REGISTERED No. D-(D)-72 The Gazette of India EXTRAORDINARY
PART II—Section 1 PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY No 49] NEW DELHI, THURSDAY, MAY 31, 1984/JYAISTHA 10, 1906 Separate paging is given to this Part in order that it may be filed as a separate compilation MINISTRY OF LAW, JUSTICE AND COMPANY AFFAIRS (Legislative Department) New Delhi, the 31st May, 1984/Jyaistha 10, 1906 (Saka) The following Act of Parliament received the assent of the President on the 27th May, 1984, and is hereby published for general information: — THE MERCHANT SHIPPING (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1984 No. 41 OF 1984 [27th May, 1984.]
An Act further to amend the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Thirty-fifth Year of the Republic of India as follows:—
1. (1) This Act may be called the Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Act, 1984.
(2) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
Short title and Commencemeat.
2. In section 3 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 (hereinafter referred to as the principal Act), after clause (11), the following clause shall be inserted, namely:— Amendment of section 3 of 1958.
•(11A) "family" means,—
(i) in the case of male, his wife, his children, whether, married or unmarried, his dependent parents and his deceased son's widow and children:
(1) 2 TH£ GAZETTE OF iNftlA EXTRAORDINARY [PART Unprovided that if a person proves that his wife has ceased under the personal law governing him or the customary law of the community to which the spouses belong, to be entitled to maintenance she shall no longer be deemed to be a part of such person's family for the purpose of this Act, unless such person subsequently intimates by express notice, in writing, to the Central Government that she shall continue to be so regarded; and i
(it) in the case of female, her husband, her children^ whether married or unmarried, het dependent parents, her husband's dependent parents and her deceased son's widow and children:
Provided that if a person by notice in writing to the Central Government expresses her desire to exclude her husband from the family, the husband and his dependent parents shall no longer be deemed to be a part of such person's family for the purpose of this Act, unless such person subsequently cancels in writing any such notice.
Explanation.—In either of the above two cases, if the child, or, as the case may be, the child of a deceased son, of a person has been adopted by another person and if under the personal law of the adopter adoption is legally recognised, such a child shall be considered as excluded from the family of the first mentioned person.'.
3. In section 24 of the principal Act, the following proviso shall be inserted at the end namely:—- Amendment of section 24.
"Provided that subject to such order as the Central Government may issue in this behalf, when the office of registrar of Indian ships at any port is vacant or the holder of such office is on leave or is not available, for any reason, at the port to exercise and discharge the powers, duties and functions of the office, the seniormost surveyor at that port may act as, and exercise and discharge the powjers, duties and functions of, the registrar of Indian ships at that por t"
4. In sub-section (1) ..of section 101 of the principal Act, for the words "signed by the master", the words "signed by the owner or agent and the master" shall be substituted.
Amendment of section
101.
5. For section 102 of the principal Act, the following section shall b» substituted, namely: — Substitution of new section for section 102.
'•'102. Notwithstanding anything contained In any other provision of this Act, the master of a ship registered at a port outside India who has an agreement with the crew made in due form according to the law fcf that port or of the port in which her crew were engaged, may engage in any port in India—
(a) a seaman who is not a citizen of India and who holds a continuous discharge certificate or any other similar document Engagement of seaman where agreement is made out of India.
SEC. 1] THE,GAZETTE OF INDIA EXTRAORDINARY 3 of identity Issued by the competent authority of the country in which the ship is registered, or, as the case may be, of the country in which the said agreement was made; or
(b) a seaman who is a citizen of India and who-holds a certificate of discharge or a continuous certificate of discharge issued under this Act, and any seaman so engaged under clause (a) or clause (b) may sign the agreement aforesaid and it shall not be necessary for him to sign an agreement under this Act,",
6. In the principal Act, section 105 shall be re-numbered as sub-section
(1) thereof and after sub-section (I) as so re-numbered, the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:*— Amendment of section
105.
"(2) A copy of the statement referred to in sub-section (1) shall also be sent to the seamen's" employment office concerned.".
7. In section 108 of the principal Act, for the portion beginning with the words "unless proved to have been made" and ending with the word1;
"if made out of India"', the following shall be substituted, namely: — Amendment of section
108.
"unless proved to have been made with the consent of all the persons interested in the erasure, interlineation or alteration by the written attestation,—
(a) if in India, of some shipping master or customs collector; or
(h) if outside India, by an Indian consalar officer or at any port outside India at which no Indian consular officer is available, any such person as ir authorised in this behalf by the Central Government by notification in the Official Gazette".
8. After section 130 of the principal Act, the following section shall be inserted, namely: — Insertion of newsection
130A.
