Merchant Shipping (Safety and Load Line Conventions) Act, 1933

What is this act about?

This law implements two international agreements: the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (1929) and the International Load Line Convention (1930). It updates existing merchant shipping laws to improve safety standards for ships.

Who it applies to: Owners and masters of passenger steamers; Ships registered in Saorstát Eireann.

At a glance

Country: Ireland
Area of law: Real estate and construction law
Articles: 67
Source: irishstatutebook.ie
Text retrieved: 2026-06-17
Explanation updated: 2026-07-07

What does this act regulate?

Construction, machinery, equipment, and surveys of passenger steamers.
Life-saving appliances and wireless telegraphy on ships.
Load lines and loading practices for various types of vessels.
Specific safety measures like watertight doors, navigation near ice, and reporting dangers.

Who does this act apply to?

Owners and masters of passenger steamers.
Ships registered in Saorstát Eireann.
"Convention ships" (ships from countries that signed the conventions) not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

What are the key points?

Requires construction and survey regulations for passenger steamers on international voyages to meet Chapter II of the Safety Convention.
Mandates specific rules for life-saving appliances (Chapter III) and wireless telegraphy (Chapter IV) to align with the Safety Convention.
Prohibits ships from proceeding to sea without the required safety or load line certificates.
Establishes rules for the marking of deck-lines and load lines, and prohibits the submersion of load lines.

Real estate and construction law

Transport (Dublin Light Rail) Act, 1996

Housing (Amendment) Act, 1944

Housing Act, 1929

Local Government (Roads and Drainage) Act, 1968

Cork Fever Hospital Act, 1935

Planning and Development and Foreshore (Amendment) Act 2022

Cork Fever Hospital (Amendment) Act, 1954

Dublin Reconstruction (Emergency Provisions) Act, 1924

Real estate and construction law

Legal text

Merchant Shipping (Safety and Load Line Conventions) Act, 1933 Skip to content Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Gaeilge Léim go dtí an t-ábhar Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach English Gaeilge English Produced by the Office of the Attorney General Táirgthe ag Oifig an Ard-Aighne Home Legislation Acts of the Oireachtas Statutory Instruments Pre-1922 Legislation Constitution External Resources Bills (Houses of the Oireachtas) Iris Oifigiúil / Official Gazette Revised Acts (LRC) Classified List of Legislation (LRC) Translations (acts.ie) Translations (Houses of the Oireachtas) Government Publications for Sale EU Law (EUR-Lex) FAQ Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Search Baile Reachtaíocht Achtanna an Oireachtais Ionstraimí Reachtúla Reachtaíocht Réamh-1922 Bunreacht Acmhainní Seachtracha Billí (Tithe an Oireachtais) Iris Oifigiúil Achtanna Athbhreithnithe (CAD) (An Coimisiún um Athchóiriú an Dlí) Liosta Rangaithe Reachtaíochta Aistriúcháin (achtanna.ie) Aistriúcháin (Tithe an Oireachtais) Foilseacháin Rialtais ar Díol Dlí AE (EUR-Lex) CCanna (Ceisteanna Coitianta) Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach Cuardach TitleTeideal Year(s) or rangeBliain nó blianta nó raon TypeCineál All Legislation Acts Statutory Instruments Advanced SearchCuardach Casta HomeBaile ActsAchtanna 1933 Merchant Shipping (Safety and Load Line Conventions) Act, 1933 Merchant Shipping (Safety and Load Line Conventions) Act, 1933 Permanent Page URL View by SectionAmharc de réir Ailt View Full ActAmharc ar an Acht Iomlán Bill History Stair Bille Commencement, Amendments, SIs made under the Act Tosach Feidhme, Leasuithe, IRí arna ndéanamh faoin Acht Print Full ActPriontáil an tAcht Iomlán Number 42 of 1933.

MERCHANT SHIPPING (SAFETY AND LOAD LINE CONVENTIONS) ACT, 1933.

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

PART I.

SAFETY OF LIFE AT SEA.

Section

Section 1

Construction and survey regulations to implement Chapter II of Safety Convention.

Section 2

Amendments as to declarations of survey.

Section 3

Alteration of ships and additional surveys.

Section 4

Rules for life-saving appliances to implement Chapter III of Safety Convention.

Section 5

Amendments of Merchant Shipping Acts as to life-saving appliances.

Section 6

Wireless telegraphy rules to implement Chapter IV of Safety Convention.

Section 7

Amendments of the Merchant Shipping (Wireless Telegraphy) Act, 1919.

Section 8

Appointment of wireless telegraphy surveyors.

Section 9

Survey of passenger steamers by wireless telegraphy surveyors.

Section 10

Survey of ships other than passenger steamers by wireless telegraphy surveyors.

Section 11

Issue of safety certificates and passenger steamers' exemption certificates.

Section 12

Modification of safety certificates as respects life-saving appliances.

Section 13

Issue wireless of telegraphy certificates and wireless telegraphy exemption certificates.

Section 14

Prohibition on proceeding to sea without certificate.

Section 15

Miscellaneous provisions as to certificates.

Section 16

Certificates of Convention ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

Section 17

Modifications as to survey of passenger steamers holding Convention certificate.

Section 18

Miscellaneous privileges of passenger steamers holding Convention certificate.

Section 19

Wireless telegraphy provisions applicable to ships holding Convention certificate.

Section 20

Duty to produce Convention certificate.

Section 21

Modification of existing provisions for exemption of ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

Section 22

Duties as to watertight doors and other contrivances.

Section 23

Submersion of sub-division load lines.

Section 24

Report of dangers to navigation.

Section 25

Provisions as to signals.

Section 26

Obligation to render assistance on receiving wireless distress call.

Section 27

Signalling lamps.

Section 28

Carriage of dangerous goods.

Section 29

Change in Method of giving helm orders.

Section 30

Careful navigation near ice.

Section 31

Notice of Atlantic routes.

Section 32

Amendment of section 267 of Principal Act.

Section 33

Power to amend rules and regulations to correspond with amendments of Safety Convention.

Section 34

Certain rules and regulations to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.

Section 35

Interpretation of Part I.

Section 36

Commencement of Part I and repeal.

PART II.

LOAD LINE AND LOADING.

Section 37

Ships exempt from Part II.

Section 38

Classification of ships for purpose of Part II.

Section 39

Load line rules.

Section 40

Marking of deck-line and load lines.

Section 41

Submersion of load line.

Section 42

Miscellaneous offences in relation to marks.

Section 43

Inspection of ships with respect to load line.

Section 44

Issue of load line certificates and effect thereof.

Section 45

Duration, renewal and cancellation of certificates.

Section 46

Ships not to proceed to sea without certificate.

Section 47

Publication of load line certificate and particulars relating to depth of loading.

Section 48

Insertion of particulars as to load line in agreements with crew.

Section 49

Load line certificates of Convention ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

Section 50

Inspection and control of Convention ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

Section 51

Certificates of Convention ships to be produced to Customs.

Section 52

Survey, marking and conditions of assignment in case of ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

Section 53

Submersion of load line on ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

Section 54

Inspection of ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

Section 55

Load line certificates of ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

Section 56

Certificates to be produced to Customs by ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

Section 57

Carriage of timber deck cargo.

Section 58

Amendment of sections 436 and 454 of the Principal Act.

Section 59

Power to amend rules to correspond with amendments of Load Line Convention.

Section 60

Interpretation of Part II.

Section 61

Commencement of Part II and repeal.

PART III.

GENERAL.

Section 62

Provisions as to rules and regulations.

Section 63

Notice to be given to Consular officer where proceedings taken in respect of foreign ships.

Section 64

Cost of detaining ships.

Section 65

Forgery of certificates.

Section 66

Interpretation and construction.

Section 67

Short title, citation and repeal.

FIRST SCHEDULE.

SECOND SCHEDULE.

Number 42 of 1933.

MERCHANT SHIPPING (SAFETY AND LOAD LINE CONVENTIONS) ACT, 1933.

AN ACT TO MAKE SUCH PROVISION AS MAY BE NECESSARY TO GIVE FULL EFFECT TO THE PROVISIONS OF AN INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE SAFETY OF LIFE AT SEA SIGNED IN LONDON ON THE 31ST DAY OF MAY, 1929, AND OF AN INTERNATIONAL LOAD LINE CONVENTION SIGNED IN LONDON ON THE 5TH DAY OF JULY, 1930, AND TO AMEND THE MERCHANT SHIPPING ACTS, 1894 TO 1921, IN SO FAR AS IS NECESSARY TO GIVE EFFECT TO THE SAID CONVENTIONS. [3rd November, 1933.] BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:—

PART I.

Safety of Life at Sea.

Construction and Surveys.

Construction and survey regulations to implement Chapter II of Safety Convention.

1.—(1) The construction regulations applicable to passenger steamers plying on international voyages shall include such requirements as appear to the Minister to implement the provisions relating to construction, machinery, equipment and marking of load lines which are contained in Chapter II of the Safety Convention and the Regulations referred to therein (except in so far as the said provisions are otherwise implemented by the Merchant Shipping Acts):

Provided that— (a) the Minister may treat any passenger steamer constructed before the first day of July, nineteen hundred and thirty-one (not being a steamer converted to passenger service on or after that date) as complying with any such requirement, if the Minister is satisfied that such steps, if any, as are reasonable and practicable have been taken, to make the steamer comply with that requirement; (b) the Minister may, as respects passenger steamers plying on any international coasting voyage, modify any such requirement, if and to the extent that he is satisfied that the risks incurred by passenger steamers plying on that voyage are such as to make it unreasonable or unnecessary to require steamers so plying to comply with that requirement; (c) the Minister may, as respects steamers for the time being engaged in any passenger trade in which they are employed in the carriage of large numbers of unberthed passengers, modify any such requirement, if he is satisfied that compliance with that requirement by steamers so engaged is impracticable and to the extent that he is satisfied that modifications are required by the conditions of the trade; and (d) the Minister may, as, respects any steamer plying on short international voyages, modify any of the requirements of the construction regulations which implement the provisions of the Safety Convention contained in Regulations IX, X, XV and XIX thereof, if and to the extent that the Minister is satisfied that that requirement is neither reasonable nor practicable in the case of that steamer.

(2)If it appears to the Minister— (a) that passenger steamers plying on any international voyage incur exceptional risks owing to weather and traffic conditions; and (b) that owing to the small proportion of space allotted to cargo in any steamer constructed after the thirtieth day of June, nineteen hundred and thirty-one, or converted to passenger service after that date, the steamer can be sub-divided to a greater extent than is required by the Safety Convention; the Minister shall direct a ship surveyor to satisfy himself before stating in a declaration of survey that the steamer is fit to ply on that voyage, that the steamer is sub-divided to such greater extent as appears to the Minister to be practicable and expedient in the interests of safety.

