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

Regulations

Merchant Shipping (National Small Vessel Safety) Regulations, 2007

Part 2 : Vessel safety requirements

8. Safety of navigation

 

(1) The skipper of a vessel must ensure at all times that the vessel is operated in accordance with—
(a) the collision regulations as defined in the Act;
(b) the conditions and limitations specified in the local safety certificate or certificate of fitness, as the case may be, issued in respect of the vessel;
(c) the conditions and limitations specified in the skipper's certificate of competence;
(d) the instructions and specifications of the manufacturer of the vessel and, if power-driven, of the vessel's propulsion machinery;
(e) the law in force in the area in which the vessel is being operated, in so far as it is not inconsistent with the Act;
(f) the load line regulations, if applicable; and
(g) if the vessel is operating in sheltered waters, the rules (if any) issued by a regulating authority and governing vessel operations in those waters.

[Regulation 8(1)(g) substituted by regulation 11 of Notice No. R. 731 dated 11 July 2008]

 

(2) No person may operate a vessel in a careless manner, without reasonable consideration for other persons or without due care and attention, taking into account—
(a) the weather;
(b) visibility;
(c) the presence of persons or vessels in the body of water, including concentrations of persons and vessels in the immediate vicinity of the vessel;
(d) the speed and manoeuvrability of the vessel, with special reference to stopping distance and turning capability in the prevailing conditions;
(e) light conditions, including the presence of background light from shore lights or from backscatter of the vessel's own lights;
(f) water conditions, currents and the proximity of navigational hazards; and
(g) any other hazards that could adversely affect the safety of persons or property.

 

(3) Before any power-driven vessel is operated, the skipper must ensure that the vessel carries a sufficient quantity of fuel for its intended voyage together with a reserve of not less than 25 per cent of that quantity.

 

(4) No vessel under three metres may go to sea except in an area designated for that use by a regulating authority, but in any event not more than 1 000 metres offshore.