Bermuda Merchant Shipping Act 1930

[28 April 1930]

[preamble and words of enactment omitted]

Interpretation; saving for admiralty jurisdiction

1 (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires

"shipping master" means with respect to the Port of Hamilton the Collector of Customs, and with respect to the Port of St. George's the Collector of Customs, and includes any customs officer who is deputed, generally or specially, by the Collector of Customs to perform any of the duties of shipping master under this Act.

(2) Nothing in this Act affects in any way the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in Admiralty or Vice-Admiralty in Bermuda.

Exclusion of Hotel Keepers Act 1905 section 5

2 Section 5 of the Hotel Keepers Act 1905 [title 17 item 35] shall not apply to the chest or wearing apparel of any seamen belonging to any British ship registered in Bermuda, and any hotel keeper as defined by the Hotel Keepers Act 1905 who stops or detains any such chest or wearing apparel commits an offence against this Act:

Punishment on summary conviction: imprisonment for 2 months or a fine of $720 or both such imprisonment and fine.

3 [repealed by 1983:17]

Governor may appoint Official Surveyors

4 (1) The Governor may, as he sees fit, from time to time appoint such number, being not less than three and not more than five, of fit and proper persons to be Official Surveyors for Bermuda.

(2) Such Official Surveyors shall, respectively, be appointed for terms of three years, and shall be eligible for re-appointment from time to time, and shall be liable to be dismissed at any time for incapacity, misconduct, neglect of duty, or absence without leave from Bermuda.

Fees

5 (1) No Official Surveyor shall receive any fee or remuneration for any services to ships or cargoes other than such as strictly pertain to his office for services rendered under this Act,

(2) Every Official Surveyor shall keep a record of all fees re ceived by him, and of the services performed for them, and of the dates of the same, in books to be furnished at the public expense for the pur pose, and shall annually in the month of January make a certified return to the Collector of Customs of such services and fees with the dates on which they were paid to him.

Official seal and books

6 Every Official Surveyor shall be furnished with an official seal with such device as the Governor may approve, and all seals and books supplied at the public expense shall be returned to the Collector of Cus toms when called for by him, and any court of summary jurisdiction may make and enforce an order for the immediate return of such articles, in whose hands soever the articles may be.

Record of official acts in books; public inspection

7 (1) Every Official Surveyor shall enter and record all his acts as such in the book furnished to him.

(2) Such books shall always be open for inspection to any per son paying a fee of twenty-four cents.

Official Surveyor to examine stowage and condition of cargo; dam age to goods

8 Any Official Surveyor shall, on the request of any person inter ested, board any ship for the purpose of examining the stowage and con dition of her cargo, and, if there are any damaged goods on board, the Official Surveyor shall inquire, examine and ascertain the causes of such damage, and shall make a note thereof and shall enter the same in his official book.

Damage to cargo; survey

9 The master of any vessel which has broken bulk for the purpose of lightening, or other necessary purpose, previous to her arrival in any port or harbour, shall immediately on the discovery of any damage to cargo proceed to have a survey held on the cargo in the manner herein prescribed, before the cargo is moved out of the place in which it was originally stowed; and if after the arrival in port of any vessel from be yond the seas which has not had occasion to lighten, break bulk or oth erwise discharge any portion of her cargo before coming into port, the hatches of the vessel have been first opened by any person other than an Official Surveyor, and the cargo or any part thereof has come on board such ship in a damaged condition, these facts shall, prima facie, be evi dence that the damage occurred in consequence of improper stowage or negligence on the part of the person in charge of the vessel; and such default shall, until the contrary is shown, be chargeable to the owner, master or other person interested as part owner or master, of the vessel.

Official Surveyor to examine goods said to be damaged

10 Any Official Surveyor shall when required proceed to any vessel, warehouse, store, building, wharf or anchorage, or other place, and shall examine any merchandise, vessel, material, produce or other property said to have been damaged on board any vessel, and shall inquire, ex amine and ascertain the cause of such damage, and shall make a note thereof, and of the goods or other property damaged, and shall enter the same in full in his official book:

Provided that nothing in this Act shall be construed so as to re quire or authorize any Official Surveyor to go to or on board of any vessel in quarantine or liable thereto, or any place or vessel intercourse with which is prohibited under the Quarantine Act 1946 [title 11 item 2].

