Merchant Shipping Act 1973

[12 July 1973]

[preamble and words of enactment omitted]

PART I

INTERPRETATION

Interpretation

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

"accepted Safety Convention certificate" has the meaning as signed by section 14 of the Merchant Shipping (Safety Con vention) Act 1949 as extended to Bermuda by the Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) (Bermuda) Order 1973 [title 31 item 12(a)];

"appropriate United Kingdom authority" means, in relation to any certificate under this Act, the authority responsible for the issue of such certificate in respect of British ship regis tered in the United Kingdom;

"British ship" has the same meaning as in section 1 of the prin cipal Act;

"Government Surveyor" means a person designated under sec tion 5;

"international voyage" has the meaning assigned by section 36 of the Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Act 1949 as ex tended to Bermuda by the Merchant Shipping (Safety Con vention) (Bermuda) Order 1973 [title 31 item 12(a)];

"master" includes every person (except a pilot) having command of a ship;

"Minister" means the Minister of Marine and Air Services;

"passenger" means any person carried in a ship except —

(a) a person employed or engaged in any capacity on board the ship on the business of the ship;

(b) a person 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 circum stances that neither the master nor the owner could have prevented or forestalled; and

"passenger ship" means any ship which carries passengers to or from Bermuda;

"passenger ship's certificate" means a certificate as to survey under Part III;

"principal Act" means the Merchant Shipping Act 1894;

"Registrar" means the Registrar of Shipping;

"Safety Convention country" and "Safety Convention ship" have the meanings assigned, by section 36 of the Merchant Ship ping (Safety Convention) Act 1949 as extended to Bermuda by the Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) (Bermuda) Order 1973 [title 31 item 12(a)], to the expressions "country to which the Safety Convention applies" and "Safety Convention ship", respectively;

"ship" includes every description of vessel which is used in navi gation and is not propelled by oars;

"United Kingdom surveyor" means a person appointed a surveyor of ships under section 724 of the principal Act, including a radio surveyor appointed under that section by virtue of sec tion 8 of the Merchant Shipping (Safety and Load Line Con ventions) Act 1932.

(2) This Act shall be construed as one with the Merchant Ship ping Acts 1894 to 1965 as in force in Bermuda and, without prejudice to the generality of this provision, references in those Acts as so in force to the Merchant Shipping Acts shall be construed as including references to this Act.

PART II

PASSENGER SHIPS TO BE SURVEYED

Passenger ships to be surveyed once a year

2 (1) Every passenger ship to which this section applies which carries more than twelve passengers shall be surveyed once at least in each year in the manner provided in Part III.

(2) If subsection (1) is contravened in the case of a passenger ship to which this section applies, the owner or master of the ship shall, without prejudice to any other remedy or penalty under this Act or any other provision of law, be guilty of an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: a fine of $2,000; and the owner or master of any tender by means of which passengers have been taken on board the ship or landed commits an offence and shall be liable on con viction to a like fine.

(3) This section applies to all passenger ships other than —

(a) ships to which section 15 of the Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Act 1949 as extended to Bermuda by the Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) (Bermuda) Order 1973 [title 31 item 12(a)] applies; and

(b) British ships not registered in Bermuda which hold valid passenger steamer certificates issued under the princi pal Act or any corresponding enactment in force in any part of the Commonwealth.

Passenger ship not to proceed to sea without certificate of survey

3 (1) A passenger ship to which section 2 applies shall not pro ceed to sea on an international voyage unless there is in force in respect of the ship a passenger ship's certificate which is applicable to the voy age on which the ship is about to proceed.

(2) The master of every passenger ship to which section 2 ap plies shall produce to the Registrar at the time a clearance for the ship is demanded for an international voyage the passenger ship's certificate re quired by subsection (1) to be in force when the ship proceeds to sea; and a clearance shall not be granted, and the ship may be detained, un til the said certificate is so produced.

(3) If any ship proceeds, or attempts to proceed, to sea in con travention of subsection (1), the owner or master of the ship shall, with out prejudice to any other remedy or penalty under this Act or any other provision of law, be guilty of an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: a fine of $2,000, and the owner or master of any tender by means of which passengers have been taken on board the ship or landed commits an offence and shall be liable on con viction to a like fine.