"13QA. Subi'ect to the provisions of section 160 and to such restrictions and conditions as rnav be prescribed, anv amount deposited with or recovered by the shipping master for making navment in arcord-nnce with the allotment ndte made bv a seaman or fnr heint* mid to -T seaman or his nominee may, if such amount ren̂mn=; unclaimed with th^ shipping rraster for a period of not less than six years, be utilised for the welfare of seamen in such manner ag the Central Government may direct.".
Certain Undisbursed amounts to be utilised for "welfare of seamen.
9. In section 132 of the principal Act, in clause (a) of sub-section (1) for th« words "thrpe hundred rupees", the words "three thousand rupees" pjhall b# substituted.
Amendment of section
132.
lft. Ta wction !3? of the pr^cipa] Act, In ^"h-section (1), fnr tho wwnih "on* montH frni-n ^ne date of fhe a^r^'nerit" ths words "one monijh from fhe date -rn which +h* seaman's rt*V to wpges begins" shall be substituted Ams l a - ment <>f section
137.
A. THE GAZETTE OF INDIA EXTRAORDINARY [PART IT—
11. In section 141 of the principal Act, in sub-section (3), for the words "to his legal heirs", the words "to the person nominated by him in this behalf under section. 159A or If he has not made any such nomination or the nomination made by him is or has become void, to hig legal heirs" shall be substituted.
ment of •wtion 141.
12. In section 159 of the principal Act,—
(a) in the opening portion, for ithe words "such sums as he thinks proper to allow, may—", the words, figures and letter "such sums as he thinks proper to allow, shall pay and deliver the residue to the person nominated by the seaman or apprentice in! this behalf under section 159A and* if he has not made any such nomination or the nomination made by him is or hag become void, the shipping master may—" shall be substituted;
Amend- •lent of section 159,
(b) in clause (b), after the words and figures "the Indian Succession Act, 1925'*, the words and figures "or a certificate under section 29 of the Administrators-General Act, 1963" shall be inserted.
13. After section 159 of the principal Act, the following section shall be inserted, namely:— 39 of 1926.
49 of IMS.
Insertion of new secti6n
169A.
Nomination.
"159A. (1) A seaman may, for the purposes of sub-section (3) of section 141 and! clause (b) of section 159 and an apprentice may, for the purposes of clause (b) of section 159r nominate any person or persons:
Provided that if the seaman or the apprentice has a family, he may nominate for the purposes] aforesaid any one or more members of his family only and if a seaman or an apprentice acquires a family after he has made any .such nomination, the nomination shall become void.
(2) The form in which any nomination may be made under subsection (1), the cancellation or variation of any Such nomination (including the making of a fresh nomination) and all other matters connected with such nominations shall be such as may be prescribed.".
14. In section iftO of the principal Act, in sub-section (2), after the proviso, the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:— Amendment of section
16ft. "Provided further that If. before the expiration of six years after the proceeds of the sale have been so paid, no claim js made thereto the amount ot anv pnrf thereof may be utilised for thf welfare of seamen in such manner as the Central. Government may direct".
15. After section 177 of the principal Act, the following section $hall be inserted, namely: ~ Insertion of new •action 177A, "177A. (1) Thv Central Government may. having regard to the provisions of the Convention concerning the Prevention of Occupational Accidents tn Reafqrprq adontpr! bv the General Coherence of the rn^rnaHrmai Labour Or^n^^rm <m tha 30+v, A^T nf <V+oher 1970, make rules so as to ensure «s*fe wnridnsr eonrWon* for ' Tndian ships and for preventing accidents find differeftt rulw mfty h« made Power to mftka rules to prevent «eeldent«, etc, Sic. 1] THE GAZETTE OF INDIA EXTRAORDINARY 5 for different classes of ships and for ships of the same class In different circumstances.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing powers, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely: —
(a) the manner In which any equipment or gear may be maintained, Inspected or tested and conditions as to such maintenance, inspection and testing;
(b) the manner in which the use of any material or process shall be regulated for the manufacture of any such equipment or gear;
(c) the provision of safe means of access to such equipment or gear for the use of seamen and provision of protective clothing for seamen where necessary;
(d) restriction on the hours of employment of seamen In any specified operation or under any specified circumstances;
an<* . « . . •
(e) the manner and form in which and the persons to whom any accident occurring on board a ship shall be reported.".
16. In section 194 of the principal Act, in clause (d) , for the words "officer of the ship", the words "officer of, or a seaman or an apprentice belonging to, the ship" shall be substituted.
Amendment of section
194.
17. To section 204 of the principal Act, the following proviso shall be added, namely:— "Provided that the provisions of this section shall not extend to the case in which the harbour or secreting is by the spouse of the seaman or apprentice.".
Amendment of flection
204.
