Merchant Shipping Act, 1951 (Act No. 57 of 1951)

Chapter V : Safety of Ships and Life at Sea

Part I : Construction of ships, provision of life-saving appliances and installation of radio

203. Application of this Part to ships not registered or licensed in the Republic while in the Republic
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(1)Subject to the provisions of this section, the provisions of this Part shall, mutatis mutandis, apply in respect of all ships not registered or licensed in the Republic while they are within the Republic or the territorial waters thereof.

 

(2)A recognized non-South African safety convention certificate issued in respect of any such ship by the Government of the country in which the ship is registered shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (3), have the same effect as a corresponding certificate issued by the Authority under section one hundred and ninety-two or one hundred and ninety-three.

[Section 203(2) substituted by section 32(a) of Act No. 40 of 1963]

 

(3)If a recognized non-South African safety convention certificate is produced which has been issued in respect of any such ship by or under the authority of the Government of the country in which the ship is registered, and which corresponds with the safety convention certificate which, in accordance with the provisions of this Part, the ship would be required to carry if she were registered in the Republic, the ship shall not be required to be inspected by a surveyor except—
(a)for the purpose of determining the maximum number of persons that the ship is fit to carry; or
(b)if the proper officer so directs, for the purpose of verifying that the ship is in the condition of seaworthiness indicated in the non-South African safety convention certificate produced.

[Section 203(3)(b) substituted by section 32(a) of Act No. 40 of 1963]

[Section 203(3) substituted by section 32(a) of  Act No. 40 of 1963]

 

(4)On receipt of the report of a surveyor of an inspection made under paragraph (a) of subsection (3), the Authority shall cause to be issued in respect of the ship a certificate stating the maximum number of persons which the ship is fit to carry.

 

(5)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (3)(a), if the non-South African safety convention certificate produced in respect of any such ship states the maximum number of persons that the ship is fit to carry, or if in addition to the non-South African safety convention certificate there is produced a certificate issued by or under the authority of the Government of the country in which the ship is registered stating the maximum number of persons that the ship is fit to carry, and the Authority is satisfied that that number has been determined substantially in the same manner as it would have been determined in the case of a ship registered in the Republic, it may, if it thinks fit, dispense with any inspection of the ship for the purpose of determining the maximum number of persons that she is fit to carry.

[Section 203(5) substituted by section 2(2) of Act No. 5 of 1998]

 

(6)If after consideration of the report of a surveyor of an inspection made under subsection (3)(b), the Authority is satisfied that a ship in respect of which a non-South African safety convention certificate has been produced is unseaworthy, it may direct that the said certificate be not recognized in the Republic, and thereafter the said certificate shall have no effect in the Republic.

[Section 203(6) substituted by section 2(2) of Act No. 5 of 1998]

 

(7)A safety certificate issued in respect of a ship to which the Safety Convention does not apply by or under the authority of the Government of the country to which the ship belongs, being a country other than the Republic, shall have the same effect as a certificate issued under section one hundred and ninety-four: Provided that, if, after consideration of the report of a surveyor on an inspection of such ship, the Authority is satisfied that she is not in the condition of seaworthiness indicated in such certificate, it may direct that the certificate be not recognized in the Republic, and thereafter the said certificate shall have no effect in the Republic.

[Section 203(7) substituted by section 2(2) of Act No. 5 of 1998]

 

(8)Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, every ship not registered or licensed in the Republic, plying regularly between ports in the Republic or operating from a port in the Republic, and which is not in possession of any safety convention certificate issued by or under the authority of the government of the country of origin of the ship, shall be in possession of a local general safety certificate.

[Section 203(8) inserted by section 12 of Act No. 18 of 1992]

 

(9)No person, including the owner or master of a ship referred to in subsection (8), shall cause or permit that ship to proceed to sea from any port in the Republic, unless there is on board and in respect of that ship a local general safety certificate.

[Section 203(9) inserted by section 12 of Act No. 18 of 1992]