 1969]

121. Master to deliver account of wages

(1)When a seaman of a Namibian ship is discharged, the master or the owner of such ship shall cause to be delivered to such seaman a full and true account of his wages in a form approved by the Permanent Secretary.[subsection (1) substituted by Act 42 of 1969]

(2)[subsection (2) deleted by Act 42 of 1969]

(3)A deduction from the wages of a seaman shall not be allowed unless it is included in the account delivered in terms of subsection (1) except in respect of a matter happening after the said delivery.[subsection (3) substituted by Act 42 of 1969]

(4)The master shall during the voyage enter the various matters in respect of which the deductions are made, with the amount of the respective deductions, as they occur, in a book to be kept for that purpose, and shall, if required, produce the book at the time of the payment of wages, and also upon the hearing before any competent authority of any complaint in question relating to that payment.[section 121 amended by Act 30 of 1959]

122. Time of payment of wages for foreign-going ships

In the case of a foreign-going Namibian ship (other than a ship employed on voyages for which seamen by the terms of their agreement are wholly compensated by a share in the profits of the venture) -

(a)the owner or master of the ship shall pay to each seaman at the time when he lawfully leaves the ship at the end of his engagement, the sum of 50 rand or one-half of the balance of wages due to him, whichever amount is the lesser, and shall pay to him the remainder of his wages within two days after he so leaves the ship: Provided that if the seaman consents, the settlement of his wages may be left to the proper officer and in that case any relative receipt given by that officer to the owner or master shall operate as if it were a release given by the seaman in accordance with the provisions of this Act;

(b)if the wages of a seaman or any part thereof are not paid or settled in terms of this section, the said wages shall continue to run and be payable until the time of final payment or settlement thereof, unless the delay in payment or settlement is due to the act or default of the seaman, or to any reasonable dispute as to liability, or to any other cause not being the wrongful act or default of the owner or master.

[section 122 amended by Act 30 of 1959 and by Act 3 of 1982]

123. Time of payment for coasting ships, and fishing, sealing and shore-based whaling boats

(1)When a seaman is discharged from a coasting ship or a fishing, sealing or shore-based whaling boat, registered in Namibia, the owner or master shall pay to that seaman, within two days of his discharge, the balance of wages due to him, and if an owner or master fails without reasonable cause to make such payment he shall pay to the seaman a sum equal to two days’ pay for each of the days during which payment is delayed beyond the said period of two days, but the additional sum so payable shall not exceed ten days’ double pay.

(2)A sum payable under this section may be recovered as wages.[section 123 amended by Act 30 of 1959]

124. Settlement of wages

(1)When settlement of the wages of a seaman of a Namibian ship is required to be and is completed before a proper officer, the said seaman shall sign in the presence of the proper officer a release, in the prescribed form, of all claims in respect of the period of service concerned. The release shall also be signed by the proper officer and shall operate as a mutual discharge and settlement of all relative demands between the parties concerned, but shall not debar a claim under any law relating to workmen’s compensation.[subsection (1) amended by Act 3 of 1982]

(2)The release shall be retained by the proper officer, and shall be admissible in evidence.

(3)Where the settlement of wages is by this Act required to be completed through or in the presence of a proper officer, no payment, receipt or settlement made otherwise shall operate as or be admitted as evidence of the release or satisfaction of any claim in respect of such wages.

(4)Upon any payment being made by a master before a proper officer, the said officer shall on request sign and give to the master a statement of the whole amount so paid, and that statement shall as between the master and his employer be admissible as evidence that the master has made the payments therein mentioned.

(5)A seaman may except from the release signed by him under this section any specified claim or demand against the owner or master of the ship, and a note of any claim or demand so excepted shall be entered upon the release. The release shall not operate as a discharge or settlement of any claim or demand so noted, nor shall subsection (3) of this section apply to any payment, receipt, or settlement made with respect to any such claim or demand.[section 124 amended by Act 30 of 1959]

125. Decision by proper officer on question as to wages

Whenever a question as to wages is raised between the owner or master of a Namibian ship and a seaman or apprentice-officer, and the parties concerned agree in writing to submit such matter for adjudication to a proper officer, he may hear and decide the question so submitted, and his decision shall be final.[section 125 amended by Act 3 of 1982]

126. Payment of seamen in currency other than that mentioned in agreement

If a seaman has agreed with the master of a Namibian ship for payment of his wages in Namibian or any other currency, payment of or on account of such wages, if made in any other currency than that stated in the agreement, shall be made at the rate of exchange in force at the time when and at the place where the payment is made.[section 126 amended by Act 30 of 1959 and by Act 40 of 1963]

127. Disrating of seaman

(1)Whenever the master of a Namibian ship disrates a seaman he shall forthwith enter or cause to be entered in the official log-book a statement of the disrating and furnish the seaman with a copy of the entry, and any reduction of wages consequent on the disrating shall not take effect until the entry has been so made and the copy so furnished.