(3)The survey regulations applicable to passenger steamers plying on international voyages shall include such requirements as appear to the Minister to implement the provisions relating to surveys which are contained in Chapter II of the Safety Convention and the Regulations referred to therein (except in so far as the said provisions are otherwise implemented by the Merchant Shipping Acts).

Amendments as to declarations of survey.

2.—(1) A declaration of survey made by a ship surveyor in respect of a passenger steamer shall, instead of stating the particulars required by paragraph (d) of sub-section (3) of section two hundred and seventy-two of the Principal Act, state the voyages or class of voyages on which, as regards construction and equipment, the steamer is in the surveyor's judgment fit to ply.

(2)A declaration of survey made by an engineer surveyor in respect of a passenger steamer shall, instead of stating the particulars required by paragraph (e) of sub-section (4) of the said section, state the voyages or class of voyages on which, as regards machinery, the steamer is in the surveyor's judgment fit to ply.

(3)If in the judgment of any such surveyor a passenger steamer is fit to ply on international voyages while engaged in a special passenger trade only, his declaration of survey shall state that fact.

Alteration of ships and additional surveys.

3.—(1) The owner or master of a passenger steamer to which this section applies shall, as soon as possible after any alteration is made in the steamer's hull, equipments or machinery which affects the efficiency thereof or the seaworthiness of the steamer, give written notice to the Minister containing full particulars of the alteration, and, if notice is not so given, the owner or master of the steamer shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

(2)If the Minister has reason to believe that since the making of the last declaration of survey in respect of a passenger steamer to which this section applies— (a) any such alteration as aforesaid has been made in the hull, equipments or machinery of the steamer; or (b) the hull, equipments or machinery of the steamer have sustained any injury or are otherwise insufficient; the Minister may, without prejudice to his powers under section two hundred and seventy-nine of the Principal Act, require the steamer to be again surveyed to such extent as he thinks fit, and, if such requirement is not complied with, may cancel any certificate issued in respect of the steamer under section two hundred and seventy-four of the Principal Act or under this Part of this Act.

(3)This section applies to every passenger steamer, whether registered in Saorstát Eireann or not so registered in respect of which any such certificate as aforesaid is for the time being in force, and for the purpose of this section the expression “alteration” in relation to the hull, equipments or machinery of a steamer includes the renewal of any part thereof.

Life-Saving Appliances.

Rules for life-saving appliances to implement Chapter III of Safety Convention.

4.—The rules for life-saving appliances applicable to passenger steamers plying on international voyages shall include such requirements as appear to the Minister to implement the provisions of Chapter III of the Safety Convention and the Regulations referred to therein (except in so far as the said provisions are otherwise implemented by the Merchant Shipping Acts):

Provided that— (a) the Minister may, on such conditions as he thinks fit, exempt any steamer constructed before the first day of July, nineteen hundred and thirty-one, from any such requirement, if and to the extent that he is satisfied that that requirement is either impracticable or unreasonable in the case of that steamer; (b) the Minister may, as respects passenger steamers plying on any international coasting voyage, modify any such requirement, if and to the extent that he is satisfied that the risks incurred by steamers plying on that voyage are such as to make it unreasonable or unnecessary for such steamers to comply with that requirement; (c) the Minister may, as respects passenger steamers engaged in any passenger trade in which they are employed in the carriage of large numbers of unberthed passengers, if he is satisfied that it is impracticable for steamers so engaged to comply with the said requirements, modify the said requirements in such manner as may appear to him to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of sub-paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of paragraph 5 of Article twelve of the Safety Convention; (d) the Minister may, as respects any passenger steamer plying on short international voyages, make such modifications of the said requirements as appear to him to be authorised by the provisions of the Safety Convention contained in sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (2) of Article thirteen, paragraph (4) of Regulation XXXVI, paragraph (11) of Regulation XXXVII, paragraph (2) of Regulation XXXVIII, and Regulation XXXIX.

Amendments of Merchant Shipping Acts as to life-saving appliances.

5.—(1) The power of the Minister under section four hundred and twenty-seven of the Principal Act to make rules for life-saving appliances shall include power to make rules with respect to all or any of the following matters, namely:— (a) the marking of boats, lifeboats, life-rafts and buoyant apparatus so as to show the dimensions thereof and the number of persons authorised to be carried thereon; (b) the manning of boats and lifeboats and the qualifications and certificates of lifeboat men; (c) the provision to be made for mustering the passengers and crew and for embarking them in the boats and lifeboats (including provision as to the lighting of, and as to the means of ingress to, and egress from, different parts of the ship); (d) the practising of boat drills; (e) the assignment of specific duties to each member of the crew in the event of emergency; (f) the methods to be adopted and the appliances to be carried for the prevention, detection and extinction of fire; (g) the number, description and mode of construction of line throwing appliances to be carried.

(2)Sub-section (1) of section four hundred and thirty of the Principal Act (which imposes penalties for failure to comply with the rules for life-saving appliances) shall be amended by inserting after paragraph (d) thereof the following paragraph:— “(e) if any provision of the rules for life-saving appliances applicable to the ship is contravened or not complied with.”

(3)The following section shall be substituted for section four hundred and thirty-one of the Principal Act:— “431.—(1) A surveyor of ships may inspect any ship for the purpose of seeing that the rules for life-saving appliances have been complied with in her case, and for the purpose of any such inspection shall have all the powers of an Inspector of the Department of Industry and Commerce under this Act.

(2)If the surveyor finds that the rules for life-saving appliances have not been complied with, he shall give written notice to the owner or master stating in what respect the said rules have not been complied with, and what, in his opinion, is required to rectify the matter.

(3)Every notice so given shall be communicated in manner directed by the Minister to the Chief Officer of Customs of any port at which the ship may seek to obtain a clearance or transire, and a clearance or transire shall not be granted to the ship and the ship shall be detained until a certificate under the hand of a surveyor of ships is produced to the effect that the matter has been rectified.”

(4)Sub-section (4) of section two hundred and seventy-two of the Principal Act (which relates to the statements to be made in the declaration of survey made by an engineer surveyor) shall be amended by substituting in paragraph (c) thereof the words “appliances for the prevention, detection and extinction of fire” for the words “fire hose”, and sub-section (2) of section two hundred and eighty-five of the Principal Act shall cease to have effect.

(5)Sub-section (1) of section nine of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1906 (which requires the master of every Saorstát Eireann ship to enter in the official log book a statement of every occasion on which boat drill is practised on board the ship) shall be amended by inserting at the end thereof the words “and if, in the case of a passenger steamer, boat drill is not practised on board the ship in any week, the master shall enter a statement of the reasons why boat drill was not practised in that week.”

Wireless Telegraphy.

Wireless telegraphy rules to implement Chapter IV of Safety Convention.

6.—(1) The wireless telegraphy rules applicable to ships plying on international voyages shall include such requirements as appear to the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs to implement the provisions of Chapter IV of the Safety Convention (except in so far as the said provisions are otherwise implemented by the Merchant Shipping Acts).

(2)The wireless telegraphy rules shall further require that the wireless telegraph installation to be provided on passenger steamers of five thousand tons gross tonnage or upwards shall (after such date not being later than the first day of January nineteen hundred and thirty-five as may be prescribed by the rules) include a wireless direction finding apparatus as required by Article forty-seven and paragraph 17 of Article thirty-one of the Safety Convention.

Amendments of the Merchant Shipping (Wireless Telegraphy) Act, 1919.

7.—(1) The power of the Minister in consultation with the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs to make rules under sub-section (2) of section one of the Merchant Shipping (Wireless Telegraphy) Act, 1919, shall include power to make rules— (a) requiring the master of a ship to enter in the official log book such particulars relating to the operation of the wireless telegraph installation and as to the maintenance of the wireless telegraph service, as may be specified in the rules; and (b) making provision as to the certificates to be held by, and the duties of, operators and watchers.

(2)If the master of a Saorstát Eireann ship fails to comply with any such requirement, or if any operator or watcher on any such ship contravenes the said rules he shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

(3)The Minister shall not, in pursuance of the powers conferred on him by the said Act, exempt from the obligations imposed by that Act any ship plying on international voyages, unless the exemption of the ship appears to him to be authorised by paragraph (2) of Article twenty-seven, or by Article twenty-eight, of the Safety Convention.

(4)For the purposes of sub-section (2) of section three of the said Act the expression “passengers” shall have the same meaning as it has for the purpose of Part III of the Principal Act.

Appointment of wireless telegraphy surveyors.

8.—A person appointed to be a surveyor of ships under section seven hundred and twenty-four of the Principal Act may be appointed as a wireless telegraphy surveyor :

Provided that the functions of the Minister under the said section with respect to surveyors of ships shall not be exercised with respect to wireless telegraphy surveyors except with the approval of the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs.

Survey of passenger steamers by wireless telegraphy surveyors.

9.—(1) The survey of a passenger steamer required by the Principal Act shall, in the case of every survey made after the commencement of this Part of this Act in respect of a sea-going steamer which is not exempt under the Merchant Shipping (Wireless Telegraphy) Act, 1919, from the obligations imposed by that Act, include a survey by a wireless telegraphy surveyor, and accordingly sub-section (1) of section two hundred and seventy-two of that Act shall be amended by inserting after the words “engineer surveyor of ships” the words “and, in the case of a sea-going passenger steamer required to be provided with a wireless telegraph installation, by a wireless telgraphy surveyor.”

(2)The following sub-section shall be inserted at the end of the said section two hundred and seventy-two:— “(5) The declaration of the wireless telegraphy surveyor shall contain statements of the following particulars, namely:— (a) the voyages or class of voyages on which, as regards wireless telegraphy, the steamer is fit to ply; (b) that, having regard to the tonnage of the steamer and the voyages or class of voyages on which she is declared to be fit to ply, the wireless telegraph installation complies with the wireless telegraphy rules; (c) that the certificates of the wireless telegraphy operators and watchers are such as are required by those rules.”

(3)Section two hundred and seventy-five of the Principal Act (which provides for appeals to a court of survey by persons aggrieved by the declaration of survey of a ship or engineer surveyor) shall be amended by inserting the words “or wireless telegraphy surveyor” after the words “engineer surveyor” in both places where they occur.

Survey of ships other than passenger steamers by wireless telegraphy surveyors.