18. In section 299 A of the principal Act, i n sub-section (Jf),—
(a) In the opening portion, the words "of five hundred tons eross or more" shall be omitted:
Amendment of section
299A.
(b) in clause (a), for the words "if the ship performs international voyages", the words "if the ship is of five hundred tons gross or more and performs international voyages1' shall be substituted.
19 In the principal Act, section 365 shall be re-numbered as subsection (2) thereof and after sub-section (1) as so re-numbered, the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely — Amendment of section
365."(2) Subiect to any rules made in this behalf by the Central Government, thp court making an investigation or inquiry under this Part may, If it" thinks fit, order the payment, on the part of that Government of the reasonable expenses of any witness attending for the purposes of such investigation or inquiry before such court.".
20. In section 402 of the principal Act, in sub-section (.7),—
(o) after the words "Indian Navy", the words "or of the Cotet Guard" shall be Inserted;
Am*ndmsnt ct fM the foVowln* Explanation shall be lnuertad at fh« and, niwiHv— 'Explanation.—"Coast Guard" means the Coa*t GtwuJ (rtltuted trader section 3 of th© Const Guard Act, 16.78.*.s»««im £ THE GAZETTE OF INDIA EXTRAORDINARY [PART It— 21, After section 434 of the principal Act, the following sections shall be inserted, namely; — Issertien of new seel ons 484A hnd
434B.
"434A. (1) Subject to the other provisions of this section and the scheme framed under sub-section (3), the owner of every sailing vessel shall take and keep in force, in accordance with the provisions of the said scheme, a policy of insurance whereby all the members of the crew of such vessel are insured against death or personal injury caused by accident in the course of employment as such members.
Insurance oj merabers of crew of a galling Vessel,
(2) It shall be the responsibility of the owner of every sailing vessel to bear the expenses incidental to the taking of the policy of insurance referred to in sub-section (1) and to pay the premiums for keeping it in force:
Provided that the maximum amount which the owner of the Bailing vessel shall be liable to pay by way of premiums per year shall not exceed—
(a) where the number of members of the crew is not more than ten, one hundred and fifty rupees;
(b) where the number of members of the crew is more than ten, a sum calculated at the rate of fifteen rupees for each member of the crew.
(3) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, frame a scheme providing for the insurance of all persons employed as members of the crew of sailing vessels against death or personal injury caused by accident arising in the course of their employment as such members.
(4) "Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub-section (3), a scheme framed under that sub-section may provide for—
(a) the amount which should bp payable in the case of personal injury resulting in the death of a member of the crew of a sailing vessel due to accident and in the case of other iniuries:
Provided that different amounts may be provided in respect of different personal injuries not resulting in death;
(b) the procedure for pavment of such amounts; and
(c) all other matters necessary for giving effect to the scheme.
(5) Where, under the provisions of any other law for the time being in force, compensation is payable in respect of death or personal injury sustained by a member of the crew of a sailing vessel as ft result of aa accident im the course of Ma employment as 8H«fe member, then if the amount payable tn respect of such death or persosiJ iitfray 1M tecwdanc* wftfe th* schwne ffaiaed undw this Sec&flfc— (<*> is equal to, or n^ora than, 13» compensation payable Uitfw such ottoar tew; ate ooWpen&tW sWaJJ- be payable, under sucK c*lW,law;
Sic. 1] THE GAZETTE OF INDIA EXTBAOftDlNAtlY 7
(b) is less than the compensation payable under such other law, the compensation payable under such other law shall be reduced by the said amount.
(6) Every scheme framed by the Central Government under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is In session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions afore* said, both Houses agree that the scheme should not be made, the scheme shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that scheme.
434B. (1) No sailing vessel shall ply or proceed to sea unless there is in force in respect of the members of the crew of the vessel a policy of insurance complying with the requirements of section 434A and the scheme framed thereunder.
Policy of insurance.
(2) No customs collector shall grant a port clearance to a sailing vessel until after production by the owner of such a policy of insurance".
22. In section 436 of the principal Act, in the Table, the existing serial number 137 shall be re-numbered as serial number 136A, and after serial number 136A as so re-numbered, the following serial number and the entries relating thereto shall be inserted, namely: — Amendment of section
436.
I "137 a If the owner fails to comply' with sub-section (i) of section 434A 3 434A(J) 4 Imprisonment which may extend to lix months, or flno which may extend to five thousand rupees, or both.".
R. V. S. PERI SASTRI, Secy, to the Govt, of India- PRINTED BY THE OENEHAL MANAGER, GOVERNMENT OF INDIA PRESS, MINTO ROAD, N 1 W DELHI AND PUBLISHED BY THE CONTROLLER OV PUBLICATIONS, DELHI, 1 S 8 4