Skip to main content

What do you understand by unseaworthy vessel within the meaning of the MSA 1958 as amended? What according to you is the difference between unseaworthy and unsafe ship? What are the obligation of the owner to crew with respect seaworthiness?

In the M.S. Act 1958 of India as amended the meaning of unseaworthy ship and unsafe ship is as follows:-

Under section 334 a ship is said to be unseaworthy "when the materials of which she is made, her construction, the qualification of the master, the number, description, and qualification of the crew including officers, the weight, description, and stowage of the cargo and ballast, the condition of her hull and equipment, boilers and machinery are not such as to render her in every respect fit for the proposed voyage or service."

Under section 336, an unsafe ship may be defined an unsafe ship, that is to say, is by reason of the defective condition of her hull, equipment or machinery, or by reason of overloading or improper loading, unfit to proceed to sea without serious danger to human life, having regard to the nature of service for which she is intended.

Now we will discuss the difference of unseaworthy ship and unsafe ship in detail. 

First, we will see the unseaworthy ship:-
  1. A ship is unseaworthy when the material which she is made and her construction and design is faulty and not as per laid down-regulation.
  2. A ship is unseaworthy when its master, officers, and crew are not qualified and are not as per the safe manning of the ship.
  3. Not having enough certificates according to the law make the ship unseaworthy.
  4. A ship is said to be unseaworthy when the machinery or equipment is missing which should have been installed as per any regulation.
  5. An unseaworthy ship poses a serious threat to human life.
  6. A ship is said to be unseaworthy when its machinery or equipment is not able to perform its duties for the intended voyage.
  7. Wrong weight, description, and stowage of cargo and ballast make the ship unseaworthy for the voyage.

Now take the case of Unsafe ship:-
  1. A ship is said to be unsafe when the hull and equipment are temporarily defective and the ship is unsafe for that proposed voyage.
  2. A ship is said to be unsafe when its master, officers, and crew are qualified but do not follow the safe working practices.
  3. Not maintaining the required provisions laid down in certificates can make the ship unsafe during the voyage.
  4. A ship is said to be unsafe if the machinery or equipment is placed on board but found not working or the maintenance plan is not being followed.
  5. An unsafe ship does not pose a serious threat to human life.
  6. A ship is said to be unsafe when its machinery or equipment is operated wrongly at any instance by the ship's crew on the voyage.
  7. Wrong procedure of ballasting, deballasting or negligence of crew towards stowage of cargo makes the ship unsafe any instance during the voyage.



In a broad perspective or loosely we can say that unseaworthiness depends on design factors and physical factors. Also unseaworthy is a condition.
But ship becomes unsafe due to human factors. It is an act.
Obligation of owner to crew with respect to seaworthiness
  1. In every contract of service, express or implied between the owner of an Indian ship and the master or any seaman thereof, and in every contract of apprenticeship whereby any person is bound to serve as an apprentice on board any such ship, there shall be implied, notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary, an obligation on the owner that such owner and the master, and every agent charged with the loading of such ship or the preparing thereof for the sea, or the sending thereof to sea, shall use all reasonable means to ensure the seaworthiness of such ship for the voyage at the time when such voyage commences, and to keep her in a seaworthy state during the voyage.
  2. For the purpose of seeing that the provisions of this section have been complied with, the Central Government may, either at the request of the owner or otherwise, arrange for a survey of the hull, equipment or machinery of any sea-going ship by a surveyor.


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bilge Injection Valve

Bilge Injection is a valve that enables the engine room bilges to be pumped out directly overboard in the event of an emergency such as flooding. The valve is normally fitted to the end of a branch connection with the main sea water suction line. This enables large main seawater cooling pumps to be used as a bilge pump in an emergency. Emergencies like fire and flooding involve the use of seawater. If there is a fire, seawater is the biggest resource of water available in the sea. Similarly, if it involves flooding of the engine room, cargo spaces or any other place on the ship for that matter; you would again require pumping the sea water out of the ship. In both these cases, you require pumps.  There are two valves in close proximity namely main injection valve and bilge injection valve. Both of them have their own independent controls. The diameter of the bilge injection valve is kept nearly 66% of the main valve diameter which draws water directly from the sea th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Difference Between A, B & C-Class Divisions?

IMO Symbol A Class Division  IMO Symbol B Class Division  SOLAS has tables for structural fire protection requirement of bulkheads and decks. The requirements depend on the spaces in question and are different for passenger ships and cargo ships. The Administration has required a test of a prototype bulkhead or deck in accordance with the Fire Test Procedures Code to ensure that it meets the above requirements for integrity and temperature rise. Types of Divisions: "A" Class "B" Class "C" Class "A" Class: "A" class divisions are those divisions formed by bulkheads and decks which comply with the following criteria: They are constructed of steel or equivalent material They are suitably stiffened They are constructed as to be capable of preventing the passage of smoke and flame to the end of the one-hour standard fire test. they are insulated with approved non-combustible materials such that the average tempera...
14 comments
Read more

Why do we blow through engine before starting ?

The engine is blown through on air before starting it : a) To Blow out through indicator cock any residual exhaust gas or     other products of combustion trapped inside the cylinder after     shutting the engine. b) To check if any jacket cooling water from cylinder head or     turbocharger or any other source, has leaked while the engine          was shut and collected on top of piston. If while blowing                  through, water comes out of indicator cock or relief valve, we          need to investigate and rectify the fault before starting the                engine. It is imperative that the engine is blown through before        starting. There have been cases where the generator engine has        been started from control room without bothering to blow     th...
15 comments
Read more