Official Surveyor to be on every Board of Survey

11 (1) There shall be an Official Surveyor on every Board of Survey on any vessel which has suffered wreck or damage or which is deemed unfit to proceed on her voyage.

(2) It shall be the duty of the Official Surveyor on a Board of Survey to examine the hull, spars, rigging and all appurtenances of such wreck or damaged vessel, and to make a note of all damage thereto, and to enter the same in full in his official book, with a full and particular ac count of all such surveys.

Proceedings of Board of Survey without Official Surveyor void

12 If any Board of Survey on any vessel which may have suffered wreck or damage, or which is deemed unfit to proceed on her voyage, does not have thereon an Official Surveyor, then the proceedings of such Board with respect to any such survey shall be null and void, and the person by whom such Board of Survey was appointed or summoned commits an offence against this Act:

Punishment on summary conviction: imprisonment for 3 months or a fine of $720 or both such imprisonment and fine.

Official Surveyors to have general cognizance of marine damages

13 An Official Surveyor shall have cognizance of all matters relating to the surveys of vessels and their cargoes arriving in port damaged, and, when requested, shall, on receiving the regular fee, give certificates of such surveys under seal.

Official Surveyor to estimate value and measurement of vessel

14 An Official Surveyor shall, when required, estimate the value and measurement of any vessel when the same is in dispute, or otherwise needed, and record the same in his official book.

Survey of damaged vessel or goods before sale

15 (1) (a) No vessel, goods or other property shall be advertised for sale or sold, either by public auction or private contract, as damaged by sea damage or on account of any damage to any vessel unless a regular survey by an Official Sur veyor has been previously had thereon, and a report has been made by him of such survey, and a true copy of such report has been delivered to the Lloyd's agent for the time being in Bermuda, or, if there is no such agent, then to the Collector of Customs, and the permission in writing of such Official Surveyor for such advertisement or sale has been obtained; and

(b) no Official Surveyor shall, in the absence of urgent rea son to the contrary, grant any such permission until af ter at least seven clear days from the delivery of such copy of his report to the Lloyd's agent, or to the Collector of Customs, as aforesaid, and

(c) no such sale at public auction shall be held until after at least two clear days' public notice or advertisement, nor except between the hours of eleven o'clock in the forenoon and five o'clock in the afternoon,

and any auctioneer or other person who shall sell any such vessel, goods or other property, either by public auction or private contract, in contra vention of the foregoing provisions of this subsection commits an offence against this Act:

Punishment on summary conviction: imprisonment for 1 year or a fine of $2,880 or both such imprisonment and fine.

Provided that if any sale at public auction which has been com menced between the hours hereinbefore specified has not been con cluded by five o'clock in the afternoon, then such sale may be continued to such later hour in the same day not later than sunset as the auction eer deems expedient.

(2) Every auctioneer or other person making any sale of any damaged vessel, or of any vessel's materials, machinery or appurte nances, or of any damaged goods, or of goods or other property on or from a damaged vessel shall, within ten days thereafter, file with the Of ficial Surveyor whose ordinary place of residence is nearest to the place at which such sale took place, a detailed statement of such sale with a copy attached thereto of the permission in writing of the Official Surveyor who sanctioned such sale; and every auctioneer or other person who fails to comply with this subsection commits an offence against this Act:

Punishment on summary conviction: imprisonment for 3 months or a fine of $720 or both such imprisonment and fine.

Official Surveyor to hear and determine disputes

16 Every Official Surveyor shall, when required in writing by all parties in interest, hear, determine and arbitrate upon any difficulty or matter in dispute between the master, agent or consignee of any vessel and any proprietor, shipper or consignee of the cargo, and shall keep a record of all such matters.

