PART XV
SAILING VESSELS

415. Application of part
416. Decision of question whether a vessel is a sailing vessel
417. Certificate for registry
418. Particulars relating to sailing vessel to be painted
419. Change of name of sailing vessel
420. Prevention of overloading or overcrowding
421. Certificate of inspection
422. Cancellation, re-issue, etc. of certificate of inspection
423. Registry of alterations
424. Transfer of registry
425. Closure of registry
426. Restrictions on transfer of sailing vessels
427. Mortgages of sailing vessels
428. Fraudulent use of certificate of registry of certificate of inspection, etc.prohibited
429. Statement relating to crew of sailing vessel to be maintained
430. Inquiry into jettisoning of cargo
431. Non-Indian sailing vessel not to engage in coasting trade without permission
432. Detention of overload non-Indian sailing vessels
433. Power of courts to rescind contracts between owner and tindal
434. Application to sailing vessels of other provisions relating to ships
434A Insurance of members of crew of a sailing vessel
434B Policy of Insurance
435. Power to make rules respecting sailing vessels

415. Application of Part-- Save as otherwise provided, this Part applies to every sea-going sailing vessel owned by a citizen of India [or company or a co-operative society whcih satisfies the requirements specified in clause (b) or, as the case may be, clause (c) of section 21].

416. Decision of question whether a vessel is a sailing vessel-- If any question arises whether a vessel is a sailing vessel or not for the purposes of this Part, it shall be decided by the Director-General and his decision thereon shall be final.

417. Certificate of registry-- (1) Every sailing vessel [(other than a sailing vessel solely engaged in fishingfor profit)] shall be registered in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(2) The owner of every sailing vessel shall make an application in the prescribed form to a registrar for the grant to him of a certificate or registry in respect of the vessel.

(3) The owner of every sailin vessel in respect of which an application under sub-section (2) is made, shall cause the tonnage of the vessel to be ascertained in the prescribed manner.

(4) The registrar may make such inquiry as he thinks fit with respect to the particulars contained in such application and shall enter in a register to be kept for the purpose (hereinafter referred to as sailing vessels register) the following particulars in respect of the vessel, namely:--

(a) the name of the sailing vessel, the place where she was built, and the port to which she belongs;

(b) the rig, type and tonnage of the vessel;

(c) the name, occupation and residence of the owner of the vessel;

(d) the number assigned to the vessel;

(e) the mortgages, if any, effected by the owner in respect of the vessel;

(f) such other particulars as may be prescribed.

(5) After the particulars in respect of the vessel have been entered in the sailing vessels register under sub-section (4), the registrar shall grant to the applicant a certificate of registry in the prescribed form.

(6) The owner of every sailing vessel shall pay for each certificate of registry a fee according to such scale as may be prescribed by the Central Government having regard to the tonnage of the vessel, but in no case exciting one rupee per ton of its gross tonange.

(7) A sailing vessel requiring to be registered under this Part but not so registered may be detained by a proper officer until the owner of tindal produces a certificate of registry in respect of the vessel.

418. Particulars relating to sailing vessel to be painted-- The owner of every sailing vessel so registered shall, before the vessel begins to take any cargo or passengers, paint or cause to be painted permanently in the prescribed manner on some conspicuous part of the sailing vessel, the name by which the vessel has been registered, the number assigned to the vessel by the registrar and the port to which she belongs, and shall take all steps to ensure that the vessel remains painted as required by this section.

419. Change of name of sailing vessel-- A change shall not be made in the name of a sailing vessel registered under this Part except in accordance with the rules made in this behalf.

420. Prevention of over-loading or over-crowding-- (1) The Central Government may make rules regulating the carriage of cargo or passengers in sailing vessels and the protection of life and property on board such vessels.

(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:--

(a) the assignment of free board to sailing vessels;

(b) the marking of such fee board on such vessels and the maintenance of such markings:

(c) the survey of the space alloted to passengers on board such vessels;

(d) the scale and type of accommodation to be provided for each passenger.

(3) Any sailling vessel attempting to ply or proceed to sea without free board markings or any sailing vessel which has been so loaded as to submerge such markings may be detained by a proper officer until free board markings are made in accordance with the rules made in this behalf or the vessel is so loaded that such markings are not submerged.