10.—The owner of every Saorstát Eireann ship of sixteen hundred gross tonnage or upwards not being a passenger steamer or a ship exempt under the Merchant Shipping (Wireless Telegraphy) Act, 1919, from the obligations imposed by that Act, shall, before the ship first proceeds to sea on an international voyage from a port in Saorstát Eireann after the first day of January nineteen hundred and thirty-four and once in each year thereafter, cause the ship to be surveyed by a wireless telegraphy surveyor in the same manner as if she were a passenger steamer required to be provided with a wireless telegraph installation, and the provisions of sections two hundred and seventy-two, two hundred and seventy-three and two hundred and seventy-five of the Principal Act shall apply accordingly.

Certificates.

Issue of safety certificates and passenger steamers' exemption certificates.

11.—(1) If the Minister on receipt of declarations of survey in respect of a passenger steamer is satisfied that the steamer complies with all the construction regulations, rules for life-saving appliances and wireless telegraphy rules applicable to passenger steamers plying on international voyages, he shall, on the application of the owner of the steamer, issue in respect of the steamer a safety certificate stating that the steamer complies with the requirements of the Safety Convention, and any certificate issued under this sub-section is hereafter in this Part of this Act referred to as “a general safety certificate.”

(2)If, on receipt of declarations of survey in respect of a passenger steamer in the case of which the Minister has modified the construction regulations or the rules for life-saving appliances in pursuance of the foregoing provisions of this Act relating to steamers plying on short international voyages, the Minister is satisfied that the steamer complies with the said regulations and rules as so modified, and also complies with the wireless telegraphy rules applicable to steamers plying on international voyages, the Minister shall, on the application of the owner of the steamer, issue in respect of the steamer a safety certificate stating that the steamer complies with the requirements of the Safety Convention applicable to a short international voyage, and any certificate issued under this sub-section is hereafter in this Part of this Act referred to as “a short voyage safety certificate.”

(3)If the Minister, on receipt of declarations of survey in respect of a passenger steamer, is satisfied that the steamer— (a) complies with all the construction regulations and rules for life-saving appliances applicable to passenger steamers plying on international voyages or with those regulations and rules as modified in her case in pursuance of the foregoing provisions of this Act relating to steamers plying on short international voyages, and also is exempt under the Merchant Shipping (Wireless Telegraphy) Act, 1919, from the obligations imposed by that Act; or (b) complies with the construction regulations and the rules for life-saving appliances applicable to steamers plying on any international coasting voyage or steamers engaged in any special passenger trade, and also either complies with the wireless telegraphy rules applicable to steamers plying on international voyages or is exempt under the Merchant Shipping (Wireless Telegraphy) Act, 1919, from the obligations imposed by that Act; he shall, on the application of the owner of the steamer, issue in respect of the steamer— (i) a safety certificate stating in what respects the steamer complies with the requirements of the Safety Convention; and (ii) an exemption certificate stating that so long as the steamer plies on the voyages, and is engaged in trades, and complies with the conditions (if any) specified in the certificate, the steamer is exempt in other respects from the requirements of the said Convention; and any safety certificate and exemption certificate issued under this sub-section are hereafter in this Part of this Act respectively referred to as “a qualified safety certificate” and “a passenger steamer's exemption certificate.”

(4)For the purposes of this section, the Minister may treat— (a) any passenger steamer constructed before the first day of July, nineteen hundred and thirty-one (not being a steamer converted to passenger service on or after that date) as complying with the construction regulations applicable in the circumstances; and (b) any passenger steamer constructed before the first day of July, nineteen hundred and thirty-one, as complying with the rules for life-saving appliances applicable in the circumstances; if he is satisfied that such steps (if any) as are reasonable and practicable have been taken to make the steamer comply with those regulations or rules, as the case may be.

(5)The provisions of this section shall, subject to the provisions hereafter contained in this Part of this Act, apply only to passenger steamers registered in Saorstát Eireann.

Modification of safety certificates as respects life-saving appliances.

12.—(1) If, on any international voyage, a passenger steamer registered in Saorstát Eireann in respect of which a safety certificate is in force has on board a total number of persons less than the number stated in that certificate to be the number for which the life-saving appliances on the steamer provide the Minister or any person authorised by him for the purpose, may, at the request of the master of the steamer, issue a memorandum stating the total number of persons carried on the steamer on that voyage, and the consequent modifications which may be made for the purpose of that voyage in the particulars with respect to life-saving appliances stated in the certificate, and that memorandum shall be annexed to the certificate.

(2)Every such memorandum shall be returned to the Minister at the end of the voyage to which it relates, and, if it is not so returned, the master of the steamer shall be guilty of an offence under this section, and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

Issue of wireless telegraphy certificates and wireless telegraphy exemption certificates.

13.—(1) On receipt of a declaration of survey by a wireless telegraphy surveyor in respect of a Saorstát Eireann ship not being a passenger steamer, the Minister shall, if satisfied that the ship complies with the wireless telegraphy rules applicable to ships (other than passenger steamers) plying on international voyages, issue a certificate stating that the ship complies with the requirements of the Safety Convention relating to wireless telegraphy, and any certificate issued under this sub-section is hereafter in this Part of this Act referred to as “a wireless telegraphy certificate.”

(2)Where any such ship is exempted under the Merchant Shipping (Wireless Telegraphy) Act, 1919, from the obligations imposed by that Act, the Minister on the application of the owner of the ship, shall issue an exemption certificate stating that the ship is exempted from the requirements of the Safety Convention relating to wireless telegraphy and specifying the voyages on which, and conditions (if any) on which, the ship is so exempted, and any certificate issued under this sub-section is hereafter in this Part of this Act referred to as “a wireless telegraphy exemption certificate.”

Prohibition on proceeding to sea without certificate.

14.—(1) No ship to which this section applies shall proceed to sea on an international voyage from a port in Saorstát Eireann after the first day of January nineteen hundred and thirty-four unless there is in force in respect of the ship— (a) in the case of a ship being a passenger steamer, either— (i) a general safety certificate; or (ii) a short voyage safety certificate; or (iii) a qualified safety certificate and passenger steamer's exemption certificate, being a certificate or certificates which by the terms thereof is or are applicable to the voyage on which the ship is about to proceed and to the trade in which she is for the time being engaged; (b) in the case of a ship not being a passenger steamer, either— (i) such certificate or certificates as would be required in her case by the foregoing provisions of this section if she were a passenger steamer; or (ii) a wireless telegraphy certificate; or (iii) a wireless telegraphy exemption certificate which by the terms thereof is applicable to the voyage on which the ship is about to proceed.

(2)If any ship to which this section applies proceeds, or attempts to proceed, to sea in contravention of this section— (a) in the case of a ship being a passenger steamer, the master or owner of the steamer shall, without prejudice to any other remedy or penalty under the Merchant Shipping Acts, be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding ten pounds for every passenger carried on board the steamer, and the master or owner of any tender by means of which passengers are taken on board the steamer shall also be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a like penalty for every passenger so taken on board; and (b) in the case of a ship not being a passenger steamer, the master or owner of the ship shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

(3)The master of every ship to which this section applies shall produce to the officer of customs from whom a clearance for the ship is demanded for an international voyage, the certificate or certificates required by the foregoing provisions of this section to be in force when the ship proceeds to sea, and a clearance shall not be granted, and the ship may be detained, until the said certificate or certificates are so produced.

(4)Where a passenger steamer's exemption certificate or wireless telegraphy exemption certificate issued in respect of any ship to which this section applies specifies any conditions on which the certificate is issued and those conditions are contravened, the master or owner of the ship shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

(5)This section applies to Saorstát Eireann ships being passenger steamers or being ships of sixteen hundred tons gross tonnage or upwards.

Miscellaneous provisions as to certificates.

15.—(1) A safety certificate, wireless telegraphy certificate, or exemption certificate issued by the Minister shall not be in force for more than one year from the date of its issue, nor after notice is given by the Minister to the owner, agent, or master of the ship in respect of which it has been issued, that the Minister has cancelled the certificate.

(2)If a Saorstát Eireann ship in respect of which any such certificate has been issued, is absent from Saorstát Eireann at the date when the certificate expires, the Minister or any person authorised by him for the purpose, may, if it appears proper and reasonable so to do, grant such an extension of the certificate as will allow the ship to return to Saorstát Eireann, but no such extension shall have effect for a period exceeding five months from the said date.

(3)Every such certificate shall be in such form as may be prescribed by rules made by the Minister, and those rules shall make such provision as appears to him to be necessary for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of Article fifty-one of the Safety Convention, and may provide for combining a safety certificate in one document with a passenger steamer's certificate.

(4)Any such certificate, and any passenger steamer's certificate combined in one document with a safety certificate, may be signed on behalf of the Minister by any person authorised by the Minister for the purpose, and a certificate purporting to be so signed shall be admissible in evidence in like manner as if it had been signed by one of the persons mentioned in section seven hundred and nineteen of the Principal Act.

(5)The following provisions of the Principal Act shall apply to and in relation to every such certificate issued by the Minister in the same manner as they apply to and in relation to a passenger steamer's certificate, namely, section two hundred and seventy-six (which relates to the transmission of the certificate to the owner of the steamer), section two hundred and seventy-seven (which relates to the fees to be paid for the certificate), section two hundred and seventy-nine (which relates to the cancellation of the certificate), section two hundred and eighty (which relates to the delivery up of the certificate) and section two hundred and eighty-one (which relates to the posting up of the certificate on the ship).

(6)The Minister may request the Government of a country to which the Safety Convention applies to issue a general safety certificate, a short voyage safety certificate or a wireless telegraphy certificate in respect of a Saorstát Eireann ship and a certificate issued in pursuance of such a request and containing a statement that it has been so issued shall have effect for the purposes of this Act as if it had been issued by the Minister.

Provisions as to Safety Convention Ships not Registered in Saorstát Eireann.

Certificates of Convention ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

16.—(1) The Minister may, at the request of the Government of a country to which the Safety Convention applies, issue a general safety certificate, a short voyage safety certificate or a wireless telegraphy certificate in respect of a ship of that country if he is satisfied in like manner as in the case of a Saorstát Eireann ship that he can properly issue the certificate, and, where a certificate is issued at such a request, it shall contain a statement that it has been so issued.

(2)With a view to determining the validity in Saorstát Eireann of certificates purporting to have been issued in accordance with the Safety Convention in respect of Safety Convention ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann, the Minister shall make such regulations as appear to him to be necessary for the purpose of giving effect to Article fifty-five of the Safety Convention, and, for the purpose of the provisions hereafter contained in this Part of this Act relating to Safety Convention ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann the expression “a valid Safety Convention certificate” means a certificate or certificates complying with such of those regulations as are applicable in the circumstances.