Notice to parties interested

17 Before proceeding to act in any case in the performance of his duties the Official Surveyor shall give reasonable notice, when practica ble, to all parties interested or concerned in the case.

Notices to be written; reasonable time to be given

18 All notices, requests and requirements to or from the Official Surveyor shall be given in writing, and a reasonable time before action is required.

Official Surveyor may initiate proceedings and hold surveys

19 Any Official Surveyor may, in any case in which he thinks it right and necessary, initiate proceedings, and hold surveys, and obtain process, as if required by the parties concerned under this Act, and in such cases shall be entitled to receive the usual fees from the owner,
agent or consignee of the vessel or property; but if any such owner, agent or consignee deems such intervention to have been unnecessary or un reasonable he may appeal to the Governor, who may disallow such charges in whole or in part, and whose decision thereupon shall be final:

Provided that no Official Surveyor shall intervene in any matter in which any other Official Surveyor has been before concerned, except at the request of such other Official Surveyor, or with the sanction of the nearest shipping master.

Official Surveyor to furnish certificate on request

20 (1) On the request of any person interested and on receiving the fee allowed by this Act an Official Surveyor shall furnish certificates in writing under his hand of any matters on record in his office.

(2) An Official Surveyor shall also furnish on request copies of any entries in his book or of documents filed in his office on receiving a fee at the rate of four cents a folio of one hundred words, counting four figures as one word.

(3) Every Official Surveyor shall also make a quarterly return to the Collector of Customs, with copies of all matters entered in the Official Surveyor's official book, to be kept in the Collector of Customs' office for reference.

Official Surveyor must conform to regulations of Lloyd's

21 In all matters regarding surveys, and other matters concerning the value of or state of vessels, and like subjects, the Official Surveyors shall, as far as practicable, conform to, and be governed by the regula tions of Lloyd's as far as they are applicable to the circumstances of the case.

Appeal to nearest shipping master; further appeal to Governor

22 (1) Should any dispute arise between any Official Surveyor and any person interested in any case where the Official Surveyor's presence has been required, either party may appeal to the nearest shipping mas ter, who shall hear and determine the dispute, subject to an appeal to the Governor, if either party is dissatisfied with the shipping master's de cision.

(2) This section shall apply to any dispute arising with respect to any fee charged by an Official Surveyor.

(3) In every such case the shipping master shall be entitled to a fee of two dollars and forty cents to be paid by such of the parties as the shipping master shall award to pay the fee.

Expenses of appeal

23 On any appeal under section 22 the party against whom the final decision is given shall pay all the expenses; and the shipping master, or, in the case of an appeal to the Governor, then the Governor, shall deter mine the amount of the fees or charges payable in each case, which shall never exceed twenty-four dollars.

Evidence

24 All certificates issued under the hand and official seal of any Of ficial Surveyor referring to matters recorded or entered in his book, and all extracts from the book of any deceased Official Surveyor certified by the Collector of Customs, shall be received, prima facie, as evidence of the existence and contents of such records or entries in any court in Bermuda.

Fees

25 The Official Surveyor respectively shall be entitled for services rendered by them to the fees specified in the Schedule to be paid by the person requiring the services, or the owner, agent or consignee, as pre scribed by this Act.

Travelling expenses

26 If in the discharge of any duty hereby imposed upon him any Of ficial Surveyor necessarily incurs any travelling expenses or boat hire he shall also be entitled to receive or recover any expenses so reasonably and actually incurred by him from the person requiring his services; but if any person is dissatisfied with such charge he may appeal to the Gov ernor.

Saving for functions under any other provision of law

27 Nothing in this Act relating to Official Surveyors shall require or authorize any such Surveyor to carry out any survey, or do any other act, for or in relation to which provision is made by or under any other provision of law.

[this Act was brought into operation on 19 May 1930 by notice published in Gazette No. 18 of 1930]

SCHEDULE

[omitted]

[Amended by

Bermuda Consolidated Legislation

Bermuda Merchant Shipping Act 1930