The Merchant Shipping Act, 1958

(1) This Act may be called the Merchant Shipping Act,1958. (2) It shall come into force on such date1as the Central Government may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act.

1[2. Application of Act.--(1) Unless otherwise expressly provided, the provisions of this Actwhich apply to-- (a) any vessel which is registered in India; or (b) any vessel which is required by this Act to be so registered; or (c) any other vessel which is owned wholly by persons to each of whom any of thedescriptions specified in clause (a) or in clause (b) or in clause (c), as the case may be, of section21 applies, shall so apply wherever the vessel may be. (2) Unless otherwise expressly provided, the provisions of this Act which apply to vessels otherthan those referred to in sub-section (1) shall so apply only while any such vessel is within India,including the territorial waters thereof.]

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- 1[(1) "cargo ship" means a ship which is not a Passenger ship;] 2[(1A)] "coasting ship" means a ship exclusively employed in trading between any port orplace in India and any other port or place on the continent of India or between ports or places inIndia and ports or places in Ceylon or Burma; (2) "coasting trade of India" means the carriage by sea of passengers or goods from any portor place in India to any other port or place on the continent of India; (3) "collision regulations" means the regulations made under section 285 for the prevention ofcollisions at sea; (4) "company" means a company as defined in section 3 of the Companies Act, 1956(1 of 1956); (5) "country to which the Load Line Convention applies" means,-- (a) a country the Government of which has been declared 3*** under section 283 to haveaccepted the Load Line Convention and has not been so declared to have denounced thatConvention; (b) a country to which it has been so declared that, the Load Line Convention has beenapplied under the provisions of 4[article thirty-two] thereof, not being a country to which ithas been so declared that that Convention has ceased to apply under the provisions of thatarticle; (6) "country to which the Safety Convention applies" means,-- (a) a country the Government of which has been declared under section 283 to haveaccepted the Safety Convention and has not been so declared to have denounced thatConvention; (b) a territory to which it has been so declare that the Safety Convention extends, notbeing a territory to which it has been so declared that that Convention has ceased to extend; (7) "court" in relation to sections 178 to 183 (inclusive) means a civil or revenue court; (8) "Director-General" means the Director-General of Shipping appointed under section 7; (9) "distressed seaman" means a seaman engaged under this Act who, by reason of havingbeen discharged or left behind from, or shipwrecked in, any ship at a place outside India, is indistress at that place; (10) "effects", in relation to a seaman, includes clothes and documents; (11) "equipment, in relation to a ship, includes boats, tackle, pumps, apparel, furniture, lifesaving appliances of every description, spars, masts, rigging and sails, fog signals, lights, shapesand signals of distress, medicines and medical and surgical stores and appliances, charts, radioinstallations, appliances for preventing, detecting or extinguishing fires, buckets, compasses, axes,lanterns, loading and discharging gears and appliances of all kinds and all other stores or articlesbelonging to or to be used in connection with or necessary for the navigation and safety of theship; 5[(11A) "family" means-- (i) in the case of male, his wife, his children whether married or unmarried, his dependentparents and his deceased son's widow and children: Provided that if a person proves that his wife has ceased under the personal law governinghim or the customary law of the community to which the spouses belong to be entitled tomaintenance she shall no longer be deemed to be a part of such person's family for thepurpose of this Act unless such person subsequently intimates by express notice, in writing, tothe Central Government that she shall continue to be so regarded; and (ii) in the case of female, her husband, her children, whether married or unmarried, herdependent parents, her husband's dependent parents and her deceased son's widow andchildren: Provided that if a person by notice in writing to the Central Government expresses herdesire to exclude her husband from the family, the husband and his dependent parents shall nolonger be deemed to be a part of such person's family for the purpose of this Act, unless suchperson subsequently cancels in writing any such notice. Explanation.--In either of the above two cases, if the child, or, as the case may be, thechild of a deceased son, of a person has been adopted by another person and if under thepersonal law of the adopter adoption is legally recognised, such a child shall be considered asexcluded from the family of the first mentioned person.] (12) "fishing vessel" means a ship fitted with mechanical means of propulsion which isexclusively engaged in sea fishing for profit; (13) "foreign-going ship" means a ship, not being a home trade ship, employed in tradingbetween any port or place in India and any other port or place or between ports or places, outsideIndia; 6[(14) "free board" means the distance measured vertically downwards, amidships, from theupper edge of the deck line to the upper edge of the related load line;] (15) "High Court", in relation to a vessel, means the High Court within the limits of whoseappellate jurisdiction-- (a) the port of registry of