(3)Where a valid Safety Convention certificate is produced in respect of a Safety Convention passenger steamer, not registered in Saorstát Eireann, and there is attached to the certificate a memorandum which— (a) has been issued by or under the authority of the Government of the country to which the steamer belongs; and (b) modifies for the purpose of any particular voyage, in view of the number of persons actually carried on that voyage, the particulars stated in the certificate with respect to life-saving appliances; the certificate shall have effect for the purpose of that voyage as if it were modified in accordance with the memorandum.

Modifications as to survey of passenger steamers holding Convention certificate.

17.—(1) Where a valid Safety Convention certificate is produced in respect of a Safety Convention passenger steamer not registered in Saorstát Eireann— (a) the provisions of the Principal Act and of this Act as to the survey of passenger steamers by engineer and wireless telegraphy surveyors shall be deemed to have been complied with in the case of the steamer; (b) the survey by the ship surveyor shall be limited to ascertaining the number of passengers which the steamer is fit to carry, and it shall not be necessary for the declaration of survey made by that surveyor to contain a statement of any further particulars than those set out in paragraph (e) of sub-section (3) of section two hundred and seventy-two of the Principal Act (which relates to the said number of passengers); (c) on receipt of such a declaration, the Minister shall issue a certificate under section two hundred and seventy-four of the Principal Act containing only a statement of the particulars set out in paragraph (b) of that section (which relates to the said number of passengers), and a certificate so issued shall have effect as a passenger steamer's certificate.

(2)Where there is produced in respect of any such passenger steamer a valid Safety Convention certificate, and also a certificate issued by or under the authority of the Government of the country to which the steamer belongs, showing the number of passengers which the steamer is fit to carry, and the Minister is satisfied that that number has been determined substantially in the same manner as in the case of a steamer registered in Saorstát Eireann the Minister may if he thinks fit dispense with the survey of the steamer mentioned in the last foregoing sub-section and direct that the last mentioned certificate shall have effect as a passenger steamer's certificate.

Miscellaneous privileges of passenger steamers holding Convention certificate.

18.—Where a valid Safety Convention certificate is produced in respect of a Safety Convention passenger steamer not registered in Saorstát Eireann— (a) the steamer shall be exempt from the following enactments, namely, paragraphs (d) and (f) of sub-section (1) of section two hundred and ninety of the Principal Act (which relates to the equipment of emigrant ships), and sections four hundred and twenty-seven to four hundred and thirty-one of that Act (which relate to life-saving appliances); and (b) the steamer shall not be deemed to be unsafe for the purposes of sections four hundred and fifty-nine or four hundred and sixty-two of the Principal Act by reason of the defective condition of her hull, equipment or machinery, unless it appears that the steamer cannot proceed to sea without danger to the passengers or crew owing to the fact that the actual condition of the steamer does not correspond substantially with the particulars stated in the certificate.

Wireless telegraphy provisions applicable to ships holding Convention certificate.

19.—(1) Where a valid Safety Convention certificate is produced in respect of a Safety Convention ship not registered in Saorstát Eireann being a passenger steamer or being a ship of sixteen hundred tons gross tonnage or upwards, then— (a) if the certificate shows that the ship is wholly exempt from the provisions of the Safety Convention relating to wireless telegraphy, the ship shall be exempt from the provisions of the Merchant Shipping (Wireless Telegraphy) Act, 1919; (b) if the certificate shows that the ship is not wholly exempt from the said provisions of the Safety Convention, the following provisions of this section shall apply to the ship in lieu of the provisions of the said Act.

(2)A surveyor of ships may inspect the ship for the purpose of seeing that the wireless telegraph installation and the number of certified operators and watchers carried on the ship correspond substantially with the particulars stated in the certificate.

(3)If it appears to the surveyor that the ship cannot proceed to sea without danger to the passengers or crew owing to the fact that the wireless telegraph installation or the number of operators or watchers does not correspond substantially with the said particulars, the surveyor shall give to the master notice in writing pointing out the deficiency and also pointing out what, in his opinion, is requisite to remedy the deficiency.

(4)Every notice so given shall be communicated in manner directed by the Minister to the chief officer of customs of any port at which the ship may seek to obtain a clearance or transire and to the consular officer for the country to which the ship belongs at or nearest to the port where the ship is for the time being, and a clearance or transire shall not be granted to the ship, and the ship shall be detained, until a certificate under the hand of a surveyor of ships is produced to the effect that the deficiency has been remedied.

Duty to produce Convention certificate.

20.—The master of every Safety Convention ship not registered in Saorstát Eireann being a passenger steamer or being a ship of sixteen hundred tons gross tonnage or upwards, shall produce a valid Safety Convention certificate to the officer of customs, from whom a clearance for the ship is demanded in respect of an international voyage from a port in Saorstát Eireann after the first day of January, nineteen hundred and thirty-four, and the clearance shall not be granted, and the ship may be detained, until such a certificate is so produced.

Modification of existing provisions for exemption of ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

21.—(1) The proviso to section four of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1906 , and any Orders in Council thereunder which have the force of law in Saorstát Eireann shall, on the first day of January, nineteen hundred and thirty-four, cease to apply to Safety Convention passenger steamers plying on international voyages.

(2)Section two hundred and eighty-four of the Principal Act (which provides for the recognition of passenger steamers' certificates granted in any part of the British Commonwealth of Nations) and any Order in Council thereunder which has the force of law in Saorstát Eireann and section three hundred and sixty-three of that Act (which provides for the exemption of passenger steamers not registered in any part of the British Commonwealth of Nations from survey) shall, on the first day of January, nineteen hundred and thirty-four, cease to apply to Safety Convention passenger steamers plying on international voyages.

Miscellaneous Provisions for Furthering Safety of Life at Sea.

Duties as to watertight doors and other contrivances.

22.—The rules set out in the First Schedule to this Act with respect to watertight doors and other contrivances shall be complied with in every passenger steamer registered in Saorstát Eireann, and if any of the said rules is contravened in the case of any such steamer, the master thereof shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

Submersion of sub-division load lines.

23.—(1) Where— (a) a passenger steamer registered in Saorstát Eireann has been marked with sub-division load lines, that is to say, load lines indicating the depth to which the steamer may be loaded having regard to the extent to which she is sub-divided and to the space for the time being allotted to passengers; and (b) the appropriate sub-division load line, that is to say, the sub-division load line appropriate to the space for the time being allotted to passengers on the steamer, is lower than the load line indicating the maximum depth to which the steamer is for the time being entitled under

Part II

of this Act to be loaded; the steamer shall not be so loaded as to submerge the appropriate sub-division load line on each side of the steamer when the steamer has no list.

(2)If any such steamer is loaded in contravention of this section, the owner or master of the steamer shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, and to such additional fine, not exceeding the amount hereinafter specified, as the court thinks fit to impose, having regard to the extent to which the earning capacity of the ship was, or would have been, increased by reason of the submersion.

(3)The said additional fine shall not exceed one hundred pounds for every inch or fraction of an inch by which the appropriate sub-division load line on each side of the ship was submerged, or would have been submerged if the ship had had no list.

(4)Without prejudice to any proceedings under the foregoing provisions of this section, any such steamer which is loaded in contravention of this section may be detained until she ceases to be so loaded.

(5)The foregoing provisions of this section shall apply to passenger steamers not registered in Saorstát Eireann while they are within any port in Saorstát Eireann as they apply to passenger steamers registered in Saorstát Eireann.

Report of dangers to navigation.

24.—(1) The master of any Saorstát Eireann ship on meeting with dangerous ice, a dangerous derelict, a tropical storm or any other direct danger to navigation, shall send information accordingly, by all means of communication at his disposal and in accordance with rules to be made for the purposes of this section, to ships in the vicinity and to such authorities on shore as may be prescribed by those rules.

(2)Rules for the purposes of this section shall be made by the Minister and shall make such provision as appears to him to be necessary for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of Article forty-four (so far as it relates to safety signals) and of Regulation XLVI of the Safety Convention.

(3)If the master of a ship fails to comply with the provisions of this section, he shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

(4)Every person in charge of a wireless telegraph station which is under the control of the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs or which is established or installed under licence of the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs, shall, on receiving the signal prescribed by the said rules for indicating that a message is about to be sent under this section, refrain from sending messages for a time sufficient to allow other stations to receive the message, and, if so required by the Minister shall transmit the message in such manner as may be required by the Minister, and compliance with this sub-section shall be deemed to be a condition of every licence granted by the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs under the Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1926:

Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall interfere with the transmission by wireless telegraphy of any signal of distress or urgency prescribed under the next following section of this Act.

(5)For the purposes of this section, the expression “tropical storm” means a hurricane, typhoon, cyclone, or other storm of a similar nature, and the master of a ship shall be deemed to have met with a tropical storm if he has reason to believe that there is such a storm in his vicinity.

(6)The Derelict Vessels (Report) Act, 1896, shall cease to have effect.

Provisions as to signals.

25.—(1) The Minister may by order prescribe what signals shall be signals of distress and urgency, and the signals so prescribed shall be deemed to be signals of distress and urgency respectively.

(2)Rules may be made by the Minister prescribing the circumstances in and the purposes for which any signal prescribed by order under the last foregoing sub-section is to be used, the circumstances in which it is to be revoked and the speed at which any message sent by wireless telegraphy in connection with the signal is to be transmitted, and those rules shall make such provision as appears to the Minister to be necessary for the purpose of giving effect to Articles forty-two and forty-three of the Safety Convention and to Article forty-four thereof so far as it relates to signals of distress and urgency.

(3)If the master of a ship uses or displays or causes or permits any person under his authority to use or display— (a) any signal prescribed by order under this section except in the circumstances and for the purposes prescribed by the rules made under this section; or (b) any private signal, whether registered or not, which is liable to be mistaken for any signal so prescribed by order; he shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds and shall further be liable to pay compensation for any labour undertaken, risk incurred or loss sustained in consequence of the signal having been supposed to be a signal of distress or urgency, and that compensation may, without prejudice to any other remedy, be recovered in the same manner in which salvage is recoverable.

(4)Section four hundred and thirty-four of the Principal Act shall cease to have effect, but nothing in this Part of this Act shall affect any rules made under that section which are in force at the commencement of this Part of this Act, and any such rules shall, until revoked, have effect as if they had been made under the foregoing provisions of this section.

(5)In addition to the private signals which the Minister may refuse to register under section seven hundred and thirty-three of the Principal Act, the Minister may refuse to register any private signal which in his opinion cannot easily be distinguished from signals of urgency or signals prescribed for indicating that a message is about to be sent relating to a danger to navigation, and the Minister may revoke the registration of any such signal registered under the said section of the Principal Act, if in his opinion it cannot easily be so distinguished.

Obligation to render assistance on receiving wireless distress call.