(2)Any reduction of wages consequent on the disrating of a seaman shall be deemed to be a deduction from wages within the meaning of section one hundred, and twenty-one.

128. Master to give facilities to seaman for remitting wages

If the balance of wages earned by but not yet payable to a seaman of a Namibian ship is more than 50 rand and the seaman expresses to the master of the ship his desire to have facilities afforded to him for remitting all or any part of the balance to a savings bank, or to a near relative in whose favour an allotment note may be made, the master shall give to the seaman all reasonable facilities for so doing so far as regards so much of the balance as is in excess of 50 rand, but shall be under no obligation to give those facilities while the ship is in port if the sum will become payable before the ship leaves port, or otherwise than conditionally upon the seaman going to sea in the ship.[section 128 amended by Act 3 of 1982]

129. Advance of more than one month’s wages prohibited

(1)The owner or master of a Namibian ship shall not pay or agree to pay in advance to or on account of any seaman in respect of wages an amount in excess of one month’s wages.

(2)Any agreement for the payment in advance of wages to or on account of any seaman in contravention of sub-section (1) shall be void, and any money paid in pursuance of any such agreement shall not be deducted from the seaman’s wages, and no person shall have any right of action or set-off against the seaman or his assignee in respect of any money so paid.

130. Allotment notes

(1)Subject to the provisions of subsection (2), a seaman engaged on a Namibian ship may before the commencement of a voyage make stipulations for the payment during his absence by means of an allotment note to a near relative or a savings bank or a body engaged in the promotion of the welfare of seamen and registered under the National Welfare Act, 1965 (Act No. 79 of 1965), of any portion of the wages which he may earn during the voyage.[subsection (1) amended by Act 3 of 1982; not all changes indicated by amendment markings]

(2)Except by agreement with the master an allotment note shall not provide for payment of a greater sum than three-fourths of the seaman’s wages.

(3)The stipulations shall be inserted in the agreement with the crew, and shall state the amounts and times of the payments to be made and the names of the persons to whom they are to be made.

(4)All allotment notes shall be in the prescribed form, and shall be signed by the master or owner of the ship or his authorized agent and the seaman.

(5)The master, owner or authorized agent of the owner before whom a seaman is engaged shall, after the seaman has signed the agreement, enquire of the seaman whether he requires a stipulation for the allotment of part of his wages by means of an allotment note. If the seaman requires such stipulation, the master, owner or authorized agent of the owner shall insert it in the agreement with the crew, and every such stipulation shall be deemed to have been agreed to by the parties thereto.[subsection (5) amended by Act 3 of 1982]

131. Right of suing on allotment notes

(1)The person in whose favour an allotment note under this Act has been made may, unless the seaman has forfeited or ceased to be entitled to the wages out of which the allotment is to be paid, recover the sums allotted when and as the same are made payable, with costs, from the owner of the ship in respect of which the seaman was engaged or from any agent of the owner who has authorized the allotment, and the provisions of section one hundred and thirty-six shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to any proceedings for such recovery: Provided that the wife of a seaman, if she deserts her children or so misconducts herself as to be undeserving of support from her husband shall forfeit all rights to further payments under any allotment made in her favour.

(2)In any proceedings mentioned in sub-section (1) it shall be sufficient for the claimant to prove that he is the person mentioned in the allotment note and that the note was given by the owner or by the master or the authorized agent of the owner or master, and the seaman shall be presumed to be duly earning his wages unless the contrary is shown to the satisfaction of the court -

(a)in the case of a seaman serving on a foreign-going ship, by the official statement of the change in the crew caused by the seaman’s absence, made and signed by the master in terms of section one hundred and four; or

(b)by a certified copy of some entry in the official logbook, or by a letter from the master, to the effect that the seaman has left the ship; or

(c)by such other evidence as the court in its discretion considers sufficient to show that the seaman has ceased to be entitled to the wages out of which the allotment is to be paid.

