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

Chapter V : Safety of Ships and Life at Sea

Nothing in sections two hundred and forty and two hundred and forty-one contained shall subject the owner or master of any ship to any liability, civil or criminal, by reason of the ship being sent or taken to sea in an unseaworthy state, if it be proved—

(a)	that he used all reasonable means to ensure the seaworthiness of the ship; and

(b)	that, owing to special circumstances, the sending or taking of the ship to sea in such an unseaworthy state was reasonable and justifiable.