26.—(1) The master of a Saorstát Eireann ship on receiving on his ship a signal of distress by wireless telegraphy from any other ship, shall proceed with all speed to the assistance of the persons in distress, unless he is unable, or in the special circumstances of the case considers it unreasonable or unnecessary, to do so, or unless he is released under the provisions of sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) of this section.

(2)The master of any ship in distress may, after consultation so far as possible with the masters of the ships which answer his signal of distress, requisition such one or more of those ships as he considers best able to render assistance, and it shall be the duty of the master of any Saorstát Eireann ship which is so requisitioned, to comply with the requisition by continuing to proceed with all speed to the assistance of the persons in distress.

(3)A master shall be released from the obligation imposed by sub-section (1) of this section as soon as he is informed by the master of the ship requisitioned, or where more ships than one are requisitioned, all the masters of the ships requisitioned, that he or they are complying with the requisition.

(4)A master shall be released from the obligation imposed by sub-section (1) of this section and, if his ship has been requisitioned, from the obligation imposed by sub-section (2) of this section, if he receives information that assistance is no longer required.

(5)If the master of a Saorstát Eireann ship fails to comply with the foregoing provisions of this section, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.

(6)If the master of a Saorstát Eireann ship on receiving on his ship a signal of distress by wireless telegraphy from another ship, is unable or, in the special circumstances of the case, considers it unreasonable or unnecessary, to go to the assistance of the persons in distress, he shall forthwith send a message by wireless telegraphy informing the master of that other ship accordingly, and enter in the official log-book his reasons for not going to the assistance of those persons, and if he fails to do so he shall beoguilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction, thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

(7)Nothing in this section shall affect the provisions of section six of the Maritime Conventions Act, 1911, and compliance by the master of a ship with the provisions of this section shall not affect his right, or the right of any other person, to salvage.

Signalling lamps.

27.—No Saorstát Eireann ship being a ship of over one hundred and fifty tons gross tonnage, shall proceed to sea on an international voyage, unless the ship is provided with a signalling lamp of a type approved by the Minister and if any ship proceeds or attempts to proceed to sea in contravention of this section, the owner or master thereof shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

Carriage of dangerous goods.

28.—(1) The Minister shall make such rules with respect to the carriage of goods on passenger steamers plying on international voyages as appear to him to be necessary for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article twenty-four of the Safety Convention.

(2)If any of the rules made in pursuance of this section is contravened in the case of any passenger steamer registered in Saorstát Eireann the master or owner of the steamer shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding three hundred pounds and the steamer shall be deemed for the purposes of section four hundred and fifty-nine of the Principal Act to be unsafe by reason of improper loading.

(3)Any goods declared to be dangerous in their nature by the rules made under this section shall be deemed to be dangerous goods for the purpose of Part V of the Principal Act.

(4)The provisions of this section shall be deemed to be in addition to, and not in substitution for, or in restraint of, any other enactment for the like object, so however that nothing in this section shall be deemed to authorise any person to be sued or prosecuted twice in the same matter.

(5)The foregoing provisions of this section and the rules made thereunder shall apply to passenger steamers not registered in Saorstát Eireann while they are within any port in Saorstát Eireann as they apply to passenger steamers registered in Saorstát Eireann.

Change in Method of giving helm orders.

29.—(1) It shall not be lawful for any person on any Saorstát Eireann ship, when such ship is going ahead, either to give a helm or steering order containing the word “starboard” or the word “right” or any equivalent of either of those words unless such person intends that the head of such ship shall move to the right, or to give a helm or steering order containing the word “port” or the word “left” or any equivalent of either of those words unless such person intends that the head of the ship shall move to the left.

(2)Every person who does any act which is a contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

Careful navigation near ice.

30.—(1) The master of a Saorstát Eireann ship, when ice is reported on or near his course, shall at night either proceed at a moderate speed or change his course so as to keep amply clear of the ice reported and the area of danger.

(2)If the master of any such ship fails to comply with this section, he shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

Notice of Atlantic routes.

31.—(1) The owner of any line of passenger steamers crossing the North Atlantic from or to any port in Saorstát Eireann by regular routes shall give public notice, in such manner as may be directed by the Minister, of the routes which it is proposed that the ships belonging to the line should follow, and of any changes which may be made in those routes.

(2)If the owner of any such line of passenger steamers fails to comply with this section, he shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

Supplemental.

Amendment of section 267 of Principal Act.

32.—For the purpose of Part III of the Principal Act, the expression “passenger” shall not include any person who is on board a ship either in pursuance of the obligation laid upon the master to carry shipwrecked, distressed or other persons or by reason of any circumstances which neither the master nor the owner nor the charterer (if any) of the ship could have prevented or forestalled, and accordingly section two hundred and sixty-seven of the principal Act shall be amended by inserting after the words “family and servants” the words “and persons on board the ship either in pursuance of the obligation laid upon the master to carry shipwrecked, distressed or other persons or by reason of any circumstance which neither the master nor the owner nor the charterer (if any) could have prevented or forestalled.”

Power to amend rules and regulations to correspond with amendments of Safety Convention.

33.—Where the Minister is required by this Part of this Act to give effect to, or implement, any provision of the Safety Convention by any rules or regulations, and that provision is amended in pursuance of Article sixty-one of that Convention, the Minister may amend the rules or regulations accordingly.

Certain rules and regulations to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.

34.—(1) Where any of the construction regulations, survey regulations or rules for life-saving appliances applicable to passenger steamers plying on international voyages, or any of the wireless telegraphy rules applicable to ships plying on international voyages, being a regulation or rule made after the passing of this Act and in force at the commencement of this Part of this Act, contains, in the opinion of the Minister a requirement which— (a) is at variance with any specific requirement of the Safety Convention; and (b) was not contained in the regulations or rules in force at the passing of this Act; the regulation or rule, as the case may be, shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after the commencement of this Part of this Act.

(2)Where any of the construction regulations, survey regulations or wireless telegraphy rules, being a regulation or rule applicable as aforesaid and made after the commencement of this Part of this Act, contains, in the opinion of the Minister, such a requirement as aforesaid, it shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made.

(3)All rules for life-saving appliances made after the commencement of this Part of this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after they are made, together with a report stating whether any, and if so which, of the rules applicable to passenger steamers plying on international voyages contains, in the opinion of the Minister, such a requirement as aforesaid, and all rules for life-saving appliances made before the commencement of this Part of this Act, which have not come into force before the commencement of this Part of this Act, shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after the commencement of this Part of this Act, together with such a report as aforesaid.

(4)If either House within the next subsequent twenty days on which that House has sat after— (a) any regulation or rule is laid before it in pursuance of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) of this section; or (b) any rule is laid before it which is reported in pursuance of sub-section (3) of this section to contain such a requirement as aforesaid; resolves that the regulation or rule shall be annulled, the regulation or rule shall thenceforth be void, but without prejudice to anything previously done thereunder or to the making of a new regulation or rule.

(5)Sub-section (2) of section four hundred and twenty-seven of the Principal Act shall cease to have effect.

Interpretation of Part I.

35.—In this Part of this Act the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say:— “Construction regulations” means such of the regulations made under section seven hundred and twenty-four of the Principal Act as prescribe the matters with respect to which a surveyor of ships must be satisfied before he states in a declaration of survey that a passenger steamer is fit to ply on any particular voyages or class of voyages specified in the regulations; “Country to which the Safety Convention applies” means— (a) a country the Government of which has been declared to have ratified, or acceded to, the Safety Convention, and has not been declared to have denounced that Convention: (b) a country to which it has been declared that the Safety Convention has been applied under the provisions of Article sixty-two thereof, not being a country to which it has been declared that that Convention has ceased to apply under the provisions of that Article; “Declaration of survey” means a declaration made under section two hundred and seventy-two of the Principal Act; “International voyage” means a voyage from a port in one country to a port in another country, either of those countries being a country to which the Safety Convention applies, “short international voyage” means an international voyage in the course of which a ship does not go more than two hundred miles from land, and “international coasting voyage” means an international voyage in the course of which a ship does not go more than twenty miles from land, so however that for the purpose of this provision— (a) no account shall be taken of any deviation by a ship from her intended voyage due solely to stress of weather or any other circumstance which neither the master nor the owner nor the charterer (if any) of the ship could have prevented or forestalled; and (b) every colony, overseas territory, protectorate or territory under suzerainty, and every territory in respect of which a mandate has been accepted on behalf of the League of Nations, shall be deemed to be a separate country; “Rules for life-saving appliances” means the rules made under section four hundred and twenty-seven of the Principal Act; “Safety Convention ship” means a ship belonging to a country to which the Safety Convention applies, and the expression “Safety Convention passenger steamer” shall be construed accordingly; “Special passenger trade” means a trade in relation to which the Minister has modified the construction regulations or the rules for life-saving appliances in pursuance of this Part of this Act;

“Survey regulations” means such of the regulations made under section seven hundred and twenty-four of the Principal Act as prescribe the manner in which surveys of passenger steamers are to be made; “Wireless telegraphy rules” means the rules made under sub-section (2) of section one of the Merchant Shipping (Wireless Telegraphy) Act, 1919.

Commencement of Part I and repeal.

36.—(1) This Part of this Act shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may by order appoint.

(2)The enactments set out in Part I of the Second Schedule to this Act shall be repealed, to the extent specified in the second column of that Part of that Schedule, as from the commencement of this Part of this Act.

PART II.

Load Line and Loading.

Preliminary.

Ships exempt from Part II.

37.—(1) The following ships are exempt from this Part of this Act, namely— (a) sailing ships under eighty tons register engaged solely in the coasting trade; (b) ships exempted from this Part of this Act under sub-section (2) of this section; (c) ships solely engaged in fishing; (d) pleasure yachts.

(2)The Minister may, on such conditions as he thinks fit, exempt from this Part of this Act— (a) any ship plying on international voyages between the near neighbouring ports of two or more countries, if the Minister and the Governments of those countries are satisfied that the sheltered nature and conditions of the voyages between those ports make it unreasonable or impracticable to apply the provisions of this Part of this Act to ships so plying; (b) any ship plying on any other voyage between near neighbouring ports if the Minister is satisfied as aforesaid; and (c) any class of steamers under eighty tons register engaged solely in the coasting trade, so long as they do not carry cargo.

Classification of ships for purpose of Part II.

38.—(1) Ships which are not exempt from this Part of this Act by virtue of the last foregoing section are hereafter in this Act referred to as “load line ships,” and for the purposes of this Part of this Act are divided into the following classes, namely— (a) international load line ships, that is to say, ships of one hundred and fifty tons gross tonnage or upwards which carry cargo or passengers; and (b) local load line ships, that is to say, ships of one hundred and fifty tons gross tonnage or upwards which do not carry cargo or passengers, and ships of less than that tonnage.

