Merchant Shipping Act, 1951 (Act No. 57 of 1951)Chapter V : Safety of Ships and Life at SeaPart III : Safety of navigation237. Carriage of timber deck cargo |
| (1) | Whenever a deck cargo of timber is loaded on a load line ship at a port in the Republic the owner or master shall cause the ship to be inspected by a surveyor who, if satisfied that the ship is suitable for the carriage of deck cargoes of timber and that such cargo is properly stowed and secured in accordance with the timber cargo regulations, shall issue a certificate to that effect. |
[Section 237(1) substituted by section 44 of Act No. 40 of 1963]
| (2) | Neither the owner nor the master of any such ship shall cause or permit her to proceed to sea from a port in the Republic unless there is on board a certificate issued under subsection (1) in force in respect of that ship. |
| (3) | In any proceedings against an owner or master in respect of a contravention of the timber cargo regulations, it shall be a good defence to prove that the contravention was due solely to deviation or delay, being deviation or delay caused solely by stress of weather or other circumstances which neither the master nor the owner nor the charterer (if any) could have prevented or forestalled. |
| (4) | This section shall apply to all ships wherever they may be registered. |