132. Time of payment of an allotment note

(1)Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), payment under an allotment note under this Act shall -

(a)begin at the expiration of one month from the date on which the seaman was engaged;

(b)be made at the expiration of every subsequent month after the first month; and

(c)be made only in respect of wages earned before the date of payment.

(2)By agreement with the master or owner or the authorized agent of the master or owner of a Namibian ship an allotment note may be granted to a seaman providing for payment at a time earlier than one month from the date of his engagement and at intervals more frequent than one month.

133. Rights to wages and provisions and when such are to commence

The rights of a seaman or apprentice-officer of a Namibian ship to wages and provisions shall be deemed to begin either at the time at which he commences work or at the time specified in the agreement or articles of indenture, as the case may be, for his commencement of work or presence on board, whichever first happens.

134. Agreement to forfeit lien for wages is void

(1)A seaman of a Namibian ship shall not by agreement forfeit his or her lien on the ship for his or her wages, or be deprived of any remedy for the recovery of wages to which in the absence of the agreement he or she would be entitled, or abandon his or her right to wages in the case of the loss of the ship, and every stipulation in any agreement with the crew inconsistent with the provisions of this section shall be void.[subsection (1) substituted by Act 5 of 2004]

(2)[subsection (2) deleted by Act 5 of 2004]

135. Restrictions on assignment of wages

(1)The following provisions shall apply to wages due or to become due to a seaman or apprentice-officer of a Namibian ship:

(a)Such wages shall not be liable to attachment or subjected to any form of execution under a judgment or order of any court;

(b)an assignment or hypothecation thereof shall not bind the person making the same;

(c)a power of attorney or authority for the receipt thereof shall not be irrevocable; and

(d)payment of wages to a seaman or apprentice-officer shall be valid in law, notwithstanding any previous assignment or hypothecation of those wages, or any attachment of or execution upon those wages.

(2)Nothing in this section shall affect the provisions of this Act regarding allotment notes or those of section 326 of this Act or those of sections 91 and 92 of the Income Tax Act, 1981 (Act No. 24 of 1981).[section 135 amended by Act 7 of 1991 and substituted by Act 5 of 2004]

136. Proceedings for wages

(1)A seaman or apprentice-officer, or a person duly authorized by him, may as soon as wages due to him by reason of his engagement in a Namibian ship become payable sue for the same before any magistrate’s court within whose area of jurisdiction the place at which his service has been terminated is situated, or which by reason of any other fact has jurisdiction in the matter; and no appeal shall lie from any judgment given or order made by the court in the matter.

(2)Nothing in sub-section (1) contained shall increase the jurisdiction of any magistrate’s court as regards the amount which may be claimed in any proceeding tried by the court.

137. Wages not recoverable abroad except in certain cases

If a seaman is engaged in a Namibian ship for a voyage or period of service which is to terminate in Namibia he shall not be entitled to sue in any court outside Namibia for wages, unless he has been discharged, or proves such ill-usage on the part of or by the authority of the master as to warrant reasonable apprehension of danger to his life or health if he were to remain on board.

138. Wages not to depend on freight

The right to wages shall not depend on the earning of freight, and every seaman and apprentice-officer of a Namibian ship who would be entitled to demand and recover wages if the ship in which he has served had earned freight shall, subject to all other laws and conditions applicable to the case, be entitled to recover the same notwithstanding that freight has not been earned.

139. Wages not claimable by seaman or apprentice-officer who fails to exert himself to save ship

(1)If it is proved that a seaman or apprentice-officer of a Namibian ship whose ship has been wrecked or actually or constructively lost has not made every reasonable effort to save the ship, cargo and stores, he shall not be entitled to claim any wages that would otherwise be due to him.

(2)In sub-section (1) the expression “constructively lost” has the meaning assigned to it in sub-section (4) of section twenty-nine.