the vessel is situate; or (b) the vessel is for the time being; or (c) the cause of action wholly or in part arises; (16) "home-trade ship" means a ship not exceeding three thousand tons gross which isemployed in trading between any port or place in India and any other port or place on thecontinent of India or between ports or places in India and ports or places in Ceylon, MaladiveIslands, Federation of Malaya, Singapore or Burma; (17) "Indian consular officer" means the consul-general, consul, vice-consul, consular agentand pro-consul appointed as such by the Central Government, and includes any person authorisedby the Central Government to perform the functions of consul-general, consul, vice-consul,consular agent or pro-consul; (18) "Indian ship" means a ship registered as such under this Act and includes any shipregistered at any port in India at the commencement of this Act which is recognised as an Indianship under the proviso to sub-section (2) of section 22; 7[(18A) "international voyage" means a voyage from or to a port or place in India to or from aport or place outside India;] (19) "load line certificate" means the certificate issued under section 316 or section 321; 8[(20) "Local Line Contention" means the International Convention on Load Lines signed inLondon on the 5th day of April, 1966, as amended from time to time;] (21) "Marine Board" means a Board of Marine Inquiry convened under section 373; (22) "master" includes any person (except a pilot or harbour master) having command orcharge of a ship; 7[(22A) "nuclear ship" means a ship provided with a nuclear power plant;] (23) "owner" means-- (a) in relation to a ship, the person to whom the ship or a share in the ship belongs; (b) in relation to a sailing vessel, the person to whom the sailing vessel belongs; (24) "passenger" means any person carried on board a ship except-- (a) a person employed or engaged in any capacity on board the ship on the business of theship; (b) a person on board the ship either in pursuance of the obligations laid upon the masterto carry shipwrecked, distressed or other persons or by reason of any circumstances whichneither the master nor the charterer, if any, could have prevented or forestalled; (c) a child under one year of age; (25) "passenger ship" means a ship carrying more than twelve passengers; (26) "pilgrim" means a person making a pilgrimage and, in the case of a passenger on board apilgrim ship, includes every person accompanying or travelling with the person making thepilgrimage; 9[(27) "pilgrimage" means pilgrimage to any holy place in the Hedjaz or to any other placedeclared by the Central Government to be a place of pilgrimage by notification in OfficialGazette; (28) "pilgrim ship" means a special trade passenger ship which makes a voyage to or from theHedjaz, or, as the case may be, to or from any other place of pilgrimage declared as such by theCentral Government in pursuance of clause (27), during the season of the pilgrimage and whichcarries pilgrims in a proportion of not less than one pilgrim for every one hundred tons of thegross tonnage of the ship;] (29) "port of registry", in relation to a ship or a sailing vessel, means the port at which she isregistered or is to be registered; (30) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (31) "proceeding" in relation to sections 178 to 183 (inclusive) includes any suit, appeal orapplication; (32) "proper officer" means the officer designated by the Central Government to be the properofficer at the port or place and in respect of the matter to which reference is made in the provisionof this Act in which the expression occurs; (33) "proper return port", in relation to a master, seaman or apprentice discharged or leftbehind, means the port at which the master, seaman or apprentice was engaged, or the port agreedto as such by the master, seaman or apprentice, as the case may be; (34) "radio inspector" means a person appointed as such under section 10; (35) "registrar" means the registrar referred to in section 24; (36) (a) "repatriation expenses" means expenses incurred in returning a distressed seaman to aproper return port and in providing him with necessary clothing and maintenance until his arrivalat such port, and includes in the case of a ship wrecked seaman the repayment of expensesincurred in conveying him to port after shipwreck and maintaining him while being so conveyed;and (b) "excepted expenses", in relation to repatriation expenses, means repatriation expensesincurred in cases where the cause of the seaman being left behind is desertion or absence withoutleave or imprisonment for misconduct, or discharge from his ship by a Marine Board on theground of misconduct; (37) "Safety Convention" means the Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea signed inLondon on the 10[1st day of November, 1974] as amended from time to time; 11[(38) "safety convention certificate" means,-- (i) a passenger ship safety certificate, 12[(ia) a special trade passenger ship safety certificate, (ib) a special trade passenger ship space certificate,] (ii) a qualified passenger ship safety certificate, (iii) a cargo ship safety construction Certificate, (iv) a qualified cargo ship safety construction certificate, (v) a cargo ship safety equipment certificate, (vi) a qualified cargo ship safety equipment certificate, (vii) a cargo ship safety radio telegraphy certificate, (viii) a cargo ship safety radio telephony certificate, (ix) an exemption certificate, (x) a nuclear passenger ship safety certificate, (xi) a nuclear cargo ship safety certificate, issued under Part IX or, as the case may be,Part IXA;] (39) "sailing vessel", means any description