Merchant Shipping Act, 1951 (Act No. 57 of 1951)Chapter IV : Engagement, Discharge, Repatriation, Payment, Discipline and General Treatment of Seafarers and Cadets182. Official log-books to be kept |
| (1) | The master of every South African ship of more than one hundred gross register tons, and the master of every South African ship of one hundred gross register tons or less who has entered into an agreement with the crew of the ship, shall keep an official log-book in the prescribed form and in one of the official languages of the Republic. |
| (2) | The official log-book may, at the discretion of the master, be kept distinct from or united with the ordinary ship's log-book. In all cases the spaces in the official log-book shall be duly filled up. |
| (3) | An entry required by this Act in an official log-book shall be made as soon as possible after the occurrence to which it relates, and if not made on the same day as that occurrence shall be so made and dated as to show the dates of the occurrence and of the entry respecting it. |
| (4) | Every entry in the official log-book shall be signed by the master, and by a ship's officer or some other member of the crew, and also— |
| (a) | if it is an entry in respect of illness, hurt, injury or death, by the surgeon or medical practitioner, if any, on board; and |
| (b) | if it is an entry in respect of wages due to, or of the property of, a seafarer who dies, by some other member of the crew. |
[Section 182(4)(b) substituted by section 29(d) of Act No. 12 of 2015]
| (5) | Every entry made in an official log-book in the manner provided by this Act shall be admissible in evidence. |