140. Wages on termination of services by illness or injury of seaman or wreck or loss of ship

(1)If the service of a seaman of a Namibian ship is terminated, before the date contemplated in the agreement, by reason of -

(a)the wreck, loss, abandonment, flooding, stranding, fire on board or collision of the ship; or

(b)his being left behind at a place other than a proper return port owing to his incapacity to perform his duty because of illness, hurt or injury, unless it be proved that his illness, hurt or injury was caused by his own wilful act or default or his own misbehaviour, or unless he has unreasonably refused to undergo medical or surgical treatment for such illness, hurt or injury involving no appreciable risk to his life,

he shall be entitled to receive wages at the rate provided in the agreement for the period from the date his services are so terminated until he is returned to and arrives at a proper return port: Provided that the period for which he shall be entitled to receive wages shall not exceed ninety days, nor be less than sixty days or the period from the date his services so terminated until the date contemplated in the agreement, whichever is the shorter period.[subsection (1) amended by Act 30 of 1959 and by Act 3 of 1981]

(2)Notwithstanding the proviso to sub-section (1), a seaman shall not be entitled to receive wages under that sub-section in respect of any particular day if it be proved that he was able to obtain employment on that day in work which he was able to do and which was suitable, having regard to his rank or rating.

(3)If by reason of the wreck, loss, abandonment, flooding, stranding, fire on board or collision of a ship on which a seaman is employed he sustains the loss of any or all of his property, he shall be entitled, in accordance with the regulations, to compensation from the owner of the ship for such loss.[subsection (3) amended by Act 3 of 1981]

(4)A seaman shall not be entitled to receive compensation under sub-section (3) if it be proved that the loss of his property was not due to the wreck, loss, abandonment, flooding, stranding, fire on board or collision of the ship.[subsection (4) amended by Act 3 of 1981]

(5)Nothing in this section shall deprive any seaman of any compensation to which he may be entitled in terms of the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1941 (Act No. 30 of 1941), -

(a)for temporary partial disablement or temporary total disablement in respect of any period for which he shall not been paid wages in terms of this section; or

(b)for permanent disablement.

[Subsection (5) is amended by Act 30 of 1959. The Workmen’s Compensation Act 30 of 1941 was renamed the “Employees’ Compensation Act” in 1995.]

(6)A seaman shall not be entitled to receive any compensation under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1941, for temporary partial disablement or temporary total disablement in respect of any period for which he has been paid wages in terms of this section; but his employer who has paid such wages to him for that period shall, if he has paid all assessments for the payment of which he is liable under that Act, be entitled to recover from the accident fund established under that Act an amount equal to the compensation that would, but for the provisions of this section, have been payable to the seaman under that Act in respect of that period.[subsection (6) amended by Act 30 of 1959]

(7)In this section the expression “seaman” includes every person employed or engaged in any capacity on board any ship, but in the case of a ship which is a fishing boat, does not include any person who is entitled to be remunerated only by a share in the profits or the gross earnings of the working of the boat.

141. Wages not to accrue during refusal to work or imprisonment or illness caused by own default or drunkenness

(1)A seaman or apprentice-officer of a Namibian ship shall not be entitled to wages -

(a)for any period during which he is absent without leave from his ship or from his duty; or

(b)for any period during which he unlawfully refuses or neglects to work when required; or

(c)unless the court hearing the case otherwise directs, for any period during which he is lawfully imprisoned; or

(d)for any period during which he is by reason of his being under the influence of liquor or a drug, incapable of performing his duty.

(2)A seaman or apprentice-officer shall not be disentitled to claim wages for any period during which he has not performed his duty if he proves that he was incapable of doing so by reason of illness, hurt or injury, unless it be proved that -

(a)his illness, hurt or injury was caused by his own wilful act or default or his own misbehaviour; or

(b)his illness was contracted or his hurt or injury was sustained at a proper return port and was not attributable to his employment; or

(c)he has unreasonably refused to undergo medical or surgical treatment for his illness, hurt or injury involving no appreciable risk to his life.

(3)This section shall be construed as though sub-sections (5) and (6) of section one hundred and forty were included in this section; and in such construction any reference in the said subsections to the payment of wages in terms of section one hundred and forty shall be deemed to be a reference to the payment of wages in terms of this section.[subsection (3) amended by Act 30 of 1959]

142. Compensation to a seaman improperly discharged

If a seaman of a Namibian ship is discharged otherwise than in accordance with the terms of his engagement

(a)before the commencement of the voyage; or

(b)before one month’s wages are earned,

without fault on his part justifying that discharge and without his consent, he shall be entitled to receive from the owner or master, in addition to any wages which he may have earned, compensation not exceeding one month’s wages for any damage caused to him by the discharge, and may recover that compensation as if it were wages duly earned.

