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

Chapter IV : Engagement, Discharge, Repatriation, Payment, Discipline and General Treatment of Seafarers and Cadets

174. Misconduct by seafarers endangering ship or life and general offences against discipline

[Section 174 heading substituted by section 29(k) of Act No. 12 of 2015]

 

(1) No master of or seafarer engaged on or belonging to any ship wherever registered shall knowingly—

[Words preceding section 174(1)(a) substituted by section 29(d) of Act No. 12 of 2015]

(a) do anything tending to the immediate loss, destruction or serious damage of the ship, or tending to endanger the life of or to cause injury to any person belonging to or on board the ship; or
(b) refuse or omit to do any lawful act proper and requisite to be done by him for preserving the ship from immediate loss, destruction or serious damage, or for preserving any person belonging to or on board the ship from danger to life or from injury.

 

(2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (4) of section three hundred and fifty-five, no seafarer engaged on or belonging to a South African ship shall—

[Section 174(2) substituted by section 29(d) of Act No. 12 of 2015]

(a) report for duty on the ship in a drunken condition or be drunk on board the ship; or
(b) wilfully disobey any lawful command or neglect his duty; or
(c) be guilty of continued wilful disobedience to lawful commands or continued wilful neglect of duty; or
(d) combine with any of the crew to disobey lawful commands, or to neglect duty, or to impede the navigation of the ship or retard the progress of the voyage; or
(e) assault the master or any ship's officer of the ship; or
(f) prevent or hinder or retard the loading or unloading or departure of the ship; or
(g) wilfully damage the ship, or misappropriate, or make any improper use of, or wilfully damage, any of the ship's stores, equipment or cargo.

 

(3) No seafarer on or before being engaged to serve on a South African ship shall knowingly make a false statement of the name of his last ship or alleged last ship, or knowingly make a false statement of his own name.

[Section 174(3) substituted by section 29(i) of Act No. 12 of 2015]