PART I | 1. This Act may be cited as the Merchant Shipping Act. |
2.—(1) In this Act, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context —| “alteration” includes deterioration; |
| “Authority” means the Port of Singapore Authority established under the Port of Singapore Authority Act [Cap. 236]; |
| “Board of Trade” means the Board of Trade of the United Kingdom; |
| “buoys and beacons” includes all other marks and signs of the sea; |
| “cargo ship” means any ship which is not a passenger ship; |
| “certificated officer” means any officer holding a certificate issued or deemed to have been issued under section 11; |
| “collision regulations” means regulations made under section 208; |
| “Colonial Court of Admiralty” has the same meaning as in the Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act 1890 [U.K. 1890 c. 27]; |
“consular officer” —| (a) | when used in relation to a foreign country, means the officer recognised by the President as a consular officer of that foreign country; and | | (b) | when used in relation to Singapore, includes any person or organisation appointed by the Minister to exercise the functions of a consular officer under this Act; |
|
“country to which the Load Lines Convention applies” means —| (a) | a country the government of which has been declared by the Minister, by notification in the Gazette, to have accepted the Load Lines Convention, and has not been so declared to have denounced that Convention; and | | (b) | a territory to which it has been so declared that the Load Lines Convention extends, not being a territory to which it has been so declared that the Convention has ceased to extend; |
|
“country to which the Safety Convention applies” means —| (a) | a country the government of which has been declared by the Minister, by notification in the Gazette, to have accepted the Safety Convention, and has not been so declared to have denounced that Convention; and | | (b) | a territory to which it has been so declared that the Safety Convention extends, not being a territory to which it has been so declared that the Convention has ceased to extend; |
|
| “court”, in relation to any proceeding, includes any court having jurisdiction in the matter to which the proceeding relates; |
| “deck passenger” means a passenger for whom no accommodation in any cabin, state-room or saloon is reserved; |
| “Director” means the Director of Marine appointed under section 6 and includes the Deputy Director of Marine appointed under that section; |
| “effects” includes clothes and documents; |
| “foreign-going passenger steamer” means every foreign-going ship which is a passenger steamer; |
| “foreign-going ship” includes every ship employed in trading or going between some place or places in Singapore and some place or places situate beyond the limits prescribed for home-trade ships; |
| “home-trade passenger steamer” means every home-trade ship which is a passenger steamer; |
| “home-trade ship” means a ship plying solely upon a home-trade voyage; |
| “home-trade voyage” means a voyage within the following limits: an imaginary line drawn from a position in the Gulf of Martaban in latitude 16° 15' north, longitude 96° east in a south-easterly direction to a position in latitude 15° north, longitude 97° east, thence due south to a position in latitude 9° north, longitude 97° east, thence in a south-westerly direction to a position in latitude 6° north, longitude 94° east, thence due south to a position in latitude 4° north, longitude 94° east, thence in a south-easterly direction to a position in latitude 8° south, longitude 104° east, thence in an easterly direction to a position in latitude 10° south, longitude 120° east, thence due east to a position in latitude 10° south, longitude 125° east, thence due north to a position in latitude 8° north, longitude 125° east, thence due west to a position in latitude 8° north, longitude 110° east, thence in a 315° direction (N.W. true) to the coast of Vietnam, thence initially westward following the coasts of Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, the Malay Peninsula and Burma to the starting point; |
| “international voyage” means a voyage from Singapore to a port or place outside Singapore or a voyage to Singapore from a port or place outside Singapore; |
| “lighthouse” shall, in addition to the ordinary meaning of the word, include any floating and other light exhibited for the guidance of ships, and also any sirens and any other description of fog signals, and also any addition to a lighthouse of any improved light, or any siren, or any description of fog signal; |
| “load lines” means such lines as are referred to in section 236(2)(e); |
| “Load Lines Convention” means the International Convention on Load Lines signed in London on 5th April 1966 and the regulations annexed thereto; |
| “master” includes every person, except a pilot, having command or charge of any ship; |
| “Merchant Shipping Acts” means the Merchant Shipping Acts from time to time in force in the United Kingdom; |
| “mile” means 1,852 metres; |
| “name” includes a surname; |
| “native sailing ship” means any wooden ship of primitive build of less than 200 tons gross tonnage and not fitted with any mechanical means of propulsion, and includes a junk, tongkang, twakow and any other ship of similar build; |
| “officer” includes a master, mate, engineer, gunner, helmsman and engine driver; |
“passenger” means every person other than —| (a) | the master and the members of the crew or other persons employed or engaged in any capacity on board a ship on the business of the ship; and | | (b) | a child under one year of age; |
|
| “passenger ship” means a ship which carries more than 12 passengers; |
| “pilot” means any person not belonging to a ship who has the conduct thereof; |
| “port” has the same meaning as in the Port of Singapore Authority Act [Cap. 236]; |