143. Remedies of master for recovery of wages, disbursements, etc.

(1)The master of a Namibian ship shall, so far as the case permits, have the same rights, liens and remedies for the recovery of his wages as a seaman has under this Act or by any law or custom.

(2)The master of a Namibian ship shall, so far as the case permits, have the same rights, liens and remedies for the recovery of disbursements or liabilities properly made or incurred by him on account of the ship as a master has for the recovery of his wages.

(3)If in any proceedings in any court touching the claim of a master in respect of wages or of disbursements or liabilities properly made or incurred on account of the ship any right of set-off or counter-claim is set up, the court may enter into and adjudicate upon all questions and settle all accounts then arising or outstanding and may direct payment of any balance found to be due.

144. Unreasonable delay in paying master’s wages

If payment of the sum due to the master of a Namibian ship on account of wages has been delayed, the court trying any proceedings for the recovery of such wages may order the person liable to make the payment of wages to pay to the master, in addition to any sum due on account of wages, such sum as it thinks just as damages in respect of the delay, unless the court finds that the delay is due to the act or default of the master, or to any reasonable dispute as to liability, or to any other cause not being the wrongful act or default of the person liable to make the payment.

145. Power of court to rescind contract between owner or master and seaman or apprentice-officer

When any proceedings are instituted in any court of competent jurisdiction in relation to any dispute between an owner or master of a Namibian ship and a seaman or apprentice-officer, arising out of or incidental to their relation as such, the court may in its discretion rescind any contract between the owner or master and the seaman or apprentice-officer, or any contract of apprenticeship, upon such terms as the court may think just, and this power shall be in addition to any other jurisdiction which the court may have.

146. Master to take care and make record of property of seaman who dies

(1)If a seaman or apprentice-officer of a Namibian ship dies, the master of the ship shall take charge of all money and other property on board the ship belonging to the said seaman or apprentice-officer.

(2)The master shall enter in the official log-book the following particulars:

(a)a statement of the amount of the money and a detailed description of the other property; and

(b)a statement of the sum due to the deceased for wages and of the amount of any deductions to be made from the wages.

(3)The said money, balance of wages and other property are in this Chapter referred to as the property of the seaman or apprentice-officer.

147. Delivery to proper officer of property of seaman who dies

(1)If a seaman or apprentice-officer of a Namibian ship dies during a voyage, the master of the ship shall within forty-eight hours after arrival at the ship’s next port of call where there is a proper officer report all the circumstances of the death to that officer, and shall within the same period deliver the property of the deceased seaman or apprentice-officer to the proper officer, unless that officer directs that such delivery be made to the proper officer at some other port, in which case the master shall act accordingly.

(2)If a seaman or apprentice-officer of a Namibian ship dies in Namibia, the master or owner of the ship shall deliver the property of the deceased seaman or apprentice-officer to the proper officer at the port where the seaman or apprentice-officer was discharged or was to have been discharged.

(3)The master of the ship shall, as soon as is practicable, report the death to the next-of-kin of the seaman or apprentice-officer.

148. Account to be rendered of property of seaman who dies

(1)In all cases where a seaman or apprentice-officer of a Namibian ship dies during a voyage or engagement, the master shall give to the proper officer to whom the property of the deceased is delivered an account of such property, in such form as that officer may require.

(2)No deductions claimed by the master shall be allowed unless verified by such vouchers as may reasonably be required by the proper officer and, if an official log-book is required to be kept, by an entry in that book made and attested as required by this Act.

(3)When a master has complied with the provisions of this section the proper officer shall grant him a certificate to that effect.

149. Property of deceased seaman left abroad but not on board ship

If a seaman or apprentice-officer of a Namibian ship, the voyage of which is to terminate in Namibia, dies at any place out of Namibia, leaving any money or other property not on board the ship to which he belonged at the time of his death, the proper officer at or near that place shall claim and take charge of such money and other property, and such money and other property shall be deemed to be the property of a deceased seaman or apprentice-officer within the meaning of this Chapter.

150. Sale of property of deceased seaman

(1)Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), the proper officer may, if he thinks fit, sell any of the property of a deceased seaman or apprentice-officer delivered to him, or of which he takes charge under this Chapter, and the proceeds of any such sale shall be deemed to form part of the said property.

(2)Before selling any valuables comprised in such property the proper officer shall endeavour to ascertain the reasonable wishes of the next-of-kin of the deceased seaman or apprentice-officer as to the disposal of such valuables. He shall, if practicable and lawful, comply with such wishes.

