Merchant Shipping Act,1958
Act No : 44
Section :
Unseaworthy ship not to be sent to sea.
334. Unseaworthy ship not to be sent to sea. (1) Every person who sends or attempts to send an Indian ship to sea from any port in India in such an unseaworthy state that the life of any person is likely to be thereby endangered shall, unless he proves that he used all reasonable means to insure her being sent to sea in a seaworthy state or that her going to sea in such unseaworthy state was under the circumstances reasonable and justifiable, be guilty of an offence under this sub-section. (2) Every master of an Indian ship who knowingly takes such ship to sea in such unseaworthy state that the life of any person is likely to be thereby endangered shall, unless he proves that her going to sea in such unseaworthy state was, under the circumstances, reasonable and justifiable, be guilty of an offence under this sub-section. (3) For the purpose of giving such proof, every person charged under this section may give evidence in the same manner as any other witness. (4) No prosecution under this section shall be instituted except by, or with the consent of, the Central Government. (5) A ship is "unseaworthy" within the meaning of this Act when the materials of which she is made, her construction, the qualifications of the master, the number, description and qualifications of the crew including officers, the weight, description and stowage of the cargo and ballast, the condition of her hull and equipment, boilers and machinery are not such as to render her in every respect fit for the proposed voyage or service.
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