(2)International load line ships belonging to countries to which the Load Line Convention applies, are hereafter in this Act referred to as “Load Line Convention ships.”

Marking and Submersion of Load Lines.

Load line rules.

39.—(1) The Minister shall make such rules (hereafter in this Act referred to as “the load line rules”) as appear to him to be necessary for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of Articles 6 to 10 of the Load Line Convention and Annex I and Annex II thereto.

(2)Such of the load line rules as are made to give effect to Part II of Annex I to the said Convention are hereafter in this Act referred to as “the conditions of assignment.”

Marking of deck-line and load lines.

40.—(1) No Saorstát Eireann load line ship being a ship constructed after the thirtieth day of June, nineteen hundred and thirty-two, shall proceed to sea unless— (a) the ship has been surveyed in accordance with the load line rules; and (b) the ship complies with the conditions of assignment; and (c) the ship is marked on each side with a mark (hereafter in this Act referred to as a “deck-line”) indicating the position of the uppermost complete deck as defined by the load line rules, and with marks (hereafter in this Act referred to as “load lines”) indicating the several maximum depths to which the ship can be safely loaded in various circumstances prescribed by the load line rules; and (d) the deck-line and load lines are of the description required by the load line rules, the deck-line is in the position required by those rules, and the load lines are of the number required by such of those rules as are applicable to the ship; and (e) the load lines are in the position required by such of the load line rules as are applicable to the ship.

(2)No Saorstát Eireann load line ship being a ship constructed before the 1st day of July, nineteen hundred and thirty-two, shall proceed to sea unless— (a) the ship has been surveyed and marked in accordance with paragraphs (a), (c) and (d) of the last foregoing sub-section; and (b) the ship complies with the conditions of assignment in principle and also in detail, so far as, in the opinion of the Minister is reasonable and practicable having regard to the efficiency of the protection of openings, the guard rails, the freeing ports and the means of access to the crew's quarters provided by the arrangements, fittings and appliances existing on the ship at the time when she is first surveyed under this section; and (c) the load lines are either in the position required by paragraph (e) of the last foregoing sub-section or in the position required by the tables that were in force in Saorstát Eireann immediately before the fifth day of July, nineteen hundred and thirty for fixing the position of load lines.

(3)If any ship proceeds or attempts to proceed to sea in contravention of this section, the master or owner thereof shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

(4)Any ship attempting to proceed to sea without being surveyed and marked as required by this section may be detained until she has been so surveyed and marked, and any ship which does not comply with the conditions of assignment to the extent required in her case by this section shall be deemed to be unsafe for the purpose of section four hundred and fifty-nine of the Principal Act.

Submersion of load line.

41.—(1) Α Saorstát Eireann load line ship shall not be so loaded as to submerge in salt water, when the ship has no list, the appropriate load line on each side of the ship, that is to say, the load line indicating or purporting to indicate the maximum depth to which the ship is for the time being entitled under the load line rules to be loaded.

(2)If any such ship is loaded in contravention of this section, the owner or master of the ship shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, and to such additional fine, not exceeding the amount hereinafter specified, as the court thinks fit to impose having regard to the extent to which the earning capacity of the ship was, or would have been increased by reason of the submersion.

(3)The said additional fine shall not exceed one hundred pounds for every inch or fraction of an inch by which the appropriate load line on each side of the ship was submerged, or would have been submerged if the ship had been in salt water and had had no list.

(4)In any proceedings against an owner or master in respect of a contravention of this section, 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.

(5)Without prejudice to any proceedings under the foregoing provisions of this section, any ship which is loaded in contravention of this section may be detained until she ceases to be so loaded.

Miscellaneous offences in relation to marks.

42.—If— (a) the owner or master of a Saorstát Eireann load line ship which has been marked in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act, fails without reasonable cause to keep the ship so marked; or (b) any person conceals, removes, alters, defaces or obliterates, or suffers any person under his control to conceal, remove, alter, deface or obliterate any mark placed on any such ship in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act, except with the authority of a person entitled under the load line rules to authorise the alteration of the mark or except for the purpose of escaping capture by an enemy; he shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

Inspection of ships with respect to load line.

43.—A ship surveyor or engineer surveyor may inspect any Saorstát Eireann load line ship for the purpose of seeing that the provisions of this Part of this Act have been complied with in the case of the ship, and for the purpose of any such inspection any such surveyor shall have all the powers of an inspector of the Department of Industry and Commerce under the Principal Act.

Certificates.

Issue of load line certificates and effect thereof.

44.—(1) Where a Saorstát Eireann load line ship has been surveyed and marked in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act and complies with the conditions of assignment to the extent required in her case by those provisions, there shall be issued to the owner of the ship on his application and on payment of the fee prescribed— (a) in the case of an international load line ship, a load line certificate hereafter in this Act referred to as “a Load Line Convention certificate”; and (b) in the case of a local load line ship, a load line certificate hereafter in this Act referred to as “a Saorstát Eireann load line certificate.”

(2)Every such certificate shall be issued either by the Minister or by such other person as may be authorised in that behalf by the Minister, and shall be issued in such form and manner as may be prescribed by the load line rules, and those rules shall make such provision with respect to Load Line Convention certificates as appears to the Minister to be necessary, having regard to the provisions of Rules IV and LXVIII of the Load Line Convention, for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of Article thirteen of that Convention.

(3)Any such certificate issued by the Minister may be signed on behalf of the Minister by any person authorised by the Minister for the purpose, and a certificate purporting to be so signed shall be admissible in evidence in like manner as if it had been signed by one of the persons mentioned in section seven hundred and nineteen of the Principal Act.

(4)The Minister may request the Government of a country to which the Load Line Convention applies to issue a Load Line Convention certificate in respect of a Load Line Convention ship registered in Saorstát Eireann and a certificate issued in pursuance of such a request and containing a statement that it has been so issued shall have effect for the purpose of this Part of this Act as if it had been issued by the Minister.

(5)Where a load line certificate, issued in pursuance of this section and for the time being in force, is produced in respect of a ship, the ship shall, for the purpose of the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act, be deemed to have been surveyed as required by those provisions, and, if the deck-line and load lines on the ship are of the number and description required by the load line rules and the position of the deck-line and load line corresponds with the position specified in the certificate, the ship shall be deemed to be marked as required by those provisions.

Duration, renewal and cancellation of certificates.

45.—(1) Every load line certificate issued by or under the authority of the Minister shall, unless it is renewed in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (2) of this section, expire at the end of such period, not exceeding five years from the date of its issue, as may be specified therein.

(2)Any such load line certificate may, after a survey not less effective than the survey required by the load line rules before the issue of the certificate, be renewed from time to time by the Minister or by any person authorised by the Minister to issue a load line certificate, for such period (not exceeding five years on any occasion) as the Minister or other person renewing the certificate thinks fit.

(3)The Minister shall cancel any such load line certificate in force in respect of a ship, if he has reason to believe that— (a) material alterations have taken place in the hull or superstructures of the ship which affect the position of the load lines; or (b) the fittings and appliances for the protection of openings, the guard rails, the freeing ports or the means of access to the crew's quarters have not been maintained on the ship in as effective a condition as they were in when the certificate was issued.

(4)The owner of every ship in respect of which any such certificate has been issued shall, so long as the certificate remains in force, cause the ship to be surveyed in the prescribed manner once at least in each year after the issue of the certificate for the purpose of seeing whether the certificate should remain in force, having regard to the last foregoing sub-section, and if the ship is not so surveyed, the Minister shall cancel the certificate:

Provided that the Minister, if he thinks fit in any particular case, may extend the said period of one year.

(5)Where any such load line certificate has expired or been cancelled, the Minister may require the owner or master of the ship to which the certificate relates to deliver up the certificate as he directs, and the ship may be detained until such requirement has been complied with, and if the owner or master fails without reasonable cause to comply with such requirement, he shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

(6)On the survey of any ship in pursuance of this section there shall be paid by the owner of the ship such fee as may be prescribed.

Ships not to proceed to sea without certificate.

46.—(1) No Saorstát Eireann ship, being an international load line ship shall proceed to sea unless there is in force in respect of the ship a Load Line Convention certificate.

(2)No Saorstát Eireann ship, being a local load line ship, shall proceed to sea unless there is in force in respect of the ship a Saorstát Eireann load line certificate.

(3)The master of every Saorstát Eireann load line ship shall produce to the officer of Customs, from whom a clearance or transire for the ship is demanded, the certificate which is required by the foregoing provisions of this section to be in force when the ship proceeds to sea, and a clearance or transire shall not be granted, and the ship may be detained, until that certificate is so produced.

(4)The master of every ship which proceeds or attempts to proceed to sea in contravention of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

Publication of load line certificate and particulars relating to depth of loading.

47.—(1) When a load line certificate has been issued in pursuance of the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act in respect of a Saorstát Eireann load line ship— (a) the owner of the ship shall forthwith on the receipt of the certificate cause it to be framed and posted up in some conspicuous place on board the ship, and to be kept so framed and posted up and legible so long as the certificate remains in force and the ship is in use; and (b) the master of the ship, before making any other entry in any official log-book, shall enter therein the particulars as to the position of the deck-line and load lines specified in the certificate.

(2)Before any Saorstát Eireann load line ship leaves any dock, wharf, harbour or other place for the purpose of proceeding to sea, the master thereof shall— (a) enter in the official log-book such particulars relating to the depth to which the ship is for the time being loaded as the Minister may by regulations prescribe; and (b) cause a notice, in such form and containing such of the said particulars as may be required by the said regulations, to be posted up in some conspicuous place on board the ship and to be kept so posted up and legible until the ship arrives at some other dock, wharf, harbour or place:

Provided that the Minister may by the said regulations exempt home trade ships or any, class of home trade ships from the requirements of paragraph (b) of this sub-section.

(3)If the master or owner of any Saorstát Eireann load line ship fails to comply with the provisions of this section, he shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

Insertion of particulars as to load line in agreements with crew.

48.—(1) Before an agreement with the crew of any Saorstát Eireann load line ship in respect of which a load line certificate is in force is signed by any member of the crew, the master of the ship shall insert in the agreement the particulars as to the position of the deck-line and load lines specified in the certificate, and if he fails to do so, he shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

(2)In the case of a Saorstát Eireann load line ship being a foreign-going ship, a superintendent shall not proceed with the engagement of the crew until— (a) there is produced to him a load line certificate for the time being in force in respect of the ship; and (b) he is satisfied that the particulars required by this section have been inserted in the agreement with the crew.