(3)Every such officer shall remit the property or proceeds so acquired to the Permanent Secretary, and shall render such accounts in respect thereof as may be prescribed or way be required by the Permanent Secretary.

151. Property of deceased seaman may be recovered as wages

The provisions of section one hundred and thirty-six shall apply, mutatis mutandis, in respect of the property of a deceased seaman or apprentice-officer.

152. Transmission by Permanent Secretary of property of deceased seaman

If any property of a deceased seaman or apprentice-officer who at the date of such seaman’s or apprentice-officer’s death was ordinarily resident in Namibia, comes into the hands of the Permanent Secretary, the Permanent Secretary shall, after deducting for expenses incurred in respect of that seaman or apprentice-officer or of such seaman’s or apprentice-officer’s property such sum as the Permanent Secretary thinks proper to allow, transmit the residue to the Master referred to in section 1 of the Administration of Estates Act, 1965 (Act 66 of 1965), and the Master shall take such steps as may be necessary to ensure that such residue shall be dealt with in the manner provided by law.[section 152 amended by Act 40 of 1963 and by AG 3 of 1979, and substituted by Act 7 of 1991]

153. Recovery of wages of seaman lost with his ship

(1)If a seaman or apprentice-officer of a Namibian ship is lost with the ship to which he belongs the proper officer may recover the wages due to him from the owner of the ship.

(2)The provisions of sections one hundred and thirty-six and one hundred and fifty-two shall apply, mutatis mutandis, in respect of wages referred to in sub-section (1).

(3)If in any proceedings under sub-section (1) for the recovery of wages it is shown by the official records or by other evidence that the ship departed from a port twelve months or more before the institution of the proceedings and has not since been heard of, that ship shall be deemed to have been lost with all hands on board, either immediately after the latest time at which she is known to have been still in existence or at such later time as the court hearing the case may think probable.

(4)Any duplicate agreement with the crew delivered to a proper officer in terms of paragraph (c) of section 103 or any statement of a change of the crew transmitted to a proper officer in terms of section 104 at the time of the departure of the ship from the port last visited, and any certificate purporting to be a certificate issued in terms of section 105(1), stating that certain seamen and apprentice-officers joined the ship at the said port shall, if produced by the Permanent Secretary or any person thereto authorized by him, be taken in the absence of proof to the contrary as sufficient proof that the seamen and apprentice-officers therein named as belonging to the ship were on board at the time of the loss.[subsection (4) amended by Act 3 of 1982]

154. Relief and maintenance of distressed seaman

(1)In this section and in section one hundred and fifty-five -

(a)“distressed seaman” includes any master, seaman or apprentice-officer -

(i)who is a Namibian citizen and who by reason of having been discharged or left behind from or shipwrecked in any ship other than a Namibian ship at a place outside Namibia, is in distress at that place; or

(ii)whether he is a Namibian citizen or not, who, by reason of having been discharged or left behind from or shipwrecked in any Namibian ship at a place outside Namibia, is in distress at that place;

(b)“repatriation expenses” means expenses incurred in returning a distressed seaman to a proper return port and in providing him with necessary clothing and maintenance until his arrival at such port and includes, in the case of a shipwrecked seaman, the repayment of expenses incurred in conveying him to port after shipwreck and maintaining him while being so conveyed; and

(c)“excepted expenses” means repatriation expenses incurred in cases where the cause of the seaman’s being left behind is desertion or absence without leave or imprisonment for misconduct or discharge from his ship by a maritime court on the ground of misconduct.

(2)The proper officer shall on application being made to him by a distressed seaman, provide in terms of the regulations for the return of that seaman to a proper return port, and also for the said seaman’s necessary clothing and maintenance until his arrival at such port.

(3)A distressed seaman shall not have any right to be maintained or sent to a proper return port except to the extent and on the conditions provided for in the regulations.

(4)All repatriation expenses, other than excepted expenses, incurred by or on behalf of the State in accordance with the provisions of this Act shall constitute a debt due to the State for which the owner of the ship to which the seaman in respect of whom they were incurred belonged at the time of his discharge or other event which resulted in his becoming a distressed seaman shall be liable. The owner shall not be entitled to recover from the seaman any amount paid by him to the State in settlement or part settlement of such debt.

