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MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS
(Department of Transport)
NOTIFICATION
New Delhi. the 16th
December, 1960
G. S. R. 1552.- In exercise
of the power conferred by section 167 of the Merchant Shipping
Act, 1958 (44 of 1958), and in supersession of all existing
rules, orders and regulations on the subject, the Central
Government hereby makes the following rules, namely:-
1. Short title and Commencement.-
(1) These rules may be called the Merchant Shipping (Distressed
Seamen) Rules, 1960.
(2) They shall come into
force on the 1st day of January1961.
2. Definitions.- In these
rules-
(a) 'Act' means the Merchant
Shipping Act, 1958;
(b) 'Form' means a form
set out in Schedule I;
(c) 'Schedule means a schedule
to these rules.
3. Application for relief.-
(1) Every application for relief and maintenance under section
161of the Act shall be made by the distressed seaman, in
writing and be presented in person to the Indian Consular
officer at or near the place where the applicant is in distress,
within three months of his having left his last ship.
(2) Every applicant under
sub-rule (1) shall also fill in and sign an affidavit in
form 'A' before the Indian Consular officer.
(3) Where the Indian Consular
Officer is satisfied that, on account of illness or other
sufficient cause, a distressed seaman is not able to write
the application or present it in person, the Indian Consular
Officer may accept an application made by any other person
on behalf of the distressed seaman.
4. Duty to arrange for
relief.- The Indian Consular Officer if he is satisfied
that the applicant is distressed seaman who is entitled
to relief and maintenance under the Act, shall take steps
to arrange for his relief and maintenance in accordance
with these rules.
5. Finding employment-(1)
If he is satisfied by medical certificate or otherwise that
the distressed seaman is fit for work, the Indian consular
officer shall, wherever possible, find an employment for
the distressed seaman in the same or similar capacity to
that which the seaman was holding in his previous ship.
(2) If a seaman, to whom
an offer of employment to the nature referred to in sub0rule
(1) is made refuse to take up the employment, he shall cease
to be entitled to any relief or maintenance from the date
of such refusal.
6. Relief and maintenance
till repatriation or employment-
(1) distressed seaman shall
be given relief and maintenance till arrangement are made
for his return to the proper return port or till a suitable
employment is found for him.
(2) Such relief and maintenance
shall consist of-
(a) Maintenance,
(b) essential clothing
and bedding which shall as far as possible be of the
quality to which he is
accustomed, and
(c) where necessary, medical
care and reasonable medical expenses.
(3) It shall be the duty
of the Indian Consular Officer to see that the expenses
on account of the relief and maintenance of a distressed
seaman is kept at the minimum ; in no case money payment
shall be made to the distressed seaman.
7. Period of relief- Subject
to the provisions of these rules, a distressed seaman shall
receive relief for so long as the Indian Consular Officer
considers it necessary; and in every case in which relief
is given beyond a period of one month, such officer shall
report the circumstance of the case to the Director-General.
8. Shipwrecked Seamen-
In cases of shipwreck, the Indian Consular Officer shall
afford relief and maintenance to a seaman only from such
time as he causes to be employed to look after the ship's
properly and cargo, or for salvage purpose, even though
the seaman has applied for relief while he is still employed
on such duties.
9. Discharged Seaman-(1)
The Master of a ship who desires to deposit the expenses
for the maintenance and repatriation of a discharged seaman
referred in sub-section (3) of section 162 of the Act, shall
deposit the expenses with the Indian Consular Officer by
whose authority such seaman was discharged.
(2) The Indian Consular
Officer may, at his discretion, return such seaman to the
proper return port in accordance with the provision of these
rules.
10. Repatriation of distressed
Seamen- When an Indian Consular Officer is unable to place
a distressed seaman on board an Indian ship is want of men
to make up its complement, he shall, at his discretion,
send such seaman to his proper return port or to a port
en route to such port as early as possible, by any other
of the modes referred to in sub-section (2) of section 162
of the Act.
11. Conveyance by foreign
ship-Whenever no Indian ship is available in which a distressed
seaman can be sent either to a proper return port or to
a port en route thereto, the Indian Consular Officer may,
if he considers it desirable, secure a passage for him in
a foreign ship on the best terms obtainable and shall advise
the Shipping Master at the proper return port or the Indian
Consular Officer at an intermediate port, as the case may
be, of the terms agreed upon.