Special Provisions as to Load Line Convention ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

Load line certificates of Convention ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

49.—(1) The Minister may, at the request of the Government of a country to which the Load Line Convention applies, issue a Load Line Convention certificate in respect of an international load line ship of that country if he is satisfied in like manner as in the case of a Saorstát Eireann ship that he can properly issue the certificate, and where a certificate is issued at such a request, it shall contain a statement that it has been so issued.

(2)With a view to determining the validity in Saorstát Eireann of certificates purporting to have been issued in accordance with the Load Line Convention in respect of Load Line Convention ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann, the Minister shall make such regulations as appear to him to be necessary for the purpose of giving effect to Article seventeen of the Load Line Convention, and, for the purpose of the provisions hereafter contained in this Part of this Act relating to Load Line Convention ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann, the expression “a valid Load Line Convention certificate” means a certificate complying with such of those regulations as are applicable in the circumstances.

Inspection and control of Convention ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

50.—(1) A ship surveyor or engineer surveyor may go on board any Load Line Convention ship not registered in Saorstát Eireann when within any port in Saorstát Eireann, for the purpose of demanding the production of any load line certificate for the time being in force in respect of the ship.

(2)If a valid Load Line Convention certificate is produced to the surveyor on any such demand, the surveyor's powers of inspecting the ship with respect to load line shall be limited to seeing— (a) that the ship is not loaded beyond the limits allowed by the certificate; (b) that the position of the load lines on the ship corresponds with the position specified in the certificate; (c) that no material alterations have taken place in the hull or superstructures of the ship which affect the position of the load lines; (d) that the fittings and appliances for the protection of openings, the guard rails, the freeing ports and the means of access to the crew's quarters have been maintained on the ship in as effective a condition as they were in when the certificate was issued; and for the purpose of any such inspection the surveyor shall have all the powers of an inspector of the Department of Industry and Commerce under the Principal Act.

(3)If it is found on any such inspection that the ship is loaded beyond the limits allowed by the certificate, the ship may be detained and proceedings may be taken against the master or owner thereof under the provisions hereafter contained in this Part of this Act relating to the submersion of load lines on ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

(4)If it is found on any such inspection that the load lines on the ship are not in the position specified in the certificate, the ship may be detained until the matter has been rectified to the satisfaction of the surveyor.

(5)If it is found on any such inspection that the ship has been so materially altered in respect of the matters referred to in paragraphs (c) and (d) of sub-section (2) of this section that the ship is manifestly unfit to proceed to sea without danger to human life, the ship shall be deemed to be unsafe for the purpose of section four hundred and fifty-nine or section four hundred and sixty-two, as the case may be, of the Principal Act:

Provided that where the ship has been detained under either of the last-mentioned sections, the Minister shall order the ship to be released as soon as he is satisfied that the ship is fit to proceed to sea without danger to human life.

(6)If a valid Load Line Convention certificate is not produced to the surveyor on such demand as aforesaid, the surveyor shall have the same power of inspecting the ship, for the purpose of seeing that the provisions of this Part of this Act have been complied with, as if the ship were a Saorstát Eireann ship.

(7)For the purposes of this section a ship shall be deemed to be loaded beyond the limits allowed by the certificate if she is so loaded as to submerge in salt water, when the ship has no list, the appropriate load line on each side of the ship, that is to say, the load line appearing by the certificate to indicate the maximum depth to which the ship is for the time being entitled under the Load Line Convention to be loaded.

Certificates of Convention ships to be produced to Customs.

51.—The master of every Load Line Convention ship not registered in Saorstát Eireann shall produce to the officer of Customs from whom a clearance or transire for the ship from any port in Saorstát Eireann is demanded— (a) in a case where clearance is demanded in respect of an international voyage, a valid Load Line Convention certificate; (b) in a case where clearance or transire is demanded in respect of any other voyage, either a valid Load Line Convention certificate or a Saorstát Eireann load line certificate for the time being in force in respect of the ship; and a clearance or transire shall not be granted, and the ship may be detained, until the certificate required by this section is so produced.

General Provisions as to Ships not Registered in Saorstát Eireann.

Survey, marking and conditions of assignment in case of ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

52.—The provisions of section forty of this Act shall apply to load line ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann proceeding or attempting to proceed to sea from ports in Saorstát Eireann as they apply to Saorstát Eireann load line ships, subject to the following modification, namely:— (a) the said section shall not apply to a Load Line Convention ship not registered in Saorstát Eireann if a valid Load Line Convention certificate is produced in respect of the ship; and (b) subject to the provisions of paragraph (a) of this section, a ship belonging to any country outside the British Commonwealth of Nations which does not comply with the conditions of assignment to the extent required in her case by the said section forty shall be deemed to be unsafe for the purpose of section four hundred and sixty-two of the Principal Act.

Submersion of load line on ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

53.—The provisions of section forty-one of this Act shall apply to load line ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann while they are within any port in Saorstát Eireann, as they apply to Saorstát Eireann load line ships, subject to the following modifications, namely:— (a) no Load Line Convention ship shall be detained, and no proceedings shall be taken against the owner or master thereof, by virtue of the said section, except after an inspection by a ship surveyor or engineer surveyor as hereinbefore provided; and (b) the expression “the appropriate load line”, in relation to any ship not registered in Saorstát Eireann, shall mean— (i) in the case of a Load Line Convention ship in respect of which there is produced on such an inspection as aforesaid a valid Load Line Convention certificate, the load line appearing by the certificate to indicate the maximum depth to which the ship is for the time being entitled under the Load Line Convention to be loaded; (ii) in any other case, the load line which corresponds with the load line indicating the maximum depth to which the ship is for the time being entitled under the load line rules to be loaded or, if no load line on the ship corresponds as aforesaid, the lowest load line thereon.

Inspection of ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

54.—The provisions of section forty-three of this Act shall apply to load line ships, other than Saorstát Eireann ships or Load Line Convention ships, not registered in Saorstát Eireann while they are within any port in Saorstát Eireann as they apply to Saorstát Eireann load line ships.

Load line certificates of ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

55.—(1) The provisions of this Part of this Act relating to the issue, effect, duration, renewal and cancellation of Saorstát Eireann load line certificates shall apply to load line ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann as they apply to Saorstát Eireann load line ships subject to the following modifications, namely:— (a) any such certificate may be issued in respect of an international load line ship as in respect of a local load line ship, so however that any such certificate issued in respect of a Load Line Convention ship shall only be valid so long as the ship is not plying on international voyages, and shall be endorsed with a statement to that effect, and shall be cancelled by the Minister if he has reason to believe that the ship is so plying; and (b) the survey required for the purpose of seeing whether the certificate should remain in force shall take place when required by the Minister.

(2)Where the Minister is satisfied— (a) either— (i) that by the law in force in any part of the British Commonwealth of Nations provision has been made for the fixing, marking and certifying of load lines on ships (or any class or description of ships) registered in that part of the British Commonwealth of Nations; or (ii) that provision has been made as aforesaid by the law in force in any country outside the British Commonwealth of Nations with respect to ships (or any class or description of ships) of that country and has also been so made (or has been agreed to be so made) for recognising Saorstát Eireann load line certificates as having the same effect in ports of that country as certificates issued under the said provision; and (b) that the said provision for the fixing, marking and certifying of load lines is based on the same principles as the corresponding provisions of this Part of this Act and is equally effective; the Minister may by order direct that load line certificates issued in pursuance of the said provision in respect of ships (or that class or description of ships) registered in that part of the British Commonwealth of Nations or in respect of ships (or that class or description of ships) of that country, outside the British Commonwealth of Nations as the case may be, shall have the same effect for the purpose of this Part of this Act as Saorstát Eireann load line certificates:

Provided that no Order made under this sub-section shall apply to Load Line Convention ships plying on international voyages.

Certificates to be produced to Customs by ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann.

56.—The master of every load line ship, other than a Saorstát Eireann ship or a Load Line Convention ship not registered in Saorstát Eireann shall produce to the officer of Customs, from whom a clearance or transire for the ship from any port in Saorstát Eireann is demanded, either a Saorstát Eireann load line certificate or a certificate having effect under this Act as such a certificate, being a certificate for the time being in force in respect of the ship, and a clearance or transire shall not be granted, and the ship may be detained, until the certificate required by this section is so produced.

Loading of Timber.

Carriage of timber deck cargo.

57.—(1) The Minister shall make regulations (hereafter in this section referred to as the “timber cargo regulations”) as to the conditions on which timber may be carried as cargo in any uncovered space on the deck of any load line ship.

(2)The timber cargo regulations shall contain such regulations as appear to the Minister to be necessary for the purpose of giving effect to paragraph two of Article six of the Load Line Convention.

(3)Subject to the provisions of the last foregoing sub-section, the timber cargo regulations may prescribe generally the conditions on which timber may be carried as aforesaid in any load line ship either on all voyages or on any particular class of voyages and either at all seasons or at any particular season, and in particular may prescribe the manner and position in which the timber is to be stowed and the provision which is to be made on the ship for the safety of the crew.

(4)If any provision of the timber cargo regulations is contravened in the case of any Saorstát Eireann load line ship the master of the ship shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding five hundred pounds:

Provided that in any proceedings against a 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.

(5)For securing the observance of the timber cargo regulations, any officer having authority in that behalf from the Minister, either general or special, shall have power to inspect any load line ship carrying timber cargo in any uncovered space on her deck, and for that purpose shall have all the powers of an inspector of the Department of Industry and Commerce under the Principal Act.

(6)The foregoing provisions of this section and the timber cargo regulations shall apply to load line ships not registered in Saorstát Eireann, while they are within any port in Saorstát Eireann, as they apply to Saorstát Eireann load line ships.

Supplemental.

Amendment of sections 436 and 454 of the Principal Act.

58.—(1) In sub-sections (1) and (3) of section four hundred and thirty-six and in sub-section (1) of section four hundred and fifty-four of the Principal Act the expression “free board” shall be substituted for the expression “clear side”.

(2)Sub-section (3) of the said section four hundred and thirty-six shall cease to have effect with respect to load line ships.

(3)The following sub-section shall be substituted for sub-section (5) of the said section four hundred and thirty-six, namely— “(5) In this section, the expression ‘free-board’ means, in the case of any ship which is marked with a deck-line, the height from the water to the upper edge of the deck-line, and, in the case of any other ship, the height amidship from the water to the upper edge of the deck from which the depth of hold as stated in the register is measured.”

Power to amend rules to correspond with amendments of Load Line Convention.

59.—If any provision of the Load Line Convention to which the Minister is required by this Part of this Act to give effect by any rules or regulations is amended in pursuance of Article twenty of that Convention, the Minister may amend the rules or regulations accordingly.

Interpretation of Part II.