(5)All excepted expenses incurred by or on behalf of the State in accordance with the provisions of this Act shall constitute a debt due to the State for which the seaman in respect of whom they were incurred and the owner of the ship to which that seaman belonged at the time of his discharge or other event which resulted in his becoming a distressed seaman shall be jointly and severally liable. The owner shall be entitled to recover from the seaman any amount paid by him to the State in settlement or part settlement of such debt, and may apply to the satisfaction of his claim so much as may be necessary of any wages due to the seaman.

(6)All excepted expenses incurred in accordance with the provisions of this Act in respect of any distressed seaman by the owner of the ship to which he belonged at the time of his discharge or other event which resulted in his becoming a distressed seaman shall constitute a debt due to the owner for which the seaman shall be liable. The owner may apply to the satisfaction of his claim so much as may be necessary of any wages due to the seaman. The owner shall not be entitled to recover from the seaman any repatriation expenses other than excepted expenses.

(7)In any proceedings for the recovery of any expenses which in terms of sub-section (4) or (5) are a debt due to the State the production of an account of the expenses and proof of payment thereof by or on behalf of or under the direction of the Minister shall be prima facie evidence that the expenses were incurred or repaid in accordance with the provisions of this Act by or on behalf of the State.

155. Receiving distressed seamen on ships

(1)The master of a Namibian ship shall receive on board his ship and afford passage and maintenance to all distressed seamen whom he is required by a proper officer to take on board his ship, and shall during the passage provide every such distressed seaman with accommodation equal to that normally provided for the crew of the ship and subsistence, proper to the rank or rating of the said distressed seaman:

(2)Every distressed seaman who is taken on board a ship in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1) shall as long as he remains in the ship be deemed to belong to the ship and be subject to the same laws and regulations for preserving discipline as if he were a member of the crew and had signed the agreement with the crew.

(3)The master of a ship shall not be required to receive on board his ship a distressed seaman in terms of this section, if the proper officer is satisfied that accommodation is not and cannot be made available for such seaman.

156. Provisions of seamen

(1)The master of a Namibian ship of more than one hundred gross register tons shall furnish provisions to every seaman and apprentice-officer (who does not furnish his own provisions) in accordance with the prescribed scale.

(2)The provisions of sub-section (1) shall not apply to non-white seamen not accustomed to the dietary of white persons, if in the agreement with the crew an adequate scale of provisions suited to their needs and approved by the proper officer has been provided for them.[subsection (2) amended by Act 40 of 1963]

157. Measuring instruments on board

The master of a Namibian ship shall keep on board proper measuring instruments for determining the quantities of the several provisions and articles served out, and in the event of any dispute as to the quantities served out, shall cause the quantities to be measured in the presence of a witness by using such measuring instruments.[section 157 substituted by Act 5 of 1976]

158. Refrigerating chamber

(1)Subject to the provisions of sub-sections (2) and (3), the owner of every foreign-going Namibian ship shall cause her to be provided with a mechanically cooled refrigerating chamber of such capacity and design as to be capable of preserving in good condition fresh meat and other similar perishable foods prescribed for the consumption of the seamen and apprentice-officers between the principal ports of supply on the projected voyage of the ship.

(2)If the Minister is satisfied -

(a)from a report of a surveyor that in the case of a ship built before the coming into operation of this section the provision of a refrigerating chamber is impracticable; or

(b)in the case of a ship built before or after the coming into operation of this section, the purpose of this section will, by reason of the small tonnage of the ship or the nature or conditions of the projected voyage of the ship, be secured by the provision of a refrigerator instead of a refrigerating chamber,

he may direct that a refrigerator of a capacity and design approved by him be provided instead of a refrigerating chamber.

(3)If the Minister is satisfied that because of the nature and conditions of the projected voyage of the ship the provision of a refrigerating chamber or a refrigerator would be unreasonable or unnecessary, he may exempt the ship from the provisions of this section.

(4)If a proper officer or surveyor finds on inspecting any foreign-going Namibian ship which has not been exempted under sub-section (3), that the provisions of sub-section (1) or any direction given in respect of that ship under sub-section (2), as the case may be, is not being complied with, he may cause the ship to be detained until the sub-section or the direction, as the case may be, is complied with.

