Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention) Act, 1952

Notice of alterations and additional surveys.

25.—(1) The owner or master of a passenger steamer in respect of which any passenger steamer's certificate issued under the Principal Act, or any certificate issued under this Act, is in force shall, as soon as possible after any alteration is made in the steamer's hull, equipments or machinery affecting the efficiency thereof or the seaworthiness of the steamer, give written notice to the Minister containing full particulars of the alteration.

(2) The owner or master of a ship in respect of which any certificate issued under this Act is in force, other than a passenger steamer, shall, as soon as possible after any alteration is made in the appliances or equipments required by the rules for life-saving appliances, the radio rules, the rules for direction-finders or the collision regulations to be carried by the ship, being an alteration affecting the efficiency or completeness of those appliances or equipments, give written notice to the Minister containing full particulars of the alteration.

(3) If notice of any alteration is not given as required by this section, the owner or master of the ship shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

(4) If the Minister has reason to believe that since the making of the last declaration of survey in respect of any such ship as aforesaid—

(a) any such alteration has been made as is mentioned in subsection (1), or, as the case may be, in subsection (2) of this section; or

(b) the hull, equipments or machinery of the ship (being a passenger steamer) have sustained any injury or are otherwise insufficient; or

(c) the appliances or equipments of the ship (not being a passenger steamer) mentioned in subsection (2) of this section have sustained any injury or are otherwise insufficient;

the Minister may, without prejudice to his powers under section 279 of the Principal Act (which relates to the cancellation of certificates and additional surveys), require the ship to be again surveyed to such extent as he thinks fit and, if such requirement is not complied with, may cancel any passenger steamer's certificate issued in respect of the ship under the Principal Act or any certificate issued in respect of the ship under this Act.

(5) For the purpose of this section the expression “alteration” in relation to anything includes the renewal of any part of it.