Penalty for receiving excess passengers on board ship

4 (1) The owner, master or charterer of a passenger ship, or the agent of the owner or charterer, shall not receive on board the ship, or on or in any part thereof, any number of passengers which, having regard to the time, occasion, and circumstances of the case, is greater than the number allowed by the passenger ship's certificate.

(2) The owner, master or charterer of a passenger ship, or the agent of the owner or charterer, who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: a fine of $1,000.

(3) If a passenger ship has on board in the waters of Bermuda a number of passengers which, having regard to the time, occasion, and circumstances of the case, is greater than the number allowed by the passenger ship's certificate, the owner or master of the ship shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to have received those passengers on board in Bermuda.

PART III

SURVEY OF PASSENGER SHIPS

Designation and powers of Government surveyors

5 (1) Without prejudice to section 7 of the Bermuda Merchant Shipping Act 1930 [title 31 item 1], the Minister may, after consultation with the authority responsible for the appointment of surveyors of ships in the United Kingdom, designate any fit and proper person (whether or not such person is a public officer) to be a Government surveyor for the purposes of this Act.

(2) A Government surveyor may be designated as a ship Sur veyor, an engineer surveyor or a radio surveyor, or in more than one of such capacities.

(3) The duties of a Government surveyor shall be performed in accordance with the regulations made under section 6.

(4) A Government surveyor, in the execution of his duties un der this Act, may board any ship to which section 2 applies at all rea sonable times and inspect the same or any part thereof, or any of the machinery, boats, equipment or articles on board thereof, or any certifi cates of the master, mate or engineer to which the provisions of this Act or of rules made thereunder apply, not unnecessarily detaining or de laying the ship from proceeding on any voyage, and, if in consequence of any accident to any such ship or for any other reason he considers it necessary to do so, may require the ship to be taken into dock for the purpose of surveying the hull or machinery thereof.

Regulations as to duties of Government surveyors

6 (1) Subject to subsection (3), the Minister may make regula tions as to the performance by Government surveyors of their duties, and in particular as to the manner in which surveys of ships are to be made and the notice to be given by the Government surveyors when surveys are required, and (with the approval of the Minister of Finance) as to the fees payable in respect of any survey, or any certificate issued, under this Part.

(2) For the purposes of this section and without prejudice to the generality of the powers contained therein, the corresponding provi sion made under the principal Act and having effect in the United King dom, other than any such provision relating to fees and expenses, shall, unless varied by or repugnant to the regulations made under this sec tion, be deemed to be regulations made under this section.

(3) Regulations relating to fees shall not be made under sub section (1) except with the approval of the Minister of Finance and, in the case of regulations prescribing fees to be paid in respect of any certificate issued by the appropriate United Kingdom authority or in respect of any survey carried out by a United Kingdom surveyor, of a Secretary of State.

(4) The negative resolution procedure shall apply to regulations made under this section.

Mode and declaration of survey, and issue of passenger ship's cer tificate

7 (1) The owner of every passenger ship to which section 2 ap plies shall cause the same to be surveyed by a ship surveyor and an en gineer surveyor and, in the case of such a passenger ship which is re quired to be provided with a radio installation, by radio surveyor, each of whom shall be either a Government surveyor or a United Kingdom sur veyor.

(2) The surveyors, if satisfied on the survey that they can prop erly do so, shall complete declarations of survey in a form approved by the Minister, or by the appropriate United Kingdom authority in the case of United Kingdom surveyors, and deliver the declarations to the Minister or the appropriate Unite Kingdom authority.

(3) The surveys required to be made under subsection (1) by a ship surveyor and by an engineer surveyor may be made by the same person if that person has been designated both as a ship surveyor and an engineer surveyor.

(4) On receipt of the declarations of survey, the Minister or the appropriate United Kingdom authority shall, if satisfied that this Part of this Act has been complied with, issue in duplicate a passenger ship's certificate stating such compliance and stating, according to the declara tions —

(a) the limits (if any) beyond which the ship is not fit to ply; and

(b) the number of passengers which the ship is fit to carry, distinguishing, if necessary, the number to be carried in each part of the ship, and any conditions and variations to which the number is subject.

(5) Such certificate in duplicate shall be delivered to the owner, master or charterer, or the agent of the owner or charterer applying for the same, on payment of the prescribed fees.

