Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 33/1984

Read the first time on 19th October 1984.

An Act to amend the Merchant Shipping Act (Chapter 172 of the Revised Edition).

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:

Short title and commencement

1. This Act may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Act 1984 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Amendment of section 2

2. Section 2 of the Merchant Shipping Act (referred to in this Act as the principal Act) is amended —

(a)

by deleting the definition of “certificated officer” and substituting the following definition:

“ “certificated officer” means any officer holding a certificate issued or deemed to have been issued under section 10;”;

(b)

by deleting the words “, not being a local-trade voyage,” in the first and second lines of the definition of “home-trade voyage”;

(c)

by deleting the proviso to the definition of “home-trade voyage”;

(d)

by deleting the definitions of “local-trade passenger steamer”, “local-trade ship” and “local-trade voyage”; and

(e)

by deleting the definition of “seaman” and substituting the following definition:

“ “seaman” includes every person, except a master or pilot, employed or engaged in any capacity as part of the crew on board any ship;”.

Repeal and re-enactment of sections 9 to 30

3. Sections 9 to 30 of the principal Act are repealed and the following sections substituted therefor:

“Application of Part II

9. This Part shall not apply to —

(a)	any fishing vessel exclusively employed in the fishing industry;
(b)	any pleasure craft;
(c)	any harbour craft, that is to say, any vessel used for any purpose within the port; and
(d)	any native sailing ship.

Manning and certification

10.—(1) The Minister may make regulations —

(a)	requiring ships to which this section applies to carry such number of qualified officers of any description, qualified doctors and such number of other seamen or qualified seamen of any description as may be specified in the regulations;
(b)	prescribing standards of competence to be attained and other conditions to be satisfied (subject to any exemptions allowed by or under the regulations) by officers and other seamen of any description in order to be qualified for the purposes of this section; and
(c)	providing that existing certificates shall, except in such cases as are specified in the regulations, be deemed for the purposes of this section to be issued in pursuance of this section and to confer on the persons to whom they are issued such qualifications as may be specified in the regulations.

(2) In subsection (1) “existing certificate” means a certificate granted in pursuance of section 24 before the commencement of the Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Act 1984.

(3) Regulations made under this section may make different provision for different descriptions of ships or for ships of the same description in different circumstances.

(4) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1)(b), the conditions prescribed or specified under that subsection may include conditions as to nationality and regulations made for the purposes of that subsection may make provision for —

(a)	the manner in which the attainment of any standard or the satisfaction of any other condition is to be evidenced;
(b)	the conduct of any examinations, the conditions for admission to them and the appointment and remuneration of examiners; and
(c)	the issue, form and recording of certificates and other documents,

and different provision may be so made for different circumstances.

(5) If a person makes a statement which he knows to be false or recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular for the purpose of obtaining for himself or another person a certificate or other document which may be issued under this section, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000.

(6) A certificate issued or deemed to be issued under this section shall be admissible in evidence.

Exemption

11. The Minister may, subject to such conditions as he may impose, exempt any ship or description of ships from any requirements of regulations made under section 10.

Prohibition of going to sea undermanned

12.—(1) Subject to section 11, if a ship to which this section applies goes to sea or attempts to go to sea without carrying such officers, doctors and other seamen as it is required to carry under section 10, the owner or master shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 and the ship, if in Singapore, may be detained.

(2) References in this section to going to sea include, in the case of Singapore ships, references to going to sea from any country outside Singapore.

Unqualified persons going to sea as qualified officers

13.—(1) If a person goes to sea as a qualified doctor, officer or seaman of any description without being such a qualified doctor, officer or seaman, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000.

(2) In this section “qualified” means qualified for the purposes of section 10.

Production of certificates and other documents of qualification

14. Any person serving or engaged to serve in any ship to which this section applies and holding any certificate or other document which is evidence that he is qualified for the purposes of section 10 shall on demand produce it to the Director, Port Master, a surveyor of ships or a consular officer and (if he is not himself the master) to the master of the ship; and if he fails to do so without reasonable cause he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000.

Application of sections 10, 12 and 14

15. Subject to section 9, sections 10, 12 and 14 shall apply to every Singapore ship and also to any ship which enters or leaves any port or place in Singapore.

Recognition of certificates granted by foreign authorities

16. Every officer on board a ship registered elsewhere, who has received a certificate of competency granted or recognised by the competent authority of the country in which the ship is registered which the Minister is satisfied is of equivalent standard to any certificate of competency issued in pursuance of section 10, shall be deemed to be qualified for the purposes of that section in respect of the ship, provided that the certificate is valid and is of a grade appropriate to his station in the ship or of a higher grade.”.

Amendment of section 77

4. Section 77 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)

by inserting, immediately before the word “seaman” in subsection (1), the words “master or”; and

(b)

by deleting subsection (2) and substituting the following subsection:

“(2) A master or seaman shall not be entitled to receive wages under subsection (1) —

(a)	if the owner shows that the unemployment was not due to the wreck or loss of the ship; or
(b)	in respect of any day if the owner shows that the master or seaman, as the case may be, was able to obtain suitable employment on that day.”.

Amendment of section 270

5. Section 270 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)

by deleting subsection (1)(b) and (c) and substituting the following paragraph:

“(b)	whenever it appears to the Minister that any certificated officer is unfit to discharge his duties whether by reason of incompetence, misconduct or for any other reason.”;

(b)

by deleting the proviso to subsection (1); and

(c)

by deleting subsection (3).

Amendment of section 271

6. Section 271 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)	by deleting subsection (4); and
(b)	by deleting the words “belonging to the holder of a local certificate” in subsection (5).

Amendment of section 274

7. Section 274 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)	by deleting the words “the holder of a local certificate” in subsection (1) and substituting the words “any certificated officer”; and
(b)	by deleting subsections (3), (4) and (5).

Amendment of section 276

8. Section 276 of the principal Act is amended by deleting the words “held by the holder of a local certificate”.

New section 339A

9. The principal Act is amended by inserting, immediately after section 339, the following section:

“Unauthorised presence on board ship

339A. Where a ship registered in Singapore or elsewhere is in Singapore and a person who is not authorised by law to do so —

(a)	goes on board the ship without the consent of the master or of any other person authorised to give it; or
(b)	remains on board the ship after being requested to leave by the Director, Port Master, master or a police officer,

he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000.”.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 392

10. Section 392 of the principal Act is repealed and the following section substituted therefor:

“Fees

392. The Minister may prescribe the fees to be paid in respect of the issue or recording of any certificate, licence or other instrument or the doing of any other thing in pursuance of this Act.”.

Amendment of section 411

11. Section 411 of the principal Act is amended —

(a)	by inserting, immediately after the words “Singapore ship” in subsections (1) and (3) the words “or any share therein” in each case; and
(b)	by deleting the words “under her former name” in subsection (3).

Amendment of section 412

12. Section 412(1) of the principal Act is amended by deleting the words “or a diplomatic or consular officer of Singapore”.

Amendment of section 419

13. Section 419(1) of the principal Act is amended by deleting the words “home and local trade” and substituting, the word “home‐trade”.

Amendment of section 422

14. Section 422(1) of the principal Act is amended by deleting the words “to prescribe the fees payable and”.

Repeal of certain provisions

15. Sections 106, 146, 147, 227(9), 229, 235, 236, 256(2)(g), 257, 268, 275, 344, 346, 348(10), 369, 385(3), 393, 395, 397(c), 401(4), 406, 416(3), Schedules A, B, C, F, G and H of the principal Act are repealed.

Search within Legislation