159. Certificated cooks

(1)The owner or master of every Namibian ship going to sea from any port whatsoever, of not less than five hundred gross register tons, shall provide the ship with a cook, who is the holder of -

(i)a certificate of qualification prescribed by the regulations; or

(ii)a certificate of qualification in cooking granted by a school of cooking or an institution approved by the Minister; or

(iii)certificates of discharge showing that he had at least two years’ sea service as cook prior to a prescribed date,

or who in terms of section three hundred and fifty-four is deemed to be the holder of any such certificate: Provided that if the proper officer is satisfied that a suitable cook so certificated is not available at a reasonable rate of pay, he may in his discretion permit the engagement as cook in any such ship of a person who is not so certificated.[The paragraphs in this subsection are labelled with Roman numerals rather than letters, unlike similar paragraphs in most of the rest of the Act.]

(2)A ship’s cook shall be entered as such on the agreement with the crew, or, in the case of a ship of not more than two thousand gross registered tons or a ship in which the crew, or the majority of the crew, provide their own provisions, either as cook or as cook and steward. A person who is rated as cook and steward in accordance with the provisions of this sub-section shall not be required to possess the qualifications that may be

Merchant Shipping Act, 1951

Act 57 of 1951

Related documents

Merchant Shipping Act, 1951

Act 57 of 1951

PRELIMINARY

1. Repeal and amendment of laws

2. Definitions and interpretation of certain references

3. Application of Act

Chapter IAdministration

4. Powers of Minister

5. Permanent Secretary to be responsible for administration of Act

6. National Marine Advisory Council, National Advisory Council for the welfare of merchant seamen, port welfare committees and ad hoc advisory committees

7. Survey of ship to ascertain whether she complies with the Act

8. Duty of proper officer to ensure compliance with this Act

9. Powers of officers and courts

Chapter IIRecording, Registering and Licensing of Ships

10. Notification of building of vessels

11. Qualification for owning ship registered under this Act

12. Power to enquire into the title of a registered ship to be registered

13. Obligation to apply for registry of a ship

14. ***

15. Register to be kept

16. Survey and measurement of ship before registry

17. Tonnage once ascertained to be the tonnage of ship

18. Tonnage of ships of other countries

19. Marking of ship

20. Evidence on first registry

21. Entry of particulars in register

22. Documents to be retained by proper officer

23. Certificate of registry

24. Custody of certificate of registry

25. Improper certificate of registry not to be used

26. Power to grant new certificate of registry

27. Endorsement of change of master on certificate of registry

28. Endorsement of change of ownership on certificate of registry

29. Procedure when ship is lost or ceases to be a Namibian ship

30. Provisional certificate for ship which elsewhere than in Namibia becomes the property of a person qualified to own a Namibian ship

31. Temporary passes in lieu of certificates of registry

32. Notifications of alterations in ships

33. Registry of alterations

34. Registry anew on change of ownership

35. Procedure for registry anew

36. Transfer of registry

37. Re-registration of abandoned ships

38. Names of ships

39. Transfer of ships or shares

40. Declaration of transfer

41. Registry of transfer

42. Transmission of property in ship on marriage or death, etc.

43. Order for sale on transmission to unqualified person

44. Transfer of ship or sale by order of Permanent Secretary or court

45. Power of court to prohibit transfer

46. Mortgage of ship or share not to be registered in deeds registry

47. How ship or share mortgaged

48. Discharge of mortgage

49. Priority of mortgages

50. Rights of mortgagee

51. Preference under mortgage not affected by insolvency

51A. ***

52. Transfer of mortgage

53. Transmission of interest in mortgage by death, etc.

54. Authority to sell or mortgage outside Republic

55. Rules as to certificates of sale

56. Rules as to certificates of mortgage

57. Loss of certificate of mortgage or sale

58. Revocation of certificate of mortgage or sale

59. Access to register

60. Provision for cases of minority or other incapacity

61. Right of registered owner to dispose of ship or share

62. Rights and liabilities of person holding an interest in a ship or share

63. National character of ship to be declared before clearance

64. Ships recognized as ships of Namibian nationality

65. Flag to be flown on ships of Namibian nationality

66. Unlawful assumption of Namibian national character

67. Concealment of Namibian national character

68. Small vessels to be licensed

69. Renewal of licences

70. Issue and duration of licences

71. Cancellation of licences

Chapter I
Administration

Chapter II
Recording, Registering and Licensing of Ships

Chapter III
Certificates of Competency and Service

Chapter IV
Engagement, Discharge, Repatriation, Payment, Discipline and General Treatment of Seamen, Cadets and Apprentice-Officers