(6) The owner, master or charterer of every ship shall cause one of the duplicates delivered under subsection (5) to be exhibited in some conspicuous part of the ship so as to be legible to all persons on board the same and to be kept so exhibited and legible while it remains in force and such ship is in use.

(7) If the owner, master or charterer of a ship fails without rea sonable cause to comply with subsection (6) he commits an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: a fine of $300.

Duration of certificate

8 (1) A passenger ship's certificate shall not be in force for more than one year from the date of its issue or any shorter time specified in the certificate; and no such certificate shall be in force after notice is given by the Minister to the owner, agent or master of the ship that he has cancelled the same.

(2) If any ship is absent from Bermuda at the time of expiry of any such certificate, no penalty shall be incurred for want of a certificate until the ship commences a voyage after her next return to Bermuda.

Power of Minister to cancel certificate

9 (1) The Minister may cancel any passenger ship's certificate in any case in which he has reason to believe —

(a) that any declaration of survey on which the certificate was founded has in any particular been made fraudu lently or erroneously; or

(b) that such certificate has otherwise been issued upon
false or erroneous information; or

(c) that, since the making of such declaration, the hull, equipment or machinery of the ship has sustained any injury or is otherwise insufficient,

and in every such case the Minister may require the owner to have the hull, equipment or machinery of the ship again surveyed, before re-is suing any certificate or granting another certificate in lieu thereof.

(2) The Minister may require any such certificate which has expired or been cancelled to be delivered up as he directs; and any owner, master or charterer of a ship who without reasonable cause re fuses or neglects to comply with such requirement commits an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: a fine of $200.

Appeal to court of survey

10 (1) If the owner of a passenger ship is aggrieved by the declara tion of survey of a surveyor under section 7(2) or by the refusal of a sur veyor to give such a declaration, he may appeal to a court of survey con stituted under section 32, in the manner required by the rules of that court.

(2) On any such appeal the judge of the court of survey shall report to the Minister on the question raised by the appeal and the Min ister, when satisfied that the requirements of the report and of the provi sions of this Part have been complied with, may grant a passenger ship's certificate.

(3) Subject to any order made by the judge of the court of sur vey, the costs of and incidental to the appeal shall follow the event and shall be recoverable in the same, manner as costs in summary proceed ings under the Magistrates Act 1948 [title 8 item 15].

(4) A surveyor, in making a survey of a ship for the purpose of a declaration of survey under section 7(2), shall, if so required by the owner of the ship, be accompanied on the survey by some competent person appointed by the owner, and in that case, if the Surveyor and the person so appointed agree, there shall be no appeal under this section to the court of survey.

Surveyors to make returns, and duty of owner etc. to assist surveyor

11 (1) A Government surveyor shall from time to time make such returns to the Minister as he may require with respect to the build, di mensions, draught, burden, rate of sailing, room for fuel, and the nature and particulars of machinery and equipment, of every ship surveyed by him.

(2) The owner, master and engineer of any ship shall, on de mand, give to a Government surveyor all such information and assis tance within his power as the surveyor may require for the purpose of those returns.

(3) Any owner, master or engineer who without reasonable cause refuses or neglects to comply with any request for such informa tion or assistance commits an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: a fine of $100.

Offences

12 (1) Any person who —

(a) knowingly and wilfully makes, or assists in making, or procures to be made, a false or fraudulent declaration of survey or passenger ship's certificate; or

(b) forges, assists in forging, procures to be forged, fraudu lently alters, assists in fraudulently altering, or procures to be fraudulently altered, any such declaration or cer tificate, or anything contained in, or any signature to, any such declaration or certificate,

commits an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: imprisonment for 6 months or a fine of $500.

(2) Without prejudice to any other provision of law, any Gov ernment surveyor who unlawfully receives directly or indirectly any fee, remuneration or gratuity whatever in respect of any function performed by him under this Act commits an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: a fine of $1,000.

