Merchant Shipping Act, 1951 (Act No. 57 of 1951)RegulationsMerchant Shipping (Training, Certification and Safe Manning) Regulations, 2021Part 6 : Manning Requirements93. Responsibilities of owners and masters |
| (1) | The owner of a ship shall ensure that— |
| (a) | no ship's officer takes charge of a navigational or engineering watch on the ship unless he or she holds an appropriate valid certification entitling him or her to do so; |
| (b) | no rating forms part of a navigational or engineering watch on the ship unless he or she holds an appropriate valid certification entitling him or her to do so; |
| (c) | the master and every ship's officer have appropriate experience of the type of ship on which he or she is employed; |
| (d) | the master and every seafarer employed on the ship, before being allowed to assume his or her assigned duties, are familiarised with their specific duties and with all the ship's arrangements, installations, equipment, procedures and characteristics relevant to their routine and emergency duties; |
| (e) | all seafarers employed on fishing vessels shall have completed approved personal survival techniques training; |
| (f) | every person employed on the ship and designated to have safety or pollution prevention duties, holds documentary evidence of having successfully completed basic training as set out in regulation 2; |
| (g) | the ship's crew can effectively co-ordinate activities in an emergency situation and in performing functions vital to safety or life and property at sea or to the prevention or mitigation of pollution; |
| (h) | documentation and data relevant to the master and seafarers employed on the ship are maintained and readily available for inspection, including documentation and data relevant to their experience, training, medical fitness and competency in assigned duties. |
| (2) | Without limiting the owner's obligations under subregulation (1), it is the duty of the master to ensure that the requirements of that subregulation are complied with in relation to the seafarers employed on the ship. |
| (3) | Nothing in subregulation (1) (a) to (f) prohibits the allocation of tasks for training under supervision or in case of force majeure. |
| (4) | The owner and the master of every ship shall ensure that— |
| (a) | in addition to the ship's officers and other persons prescribed by these Regulations or elsewhere in terms of the Act, the crew is adequate in number and description to ensure that the ship is sufficiently and efficiently manned; |
| (b) | the ship has as crew suitably qualified persons to enable it to go to sea with due regard to the requirements of the life-saving equipment Regulations, the collision Regulations, the radio Regulations, and any other safety provisions that may be applicable to the ship; |
| (c) | the proper officer shall, when determining the adequacy of the crew in accordance with this subregulation, take into account— |
| (i) | the complement normally carried by similar ships employed on similar voyages or operations; |
| (ii) | the complement that the ship in question has recently carried on previous voyages or operations; |
| (iii) | whether the complement is adequate to ensure compliance with Regulations 94 and 95; and |
| (iv) | the nature of the service for which the ship is intended. |
| (5) | The Authority shall, as and when necessary, issue a marine notice specifying the number of persons to constitute the crew of a ship and the capacities in which those persons are to serve in addition to the persons prescribed in these Regulations or in the Act. |