of vessel provided with sufficient sail area fornavigation under sails alone, whether or not fitted with mechanical means of propulsion, andincludes a rowing boat or canoe but does not include a pleasure craft; (40) "salvage" includes all expenses properly incurred by the salvor in the performance ofsalvage services; (41) "sea-going", in relation to a vessel, means a vessel proceeding to sea beyond inlandwaters or beyond waters declared to be smooth or partially smooth waters by the CentralGovernment by notification in the Official Gazette; (42) "seaman" means every person (except a master, pilot or apprentice) employed orengaged as a member of the crew of a ship under this Act, but in relation to sections 178 to 183(inclusive) includes a master; (43) "seamen's employment office" means the seamen's employment office referred to insection 12; (44) "seamen's welfare officer" means the seamen's welfare officer referred to in section 13; 13[(44A) "security" means maritime security and includes any measure to protect ports or shipsor any person or thing relating directly or indirectly to maritime navigation,-- (i) against terrorism, sabotage, stowaways, illegal migrants, asylum seekers, piracy,armed robbery, seizure or pilferage; and (ii) against any other hostile act or influence which threatens the security in the maritimetransport sector, employed by the owners or operators or persons in charge of the vessels or management of portfacilities, offshore installations and other marine organisations or establishments;] (45) "ship" does not include a sailing vessel; (46) "shipping master" means the shipping master referred to in section 11; but in relation toany seaman for the purposes of sections 178 to 183 ((inclusive) means a shipping masterappointed,-- (i) for the port at which the seaman entered into, or is believed to have entered into, anagreement, or (ii) where the seaman did not enter into his agreement in India, for the port to which theseaman has returned, or is expected to return, on the completion of his latest voyage; (47) "shipping office" means the shipping office referred in section 11; 14[(47A) "special trade" means the conveyance of large number of passengers by sea withinprescribed sea areas; (47B) "special trade passenger" means a passenger carried in special trade passenger ship inspaces on the weather deck or upper deck or between decks which accommodate more than eightpassengers and includes a pilgrim or a person accompanying a pilgrim; (47C) "special trade passenger ship" means a mechanically propelled ship carrying more thanthirty special trade passengers;] (48) "surveyor" means the surveyor referred to in section 9; 15[(48A) "tanker" means a cargo ship constructed or adapted for the carriage in bulk of liquidcargoes of an inflammable nature;] (49) "tidal water" means any part of the sea and any part of a river within the ebb and flow ofthe tide at ordinary spring tides and not being a harbour; (50) "tindal" means the person in command or charge of a sailing vessel; 16***** (53) "valid international load line certificate" means a certificate purporting to have beenissued in accordance with the Load Line Convention in respect of a ship, other than an Indianship, by the Government of the country in which the ship is registered; (54) "valid safety convention certificate" means a certificate purporting to have been issued inaccordance with the Safety Convention in respect of a ship, other than an Indian ship, by theGovernment of the country in which the ship is registered; (55) "vessel" includes any ship, boat, sailing vessel, or other description of vessel used innavigation; (56) "voyage" for the purposes of Part VIII, means the whole distance between the ship's portor place of departure and her final port or place of arrival; (57) "wages" includes emoluments; (58) "wreck" includes the following when found in the sea or in tidal water or on the shoresthereof-- (a) goods which have been cast into the sea and then sink and remain under water; (b) goods which have been cast or fall into the sea and remain floating on the surface; (c) goods which are sunk in the sea, but are attached to a floating object in order that theymay be found again; (d) goods which are thrown away or abandoned; and (e) a vessel abandoned without hope or intention of recovery; (59) "young person" means a person under eighteen years of age.

(1) With effect from such date as the CentralGovernment may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify in this behalf, there shall beestablished a Board to be called the National Shipping Board (hereinafter in this Part referred to as theBoard). (2) The Board shall consist of the following members, namely:-- (a) six members elected by Parliament, four by the House of the People from among itsmembers and the other two by the Council of States from among its members; (b) such number of other members, not exceeding sixteen as the Central Government maythink fit to appoint to the Board, to represent-- (i) the Central Government, (ii) ship owners, (iii) seamen, and (iv) such other interests as, in the opinion of the Central Government, ought to berepresented on the Board: Provided that the Board shall include an equal number of persons representing the ship ownersand seamen. (3) The Central Government shall nominate one of the members of the Board to be the Chairmanof the Board. (4) The Board shall have power to regulate its own procedure.

The Board shall advise the Central Government-- (a) on matters relating to Indian shipping, including the development thereof; and (b) on such other matters arising out of this Act as the Central Government may refer to it foradvice.