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

Schedules

Second Schedule

Protocol of 1978 Relating to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974

Annex

Chapter V : Safety Navigation

Regulation 2 : Danger messages

Purchase

(a)

The master of every ship which meets with dangerous ice, a dangerous derelict, or any other direct danger to navigation, or a tropical storm, or encounters subfreezing air temperatures associated with gale force winds causing severe ice accretion on superstructures, or winds of force 10 or above on the Beaufort scale for which no storm warning has been received, is bound to communicate the information by all the means at his disposal to ships in the vicinity, and also to the competent authorities at the first point on the coast with which he can communicate. The form in which the information is sent is not obligatory. It may be transmitted either in plain language (preferably English) or by means of International Code of Signals. It should be broadcast to all ships in the vicinity and sent to the first point on the coast to which communication can be made, with a request that it be transmitted to the appropriate authorities.

(b)	Each Contracting Government will take all steps necessary to ensure that when intelligence of any of the dangers specified in paragraph (a) of this Regulation is received, it will be promptly brought to the knowledge of those concerned and communicated to other interested Governments.

(c)	The transmission of messages respecting the dangers specified is free of cost to the ships concerned.

(d)	All radio messages issued under paragraph (a) of this Regulation shall be preceded by the Safety Signal, using the procedure as prescribed by the Radio Regulations as defined in Regulation 2 of Chapter IV.