| “Port Master” means the Port Master appointed under section 30 of the Port of Singapore Authority Act and includes any Deputy Port Master appointed under that section; |
| “representation” means probate, administration, confirmation or other instrument constituting a person the executor, administrator or other representative of a deceased person, and “legal personal representative” means the person so constituted executor, administrator or other representative of a deceased person; |
| “Safety Convention” means the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea signed in London on 1st November 1974 and any amendment made thereto which has come into force and has been accepted by the Government; |
| “sailing ship” means any ship not fitted with any mechanical means of propulsion; |
| “salvor” means, in the case of salvage services rendered by the officers or crew or part of the crew of any naval ship, the person in command of that ship; |
| “sea-going ship” means any ship going beyond port limits; |
| “seaman” includes every person, except a master or pilot, employed or engaged in any capacity as part of the crew on board any ship; |
| “ship” includes every description of vessel used in navigation not propelled by oars; |
| “Singapore ship” means a ship registered under Part XIII; |
| “Superintendent” means the Superintendent of the Mercantile Marine Office referred to in section 26 and includes any deputy superintendent appointed under that section, or, if the context so requires, any superintendent appointed under the Merchant Shipping Acts; |
| “tidal water” means any part of the sea and any part of a river within the ebb and flow of the tide at ordinary spring tides; |
| “vessel” includes any ship or boat or air cushioned vehicle or floating rig or platform used in any form of operations at sea or any other description of vessel; |
| “voyage” means the whole time and the whole distance between the ship’s port or place of departure and her final port or place of arrival; |
| “wages” includes emoluments. [11/73; 38/84; S 243/80] |
(2) In this Act —| (a) | any reference to failure to do any act or thing shall include a reference to refusal to do that act or thing; | | (b) | any reference to a ship belonging to or for the time being in the service of any foreign prince or State shall not refer to a ship wholly or partially engaged in trade; | | (c) | the tonnage in this Act referred to shall, unless the context otherwise requires, in the case of British-registered ships be the net registered tonnage, and, in the case of foreign-registered ships, shall be the tonnage of such ships denoted in their certificates of registry where an Order in Council has been made under section 84 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 [U.K. 1894 c. 60] in respect of the country to which the ships belong, and, where no such Order in Council has been made, the tonnage of such ships as nearly as possible approximating to the net registered tonnage as measured in British-registered ships. |
|
|
| Application of this Act to Singapore ships |
| 3. As from 2nd September 1966 Parts I to XII shall apply in relation to Singapore ships as they apply to British ships, and, unless the context otherwise requires, references in those Parts to “British-registered ships”, “British ships”, and “British ships registered in Singapore” shall be construed as if they included a reference to “Singapore ships”. |
| Application of this Act to ships propelled by electricity, etc. |
| 4. Any provisions of this Act applying to steamers or steamships shall apply to ships propelled by electricity or other mechanical power, with such modifications as the Minister prescribes for the purpose of adaptation. |
| Exemption of naval vessels |
5.—(1) Except in Part VIII or where the contrary intention appears, this Act shall not apply to or in relation to a vessel belonging to the Singapore Armed Forces or belonging to the naval, military or air force of any other country, including a foreign country.| (2) This Act shall, with the exception of Part III and except where special provision is made by rules made by the Minister, apply to all ships belonging to or in the employment of the Government, and in such application the word “Director” shall be read for “owner”. |
|
| Appointment of Director of Marine |
6.—(1) The President may appoint a Director of Marine and a Deputy Director of Marine.| (2) The Director may appoint so many other officers as he may think fit for the purpose of carrying out all or any of the powers conferred on the Director by or under this Act. |
|
| Appointment of Port Health Officers |
7.—(1) The Minister may appoint at any port an officer to be called the Port Health Officer.| (2) The Port Health Officers shall perform their duties under the direction of the Director of Medical Services, who shall have the powers of a Port Health Officer at each of the ports of Singapore. |
| (3) The Minister may appoint a deputy or deputies to any Port Health Officer, either generally for the purposes of this Act and of the rules made thereunder or for the purposes of particular Parts, sections or rules. |
| (4) Any act done by, to or before a Deputy Port Health Officer within the powers conferred upon him shall have the same effect as if done by, to or before a Port Health Officer. |
|
8.—(1) The Minister may appoint a Surveyor-General of Ships for Singapore (referred to in this Act as the Surveyor-General).| (2) The Minister may appoint, either generally or for special purposes or on special occasions, any person to be a surveyor of ships or a radio surveyor for the purposes of this Act. |
| (3) The Surveyor-General and every surveyor of ships and every radio surveyor shall have and perform the powers, functions and duties prescribed by this Act or by any rules or regulations made thereunder. |
|
| 9. The Authority may delegate to any of its officers all or any of the functions and powers conferred on the Authority by this Act. [8A [11/73] |
|
