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

Chapter V : Safety of Ships and Life at Sea

Part III : Safety of navigation

235. Dangerous goods not to be carried

 

(1) No person shall send by or carry in any ship, except in accordance with the prescribed regulations, as cargo or ballast, any dangerous goods.

 

(2) No person shall send by any ship, or, if he be not the master or owner of a ship carry in that ship, any dangerous goods without distinctly marking, in one of the official languages of the Republic, their nature on the outside of the package containing the same, in accordance with the prescribed regulations, and without giving written notice of the nature of such goods and of the name and address of the sender thereof to the master or owner of a ship at or before the time of sending the same to be taken on board the ship.

 

(3) The master or owner of any ship may refuse to take on board any package or parcel which he suspects to contain dangerous goods, and may require such package or parcel to be opened to ascertain the fact.

 

(4) The provisions of this section shall not apply to ships' distress signals, or to the carriage of naval or military stores for the public service under conditions authorized by the Authority.

 

(5) This section shall apply—
(a) to South African ships wherever they may be; and
(b) to all other ships while they are within any port in the Republic, or are embarking or disembarking passengers within the territorial waters of the Republic, or are loading or discharging cargo or fuel within those waters.

[Section 235(5)(b) substituted by section 42 of Act No. 40 of 1963]