60.—In this Part of this Act the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say:— “Country to which the Load Line Convention applies,” means— (a) a country the Government of which has been declared to have ratified, or acceded to, the Load Line Convention, and has not been declared to have denounced that Convention; (b) a country to which it has been declared that the Load Line Convention has been applied under the provisions of Article twenty-one thereof, not being a country to which it has been declared that that Convention has ceased to apply under the provisions of that Article; “International voyage” means a voyage from a port in one country to a port in another country, either of those countries being a country to which the Load Line Convention applies, so however that for the purpose of this definition— (a) no account shall be taken of any deviation by a ship from her intended voyage due solely to stress of weather or any other circumstance which neither the master nor the owner nor the charterer (if any) of the ship could have prevented or forestalled; and (b) every colony, overseas territory, protectorate or territory under suzerainty, and every territory in respect of which a mandate has been accepted on behalf of the League of Nations, shall be deemed to be a separate country; “prescribed” means prescribed by the load line rules.

Commencement of Part II and repeal.

61.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this sub-section, this Part of this Act shall come into operation on the appointed day:

Provided that— (a) where at the passing of this Act there is in force in respect of any ship a certificate issued under section four hundred and forty-three of the Principal Act and that certificate ceases to be in force before the appointed day; or (b) where before the appointed day a load line certificate is issued in pursuance of this Part of this Act by or under the authority of the Minister in respect of any ship; this Part of this Act shall come into operation with respect to that ship as from the date on which the certificate ceases to be in force or is issued, as the case may be.

(2)The enactments set out in Part II of the Second Schedule to this Act shall, to the extent specified in the second column of that Part of that Schedule, cease to have effect with respect to any ship as from the date when this Part of this Act comes into operation with respect to that ship and shall be repealed as from the appointed day.

(3)For the purpose of this section the expression “the appointed day” means such day as the Minister may, by Order, appoint.

PART III.

General.

Provisions as to rules and regulations.

62.—(1) Notwithstanding any rules or regulations made in pursuance of this Act for the purpose of giving effect to, or implementing, any provision of the Safety Convention or Load Line Convention which requires a particular fitting, appliance, or apparatus or type thereof, to be fitted or carried in a ship, or any particular provision to be made in a ship, the Minister may allow any other fitting, appliance or apparatus, or type thereof, to be fitted or carried, or any other provision to be made if he is satisfied that that other fitting, appliance or apparatus, or type thereof, or provision, is at least as effective as that required by the Convention.

(2)Where under this Act the Minister is required to make such regulations or rules as appear to him to be necessary for the purpose of giving effect to any of the provisions of the Safety Convention or Load Line Convention, the requirement shall, in the case of a provision the terms of which are such as to vest in the several Governments who are parties to the Convention a discretion as to whether any or what action should be taken thereunder, be construed as an authority to the Minister to make by regulations or rules such provision (if any) with respect to the matter in question as the Minister in the exercise of that discretion thinks proper.

Notice to be given to Consular officer where proceedings taken in respect of foreign ships.

63.—Where any ship belonging to any country outside the British Commonwealth of Nations is detained under this Act, and where any proceedings are taken under this Act against the master or owner of any such ship, notice shall forthwith be served on the consular officer for the country to which the ship belongs at or nearest to the port where the ship is for the time being, and such notice shall specify the grounds on which the ship has been detained or the proceedings have been taken.

Cost of detaining ships.

64.—Where a ship is detained in pursuance of any provision of this Act which provides for the detention of a ship until a certain event occurs, sub-section (2) of section four hundred and sixty of the Principal Act (which makes provision as to the costs of the Minister of and incidental to the detention and survey of the ship) shall apply as if the ship had been finally detained within the meaning of that sub-section.

Forgery of certificates.

65.—The provisions of section two hundred and eighty-two of the Principal Act (which imposes penalties for the forgery of passenger steamers' certificates) shall apply with respect to any certificate required for the purposes of this Act as they apply with respect to a passenger steamer's certificate.

Interpretation and construction.

66.—(1) In this Act the following expressions have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them, that is to say:— “The Safety Convention” means the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea signed in London on the 31st day of May, 1929; “The Load Line Convention” means the International Load Line Convention signed in London on the 5th day of July, 1930; “Minister” means the Minister for Industry and Commerce; “Saorstát Eireann ship” means any ship whose port of registry is situate in Saorstát Eireann; “Saorstát Eireann load line ship” means any load line ship whose port of registry is situate in Saorstát Eireann; “Contravention” includes, in relation to any provision, failure to comply with that provision, and the expression “contravenes” shall be construed accordingly; “The Merchant Shipping Acts” means the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1921, and this Act; “Passenger” has the same meaning as it has for the purpose of Part III of the Principal Act; “Passenger steamer” means a steamer carrying more than twelve passengers; “The Principal Act” means the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894 .

(2)In this Act references to a ship constructed before or after any date shall be construed as references to a ship the keel of which has been laid before or after that date, as the case may be.

(3)Any references in this Act to any provision of the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1921, which has been amended by any subsequent Act, including this Act, shall be construed as a reference to that provision as so amended.

Short title, citation and repeal.

67.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Safety and Load Line Conventions) Act, 1933, and shall be construed as one with the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1921, and those Acts and this Act may be cited together as the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1933.

(2)The enactments set out in Part III of the Second Schedule to this Act shall be repealed, to the extent specified in the second column of that Part of that Schedule, as from the passing of this Act.

FIRST SCHEDULE.

Rules With Respect to Watertight Doors and Other Contrivances.

SECTION 22

1.The following contrivances shall be securely closed so as to be watertight before the steamer proceeds to sea, and shall always be kept closed while the steamer is at sea, that is to say:— (a) hinged watertight doors below the margin line, which are fitted in main transverse bulkheads dividing cargo between deck spaces; (b) sidescuttles in any between deck space, wherein the sill of any sidescuttle which can be opened is below a line drawn on the side of the steamer parallel to the bulkhead deck and having its lowest point four and a half feet, in addition to two and a half per centum of the breadth of the steamer, above the water at which the steamer is floating on proceeding to sea; (c) sidescuttles below the margin line which will not be accessible while the steamer is at sea, together with their dead-lights; (d) gangway, cargo and coaling ports below the margin line;

Provided that in fair weather in tropical waters sub-paragraph (b) of this paragraph shall have effect as if “three and a half feet” were substituted for “four and a half feet.”

For the purpose of this paragraph, a contrivance shall be deemed to be below the margin line if the sill thereof is below that line, and a sidescuttle mentioned in sub-paragraph (b) of this paragraph shall not be deemed to be closed unless it is locked.

2.Every watertight door fitted in a main transverse bulkhead, not being a door mentioned in sub-paragraph (a) of the last foregoing paragraph, shall be kept closed while the steamer is at sea except so far as it is necessary to open it for the working of the steamer, and when open shall be kept ready to be closed forthwith.

3.Every portable plate closing an opening in a bulkhead, being an opening which is wholly or partly below the margin line, shall be in place before the steamer proceeds to sea, and no such plate shall be removed at sea except in case of urgent necessity, and in replacing any such plate all reasonable precautions shall be taken to ensure that the joints are watertight.

4.The cover and valve of every ash-shoot, rubbish-shoot or other similar contrivance, having its inboard opening below the margin line, shall be kept securely closed when the contrivance is not in use.

5.The opening and closing of all such watertight doors and other contrivances as are mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of paragraph 1 and paragraphs 2 and 4 of this Schedule, and of the closing mechanism of all scuppers having their inboard opening below the margin line, shall be practised once a week and also before the steamer proceeds to sea on any voyage which is likely to last more than a week:

Provided that while the steamer is at sea— (a) the opening and closing of all such watertight doors which are in use and are hinged or operated by power, shall be practised daily; (b) nothing in this paragraph shall be taken to authorise the opening of any watertight door or other contrivance which is required by paragraph 1 of this Schedule to be kept closed.

6.Every valve, the closing of which is necessary to make any compartment watertight, and every watertight door in a main transverse bulkhead and the mechanism and indicators connected therewith, shall be inspected at least once a week.

7.A record shall be entered in the official log book— (a) of the time of opening and closing every watertight door operated by power which is fitted between bunkers in the between decks below the bulkhead deck, every such portable plate as is mentioned in paragraph 3 of this Schedule and every such watertight door, and other contrivance as is mentioned in paragraph 1 of this Schedule; and (b) of every occasion on which the opening and closing of watertight doors and other contrivances is practised on board the ship in pursuance of this Schedule; and (c) of every occasion on which watertight doors and other contrivances have been inspected in pursuance of this Schedule.

8.In this Schedule the expressions “bulkhead deck” and “margin line” have the same meaning as in the construction regulations.

SECOND SCHEDULE.

ENACTMENTS REPEALED.

PART I.

ENACTMENTS REPEALED AS FROM COMMENCEMENT OF PART I.

Short Title Extent of Repeal The Merchant Shipping Act, 1894 .

In section two hundred and seventy-two, paragraph (d) of subsection (3), and paragraph (e) of subsection (4); subsection (2) of section two hundred and eighty-five; sub-section (2) of section four hundred and twenty-seven; section four hundred and thirty-four.

The Derelict Vessels (Report) Act, 1896.

The whole Act.

The Merchant Shipping (Helm Orders) Act, 1932 .

The whole Act.

Part II.

ENACTMENTS REPEALED AS FROM THE APPOINTED DAY.

Short Title Extent of Repeal The Merchant Shipping Act, 1894 .

Sections four hundred and thirty-seven to four hundred and forty-five.

The Merchant Shipping Act, 1906 .

Sections one, seven, eight and ten.

Part III.

ENACTMENTS REPEALED AS FROM PASSING OF ACT.

Short Title Extent of Repeal The Merchant Shipping (Convention) Act, 1914.

The whole Act.

The Merchant Shipping (Wireless Telegraphy) Act, 1919.

The proviso to subsection (2) of section one; in subsection (4) of section one, the words “or a wireless telegraphy inspector,” and the words “or inspector” in both places where those words occur; in subsection (5) of section one, the words “or by the Merchant Shipping (Convention) Act, 1914”; in subsection (2) of section three, the words from “and wireless telegraphy inspector” to the end of that subsection.

Privacy Statement Accessibility European Legislation Identifier (PDF) Open Data License Ráiteas Príobháideachais Inrochtaineacht Aitheantóir Eorpach Reachtaíochta (ELI) Ceadúnas Sonraí Oscailte Liosta Fianán © Government of Ireland. Oireachtas Copyright Material is reproduced with the permission of the Houses of the Oireachtas © Rialtas na hÉireann. Atáirgtear ábhar faoi Chóipcheart le cead ó Thithe an Oireachtais

AI explanation based on the official legal text. Indicative, not a substitute for legal advice.