12. Return Port to be specified-The
Indian Consular Officer, having determined the return port
to which a distressed seaman is entitled to be sent, shall
indicate that port on any document issued by him for the
conveyance of the seaman to such port or nay port or place
en route to the proper return port.
13. Action of Indian Consular
Officer at places en route- When a distressed seaman is
landed at a port or place en route to his proper return
port, the Indian Consular Officer at that port of place
shall take similar action in respect of the seaman as could
have been taken by the Indian Consular Officer at the port
or place at which the seaman was originally in distress.
14. Endorsement on the
Agreement with the Crew and Issue of Conveyance Order-(1)
The endorsement on the agreement with the crew mentioned
in sub-section (1) of section 164 of the Act shall be in
one of the following forms :-
(a) When the seaman is
placed on board on Indian ship to make up the complement
of her crew :-
"I hereby certify
that I have sanctioned the engagement of the within-mentioned
seaman/seamen entered on the lines------- upon the terms
mentioned in the within mentioned agreement and that he
has/they have signed fully undersigned the same".
(b) When the seaman is
not employed as a member of the crew but is afford a passage
on an Indian ship in accordance with the provisions of section
163 of the act :_
"Certifies that I
have this day placed on board this ship Shri ___________
ex S.S./MS _________________ as a Distressed Seaman for
conveyance to ____________. The requisite Conveyance Order
ahs been handed over to the Master".
(2) When a seaman is placed
on board an Indian ship in accordance with the provisions
of rule 10, the Indian Consular Officer shall fill in, sign
and deliver to the Master of such ship, a Conveyance Order
in form 'B' showing the report to which the seaman is entitled
to be sent.
(3) Whenever it becomes
necessary to send a distressed seaman to his proper return
port or to any other port or place by a mode other than
the one mentioned in sub-rule (2) of this rule (i.e. by
road, rail, air or by sea as a passenger on a foreign ship),
the Indian Consular Officer shall hand over to the seaman,
form 'C' duly filled in and signed.
15. Rates of Passage-(1)
On arrival at the port to which a seaman has been conveyed,
the Master of the conveying ship shall produce the Conveyance
Order to the Indian Consular Officer at the port, if the
port is a foreign one, or to the Shipping Master if it is
an Indian port, after duly filling in and signing Part 3
thereof.
(2) The Master of the conveying
ship shall be paid by such officer at the rate prescribed
in Schedule II in respect of the subsistence of every distressed
seaman conveyed by his exceeding the number, if any, wanted
to make up the complement of his crew, unless the officer,
has reason to doubt the correctness of the Declaration or
of any of the particulars in form 'B'. In case of doubt,
the payment shall be deferred and the matter reported to
the Director-General of Shipping for orders.
16. Rescued Seaman-(1)
Masters of ship and tindals of sailing vessels who have
rescued or picked up seaman at sea shall on arrival at port
and on application made in writing, to the Shipping Master
or in a foreign port, to the Indian Consular Officer, be
entitled to be paid by the Shipping Master or the Indian
Consular Officer, as the case may be, subsistence in respect
of such seamen.
(2) The application referred
to in sub-rule (1) shall state the number of days during
which each distressed seaman received subsistence on the
rescuing vessel.
17. Seaman mentally deranged-(1)
In order to provide for the passage to the proper return
port of a distressed seaman suffering from mental derangement,
the Indian Consular Officer may, with the object of ensuring
that requisite care and attendance is given to the seaman
during the voyage, make special arrangements with the Master
of the ship and may agree to the payment, if necessary,
of such sum as may appear fair and reasonable for the passage
in addition to the prescribed allowance.
(2) A copy of the agreement
entered into by the Indian Consular Officer shall in every
case, be forwarded, as soon as possible, to the Shipping
Master at the port at which the distressed seaman was originally
engaged. If such seaman is sent to an intermediate port
in transit, a copy of the agreement shall also be endorsed
to the Indian consular Officer or Shipping Master at that
port as the case may be.
(3) On arrival at the port
to which the distressed seaman has been conveyed, the Shipping
Master, or the Indian Consular Officer, as the case may
be, shall pay to the Master of the ship, in addition to
the sum provided for in rule 15, such additional charges
as have been agreed to by the Indian Consular Officer at
the port from which the seaman was shipped.