(4) Nothing in this section relating to free board, shall apply to any sailing vessel in respect of which a load line has been assigned under Part IX.

421. Certificate of inspection-- (1) No sailing vessel shall ply or proceed to sea unless there is an force in respect of that vessel a certificate of inspection granted under this Part, the same being applicable to the voyage on which she is about to ply or proceed.

(2) A certificate of inspection in respect of a sailing vessel shall specify--

(a) the name and tonnage of the vessel;

(b) the names of the owner and tindal of the vessel;

(c) the maximum number of the crew and the maximum number of passengers which the vessel is fit to carry;

(d) the limits within which the vessel may be used for the purpose of trading and the terms and condition subject to which she may be use for such trading;

(e) the particulars of the free board assigned to the vessel;

and shall contain a statement to the effect that her hull, rigging and equipment (including auxiliary machinery, if any) are in good condition.

(3) Every certificate of inspection shall be in force from the date of issue for a period of one year or for such shorter period as may be specified therein.

Provided that where a sailing vessel is on a voyage outside India at the time of expiry of the certificate, the certificate shall continue to be valid until her first arrival at a port in India after the expiry of such period.

(4) No customs collector shall grant a port clearance to a sailing vessel registered under this Part until after the production by the owner or tindal thereof of a certificate of inspection granted under this Part in respect of the vessel.

422. Cancellation, re-issue, etc., of certificate of inspection-- (1) Where at any time subsequent to the issue of a certificate of inspection in respect of a sailing vessel, the Director-General has reason to believe that the vessel is not fit to ply or proceed to sea, he may, after giving the owner an opportunity of making a representation, cancel such certificate.

(2) Where at any time subsequent to the issue of a certificate of inspection a sailing vessel has undergone material alteration or has met with accident or, where the certificate of inspection of a sailing vessel has been cancelled under sub-section (1) and an application is made for the re-issue of such certificate or for the grant of a fresh certificate, the registrar may, before re-issuing the certificate or issuing a fresh certificate, as the case may be, cause such vessel to be inspected; and if the authority inspecting the vessel reports that she is not fit to ply or proceed to sea or that her hull, rigging and equipment (including auxiliary machinery, if any) are defective, such certificate shall not be re-issued or issued until the vessel is, in the opinion of such authority, fit to ply or proceed to sea or the defect is rectified to the satisfaction of such authority.

423. Registry of alterations-- When a sailing vessel is so altered as not to correspond with the particulars relating to her entered in the certificat of registry, the owner of such vessel shall make a report of such alteration to the registrar of the port where the vessel is registered, and the registrar shall either cause the alteration to be registered, or direct that the vessel be registered a new, in accordance with such rules as may be made in this behalf.

424. Transfer or registry-- The registry of a sailing vessel may be transferred from one port to another in India on the application of the owner or tindal of the vessel in accordance with such rules as may be made in this behalf.

425. Closure of registry-- If a sailing vessel is lost, destroyed or rendered permanently unfit for service, the owner of such vessel shall with the least practicable delay report the fact to the registrar of the port where the vessel is registered and also forward to him along with the report, the certificate of registry in respect of the vessel; and thereupon the registrar shall have the registry of the vessel closed.

426. Restrictions on transfer of sailing vessels-- No person shall transfer or acquire any sailing vessel registered under this Part or any interest therein without the previous approval of the Central Government; and any transaction effected in contravention of this section shall be void and unenforceable.

427. Mortgages of sailing vessels-- (1) Every mortgage of a sailing vessel or of any interest therein effected after the date on which this Part comes into force shall be registered with the registrar.

(2) Every mortgage of a sailing vessel or any interest therein effected before the date on which this Part comes into force shall, if subsisting on that date, be registered with the registrar within three months of that date.

(3) The registry shall enter every such mortgage in the sailing vessel register in the order in which it is registered with him.

(4) If there are more mortgage than one recorded in respect of the same sailing vessel or interest therein, the mortgages shall, notwithstanding any express, implied or constructive notice, have priority according to the date on which each mortgage is registered with the registrar and not according to the date of each mortgage itself.

Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall affect the relative priorities as they existed immediately before the date on which this Part comes into force as between mortgages of the same vessel or interest therein effected before such date which are registered in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (2)