PART IV

LIFE-SAVING APPLIANCES

Rules as to life-saving appliances

13 (1) The Minister may, in relation to any ships to which this section applies, make rules (in this Act called "rules for lifesaving appli ances") with respect to all or any of the following matters, namely —

(a) the arranging of ships into classes, having regard to the services in which they are employed, to the nature and duration of the voyage, and to the number of persons carried;

(b) the number, description, and mode of construction of the boats, life rafts, line-throwing appliances, lifejackets, and lifebuoys to be carried by ships, according to the classes in which the ships are arranged;

(c) the equipment to be carried by any such boats and rafts and the methods to be provided to get the boats and other life-saving appliances into the water, including oil for use in stormy weather;

(d) the provision in ships of a proper supply of lights inex tinguishable in water, and fitted for attachment to lifebuoys;

(e) the quantity, quality and description of buoyant appa ratus to be carried on board ship, either in addition to or in substitution for boats, life rafts, life jackets and lifebuoys;

(f) the position and means of securing the boats, life rafts, life jackets, lifebuoys and buoyant apparatus;

(g) the marking of the boats, life rafts and buoyant appara tus so as to show their dimensions and the number of persons authorised to be carried on them;

(h) the manning of the lifeboats and the qualification and certificates of lifeboat men;

(i) the provision to be made for mustering the persons on board, and for embarking them in the boat (including provision for the lighting of, and the means of ingress to and egress from, different parts of the ship);

(j) the provision of suitable means situated outside the en gine-room whereby any discharge of water into the boats can be prevented;

(k) the assignment of specific duties to each member of the crew in the event of emergency;

(l) the methods to be adopted and the appliances to be car ried in ships for the prevention, detection and extin guishing of fire;

(m) the provision in ships of plans or other information re lating to the means of preventing, detecting, controlling and extinguishing outbreaks of fire;

(n) the practice in ships of boat-drills and fire-drills;

(o) the provision in ships of means of making effective dis tress-signals by day and by night;

(p) the provision, in ships engaged on voyages in which pi lots are likely to be embarked, of suitable pilot-ladders, and of ropes, lights and other appliances designed to make the use of such ladders safe; and

(q) the examination and maintenance at intervals to be pre scribed by the rules of any appliances or equipment re quired by the rules to be carried.

(2) This section applies to —

(a) British ships registered in Bermuda;

(b) other ships while they are within any port in Bermuda:

Provided that this section shall not apply to a ship by reason of her being within a port in Bermuda if she would not have been in any such port but for stress of weather or any other circumstances that nei ther the master nor the owner nor the charterer (if any) of the ship could have prevented or forestalled.

(3) The rules for life-saving appliances made by the Minister under subsection (1) shall include such requirements as appear to the Minister to implement the provisions of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea signed in London on 17th June 1960.

(4) For the purposes of this section and without prejudice to the generality of the powers therein contained, the "rules for life-saving appliances", and the rules relating to the practice of boat-drills and fire-drills, made under the principal Act as amended and having effect in the United Kingdom shall, unless varied by or repugnant to the rules made under this section, be deemed to be rules made under this section.

(5) The negative resolution procedure shall apply to rules made by the Minister under subsection (1).

Penalty for breach of rules applicable to ship

14 In the case of any ship —

(a) if the ship is required to be provided with life-saving ap pliances and proceeds on any voyage or excursion with out being so provided in accordance with the rules ap plicable to the ship; or

(b) if any of the appliances with which the ship is so pro vided are lost or rendered unfit for service in the course of the voyage or excursion through the wilful fault or negligence of the owner or master; or

(c) if the master wilfully neglects to replace or repair, on the first opportunity, any such appliance lost or injured in the course of the voyage or excursion; or

(d) if such appliances are not kept so as to be at all times fit and ready for use; or

(e) if any provision of the rules in respect of life-saving ap pliances applicable to the ship is contravened or not complied with,

then the owner of the ship (if in fault) commits an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: a fine of $2,000,

and the master of the ship (if in fault) commits an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: a fine of $500.

Survey with respect to life-saving appliances

15 (1) A Government surveyor may inspect any ship for the pur pose of seeing that the rules for life-saving appliances applicable to the ship have been complied with in her case, and for the purpose of any such inspection shall have all the powers which an inspector appointed under section 728 of the principal Act has in the United Kingdom.

(2) If the surveyor finds that the rules 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 reported to the Registrar and a clearance shall not be granted to the ship, and the ship shall be de tained, until a certificate under the hand of a Government surveyor is produced to the effect that the matter has been rectified.

