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Merchant Shipping Act, 1951 (Act No. 57 of 1951)

Chapter V : Safety of Ships and Life at Sea

Part IV : Collisions, accidents at sea, and limitation of liability

259. Report to proper officer of accidents to and on board ships

 

(1) The owner or master of any ship—
(a) which has been lost, abandoned or stranded; or
(b) which has been seriously damaged or has caused serious damage to any other ship; or
(c) on which any casualty resulting in loss of life or serious injury to any person or an accident has occurred; or
(d) which has been in a position of great peril either from the action of some other ship or for any other reason; or
(e) which, having left any port in the Republic, has put back to that port; or
(f) which has fouled or done any damage to any harbour, dock or wharf or to any lightship, buoy, beacon or sea mark,

shall within 24 hours after the ship has arrived in a port or, if the event occurred in a port, within 24 hours after the event occurred, but before the ship departs from that port, report the event to the nearest proper officer in the form prescribed, stating the nature of the event and of the probable cause thereof, the name of the ship, her official number, the port to which she belongs, the place where the event occurred and the place where the ship then is, and giving all other available relevant information: Provided that any event resulting in loss of life or serious injury shall forthwith be so reported by the fastest means of communication available.

 

(1A)

(a) Whenever a stevedore, a shore contractor or incidental persons are involved in a casualty resulting in loss of life or serious injury to any person, or in an accident, their employer shall, in the form and stating the particulars referred to in subsection (1), forthwith report the event to the nearest proper officer by the fastest means of communication available.
(b) In paragraph (a)—

"incidental persons" means persons other than the master and crew, and stevedores and shore contractors on board a vessel in the course and scope of their duties;

"shore contractor" means a person temporarily employed to effect general or specific repairs, alterations, renovations, improvements, painting, maintenance of vessel or machinery, tank or hatch cleaning and related tasks on or in a vessel;

"stevedore" means a person employed in the loading or unloading of a vessel or in related activities.

[Section 259(1A) inserted by section 10(a) of Act No. 23 of 1997]

 

(2) Subsection (1) shall, subject to subsection (3), apply to every ship which is registered or licensed in the Republic or which is in terms of this Act required to be so licensed and to or in respect of or on board of which any such event as is referred to in subsection (1) has occurred anywhere, and shall apply to a ship registered in a country other than the Republic only while the ship is within the Republic or the territorial waters thereof and if any such event has occurred to or in respect of or on board of the ship during a voyage to a port in the Republic or within the Republic or the territorial waters thereof.

[Section 259(2) substituted by item 19 (Schedule 2) of Act No. 58 of 1998]

 

(3) Subsection (1)(f) shall not apply to any vessel belonging to Transnet Limited and used by that authority in connection with the working of its harbours.

 

(4)

(a) Any employee, employer or user who learns about an event referred to in subsection (1), shall forthwith notify the owner or master concerned of such event.
(b) The owner or master of any ship concerned and any employee or user who learns about an event referred to in subsection (1A), shall forthwith notify the employer concerned of such event.

[Section 259(4)(b) inserted by section 10(c) of Act No. 23 of 1997]

 

(5) No person shall disturb or remove anything from the scene of an accident required to be reported in terms of this section unless permitted by the proper officer, or if a person has been appointed under section 264 to hold a preliminary enquiry into the accident, by that person.

[Section 259(5) inserted by section 10(d) of  Act 23 of 1997]

 

[Section 259 substituted by item 19 (Schedule 2) of Act 58 of 1998]