18. Seaman at infected
ports-(1) Notwithstanding any this contained in rule 10,
no distressed seaman who has suffered from cholera, yellow
fever, plague or some other infections disease, or who is
at a port infected at the tie with any such disease, shall
be sent to any port or place, whether such port or place
be similarly infected or not, without the Indian Consular
Officer obtaining a certificate from a duly qualified medical
practitioner that the seaman is not source of danger to
others.
(2) The certificate referred
to in sub-rule(1) shall state the nature of the disease
from which the distressed seaman had suffered r which infected
the port and shall be delivered by the Indian Consular Officer
to the Master of the Conveying ship for production, if necessary,
to the Health authorities at ports of call. Such certificate
shall be retained by the Master until the distressed seaman
is landed at his proper return port or a port en route.
In the later case, the certificate shall be handed over
to the Indian Consular Officer at a foreign port or the
Shipping Master at a port in Indian along with the Conveyance
Order.
19. Recovery of Expenses-(1)
When a distressed seaman is landed at his proper return
port, the shipping Master at that port shall, after complying
with the provisions of rule 15, determine what portion,
if any, of the expenses incurred on behalf of such seaman
could be deemed to be "excepted expenses" as defined
in clause (b) of sub-section (36) of section 3 of the Act.
(2) All repatriation expenses,
inclusive of excepted expenses, which constitute a debt
to the Central Government, shall be recovered by the Shipping
Master referred to sub-rule (1) from the owner or agent
of the ship to which the seaman belonged at the time of
his discharge or other event which resulted in his becoming
distressed, unless the Shipping Master deducts such sum
directly from the seaman's wages which have been deposited
with him in accordance with section 122 (3) of the Act.
20. Recovery from wages-(1)
The owner or agent of the ship mentioned in the foregoing
rule, if he is desirous of recovering the excepted expenses
from the wages of the distressed seaman shall furnish the
Shipping Master with an account of the expenses, together
wit such vouchers as may be reasonably required, and the
Shipping Master shall, if he is satisfied as to the correctness
of the claim, deduct the amount from the wages.
(2) All deductions form
a seaman's wages shall be subject to the provisions of section
201 of the Act.
21. Credit to Government-All
repatriation expense which constitute a debt to the Central
Government and which are recovered by the Shipping Master
shall be credit to the appropriate head of account.
22. Evidence of distress-The
Shipping Master to whom a Conveyance Order in respect of
a distressed seaman is delivered shall be deemed to be an
officer specified by the Central Government for the propose
of section 165 of the Act and he may, on the strength of
such order, issue a certificate to the effect that the seaman
was in distress.
23. Returns-(1) As soon
as possible after a distressed seaman is sent from his port,
the Indian Consular Officer shall send to the Director-General
returns of expenses in forms 'D' and 'E'.
(2) When an Indian Consular
Officer receives form 'C' in respect of any distressed seaman,
such form shall also be sent to the Director-General along
with the forms referred to in sub-rule (1).
Schedule I
FORM 'A'
[See rule 3(2)]
AFEIDAVIT
Issued by the
Government of India
I, the undersigned ........................
late of the Ship ............................... of ...
....................................
Official Number ............................. temporary
resident at............................. do solemnly and
sincerely declare as follows :-
*(1) That I belong to the
State of ........... ........... and that I was born at.......................in
the year ...............................
*Number of Discharge Book
or Registration Book produced by seaman ....................................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................................
Description of any other
documents produced in support of identity............................................................................................
Names of Ships in which
seaman had previously served ...........................
.................................................................
(2) That I was shipped
on my last voyage at ..............................on the
........................ day of.............................19........................and
served on board until the....................... day of
............................................. 19.................when
my services ended owing to...................................
[The ground for my discharge/desertion was........................................].
(3) That I have since been
employed as................at.............................but
am now in distress owing to
......................and am desirous of returning
to ....................................
(4) That my last address
in India was .....................................................
where resided from.................... 19.............................
to....................... 19..................................
(5) Name of relative or
friend ....................................................................
Address ................................................................................................
...............................................................................................
And I make this solemn
declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true.
Signature or L.T.I. of
Seaman.......................
Declared before me at ...................................
the ........................
day of ............19............Name and Title Officer
.............................................
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