16 [repealed by 1979:16]

PART V

SAFETY VALVES COMPASSES AND STABILITY INFORMATION

Equipment of passenger ships

17 (1) Every passenger ship shall —

(a) be provided with a safety valve on each boiler, so con structed as to be out of the control of the engineer when the steam is up, and, if the safety valve is in addition to the ordinary valve, so constructed as to have an area not less, and a pressure not greater, than the area of and pressure on the ordinary valve;

(b) have the ship's compasses properly adjusted from time to time, such adjustment to be made to the satisfaction of a Government surveyor and according to such regula tions as may be issued by the Minister.

(2) If the requirements of subsection (1) have not been com plied with in the case of any ship and the ship proceeds, or attempts to proceed, to sea, the owner or master of the ship commits an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: a fine of $500.

Weight on safety valve not to be increased

18 Any person who increases the weight on the safety valve of a passenger ship beyond the limits fixed by a Government surveyor shall, in addition to any other liability, be guilty of an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: a fine of $500.

Undue weight not to be placed on safety valve

19 In addition to any other liability, any person who places an un due weight on the safety valve of any ship commits an offence:

Punishment on summary conviction: a fine of $500.

20 [repealed by 1975:4]

scribed,

the Supreme Court may order those goods, and anything in which they were contained, to be forfeited and disposed of as the Court may direct.

(2) The Supreme Court may make an order under subsection (1) notwithstanding that the owner of the goods —

(a) has not committed any offence under the provisions of this Act relating to dangerous goods;

(b) is not before the Court; or

and notwithstanding that there is no evidence as to the ownership of the goods; but the Court may, if it thinks fit, require notice to be given to the owner or shipper of the goods before any such order is made.

Saving

25 The provisions of this Part relating to the carriage of dangerous goods are without prejudice to any other provision of law.

PART VII

UNSEAWORTHY SHIPS

Sending unseaworthy British ships to sea an offence

26 (1) Any person who sends or attempts to send, or is a party to sending or attempting to send, a British ship to sea in such an unsea worthy state that the life of any person is likely to be thereby endangered commits an offence, unless he proves either that he used all reasonable means to ensure the ship being sent to sea in a seaworthy state, or that the going to sea in such an unseaworthy state was in the circumstances reasonable and justifiable.

(2) The master of a British ship who knowingly takes the same to sea in such an unseaworthy state that the life of any person is likely to be thereby endangered commits an offence, unless he proves that the going to sea in such an unseaworthy state was in the circumstances rea sonable and justifiable.

(3) A prosecution for an offence under subsection (1) or (2) shall not be instituted except with the consent of the Attorney General.

(4) Where any person commits an offence under subsection (1) or (2):

Punishment on conviction on indictment: imprisonment for 2 years or a fine.

Power to detain unsafe ship, and procedure for such detention

27 (1) Where a British ship being in any port in Bermuda is an unsafe ship, that is to say, is, by reason of the defective condition of the hull, equipment or machinery or by reason of under-manning or of over loading or improper loading, unfit to proceed to sea without serious dan ger to human life, having regard to the nature of the service for which the ship is intended, such ship (hereinafter in this Act described as "unsafe") may be provisionally detained, and afterwards either finally detained or released as provided in this section.

(2) The Registrar or any Government surveyor, if he has reason to believe that a British ship is unsafe, may order the provisional deten tion of such ship for a period not exceeding twenty-four hours, and sub ject to the provisions of this section the Minister may extend such pe riod.

(3) When a ship has been provisionally detained, there shall be forthwith served on the master of the ship a written statement of the grounds of detention, and the Minister may if he thinks fit appoint some competent person to survey the ship and report to him.

(4) The Minister on receiving the report may order the ship to be released or, if in his opinion the ship is unsafe, order the ship to be finally detained, either absolutely or until such conditions with respect to the execution of repairs or alterations or the unloading or reloading of cargo or the manning of the ship as the Minister thinks necessary for the protection of human life have been complied with, and the Minister may vary or add to any such order.

(5) Before the order for final detention is made, a copy of the report shall be served on the master of the ship, and within seven days after such service, the owner, agent or master of the ship may appeal to a court of survey constituted under section 32, in the manner required by the rules of that court.

(6) Where a ship has been provisionally detained, the owner or master of the ship may, at any time before the person appointed under subsection (3) to survey the ship makes such survey, require that such person shall be accompanied by a person of nautical, engineering, or other special skill and experience, nominated by the owner or master, and in that case, if the surveyor and such person agree, the Minister shall cause the ship to be finally detained or released accordingly, but if they differ the Minister may act in accordance with subsections (4) and (5) as if requirement had not been made under this subsection.

(7) Where a ship is provisionally detained, the Minister may at any time, if he thinks it expedient, refer the matter to court of survey constituted under section 32.

(8) The Minister may at any time, if satisfied that a ship de tained under this Act is not unsafe, order such ship to be released on such conditions, if any, as he may specify.

Liability of Government and of ship owner for costs and damages

28 (1) If it appears that there was not reasonable and probable cause, by reason of the condition of the ship or the act or default of the owner or charterer, for the provisional detention of a ship under section 27, the Government shall be liable to pay to the owner or charterer of the ship his costs of and incidental to the detention and survey of the ship and compensation for any loss or damage sustained by him by reason of the detention or survey.

(2) If a ship is finally detained under this Act or if it appears that a ship provisionally detained was at the time of such detention un safe, the owner or charterer, or the agent of the owner or charterer, of the ship shall be liable to pay to the Government the costs of and inci dental to the detention and survey of the ship.

(3) For the purposes of this section, the costs of and incidental to any proceeding before a court of survey and a reasonable amount in respect of remuneration of the surveyor appointed under section 27(3) shall be part of the costs of the detention and survey of the ship, and any dispute as to the amount of those costs may be referred to the Registrar of the Supreme Court, who shall, on request made to him for that pur pose by the Minister, ascertain and certify the proper amount of such costs.

Power to require security for costs from complainant

29 (1) Where a complaint is made to the Minister that a British ship is unsafe, he may require the complainant to give security to his satisfaction for the costs and compensation which the Government may become liable to pay under section 28(1):

Provided that, where the complaint is made by one-fourth, being not less than three, of the seamen belonging to the ship and is not in the opinion of the Minister frivolous or vexatious, such security shall not be required, and the Minister shall, if the complaint is made in sufficient time before the sailing of the ship take proper steps for ascertaining whether the ship ought to be detained under this Act.

(2) Where a ship is detained in consequence of any complaint and the circumstances are such that the Government is liable under section 28(1) to pay to the owner any costs or compensation, the com plainant shall be liable to pay to the Government all such costs and compensation as the Government is so liable to pay.

Supplementary provisions as to detention of ships

30 (1) An order for the provisional or final detention of a ship and any order varying the same shall be served on the master of the ship.

(2) A ship which has been detained under section 27 shall not be released by reason of the British register of such ship being subse quently closed.

(3) Any person appointed under section 27(3) to survey a ship may go on board the ship and inspect the same and every part thereof and the machinery, equipment and cargo, and may require the unload ing or removal of any cargo, ballast or tackle.

Application to foreign ships of provisions as to detention

31 (1) If a foreign ship at a port in Bermuda is unsafe by reason of the defective condition of her hull, equipment or machinery, or by reason of undermanning or of overloading or improper loading, the provisions of this Act with respect to the detention of ships shall apply to that foreign ship as if such ship were a British ship, subject to the modifications pro vided for in subsections (2) and (3).

(2) The Minister shall cause a copy of the order for the provi sional detention of the ship to be delivered to the Governor, who shall without delay send the same to a Secretary of State for transmission to the authorities of the state in which the ship is registered. In addition, where there is in Bermuda a consular officer of that state, the Minister shall cause a copy of the order to be served without delay on that officer.

(3) Where a ship has been provisionally detained —

(a) the consular officer in Bermuda for the state to which the ship belongs, on the request of the owner, master or charterer of the ship, or of the agent of the owner or charterer; or

(b) if there is no such consular officer, the owner, master or charterer, or the agent of the owner or charterer, of the ship,

may require that the person appointed under section 27(3) to survey the ship shall be accompanied by such other person as the consular officer, or the owner, master, charterer or agent, as the case may be, may nomi -

Bermuda Consolidated Legislation

Merchant Shipping Act 1973