MERCANTILE MARINE ACT, 1955

79.—The expression “beneficial interest”, where used in this Act, includes interests arising under contract and other equitable interests; and the intention of this Act is that without prejudice to the provisions of this Act for preventing notice of trusts from being entered in the register book or received by the registrar and without prejudice to the powers of disposition and of giving receipts conferred by this Act on registered owners and mortgagees, and without prejudice to the provisions of this Act relating to the exclusion of persons who are not qualified persons from the registry of ships under this Act, interests arising under contract or other equitable interests may be enforced by or against owners and mortgagees of ships in respect of their interest therein in the same manner as in respect of any other personal property.

Liability of Beneficial Owner.

80 Liability of owners.

80.—Where any person is beneficially interested, otherwise than by way of mortgage, in any ship or share in a ship registered in the name of some other person as owner, the person so interested shall, as well as the registered owner, be subject to all pecuniary penalties imposed by this or any other Act on the owners of ships or shares therein, so nevertheless that proceedings may be taken for the enforcement of any such penalties against both or either of the aforesaid parties, with or without joining the other of them.

Managing Owner.

81 Ship's managing owner or manager to be registered.

81.—(1) The name and address of the managing owner for the time being of every registered ship shall be registered at the custom house of her port of registry.

• (2) Where there is not a managing owner there shall be so registered the name of the person to whom the management of the ship is entrusted by or on behalf of the owner, and any person whose name is so registered shall, for the purposes of this Act, be under the same obligations and subject to the same liabilities as if he were the managing owner.

• (3) If default is made in complying with this section the owner shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, or if there are more owners than one each owner shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable in proportion to his interest in the ship, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding in the whole one hundred pounds each time the ship leaves any port in the State.

Declarations and Inspection of Register.

82 Power of registrar to dispense with declarations and other evidence.

82.—When, under this Act, any person is required to make a declaration on behalf of himself or of any body corporate, or any evidence is required to be produced to the registrar, and it is shown to the satisfaction of the registrar that from any reasonable cause that person is unable to make the declaration, or that the evidence cannot be produced, the registrar may, with the approval of the Revenue Commissioners and on the production of such other evidence, and subject to such terms as they may think fit, dispense with the declaration or evidence.

83 Mode of making declarations.

83.—(1) Declarations required by this Act shall be made before a registrar or a peace commissioner or a commissioner for oaths, or a diplomatic or consular officer.

• (2) Declarations required by this Act may be made on behalf of a body corporate by the secretary or any other officer of such body authorised by them for the purpose.

84 Inspection of register book.

84.—A person, on payment of the prescribed fee (if any) may, on application to the registrar at a reasonable time during the hours of his official attendance, inspect any register book.

85 Documents admissible in evidence.

85.—(1) The following documents shall be admissible in evidence in manner provided by the Act of 1894 namely:—

• (a) any register book under this Act on its production from the custody of the registrar or other person having the lawful custody thereof,

• (b) a certificate of registry under this Act purporting to be signed by the registrar or other proper officer,

• (c) an endorsement on a certificate of registry purporting to be signed by the registrar or other proper officer,

• (d) every declaration made in pursuance of this Act in respect of a registered ship, and

• (e) such other documents made in pursuance of this Act as may be directed by the Minister.

• (2) A copy or transcript of the register of Irish ships kept in the General Register and Record Office under the direction of the Minister shall be admissible in evidence in manner provided by the Act of 1894, and have the same effect to all intents as the original register of which it is a copy or transcript.

• (3) In this section “proper officer” means a diplomatic or consular officer of the State or of a reciprocating state.

86 Forms of documents and instructions as to registry.

86.—(1) The several instruments and documents specified in the Third Schedule to this Act shall be in such form as may be directed by the Revenue Commissioners, with the consent of the Minister, or as near thereto as circumstances permit, and the Revenue Commissioners may, with the consent of the Minister, make such alterations in the forms so directed as they may deem requisite.

• (2) A registrar shall not be required without the special direction of the Revenue Commissioners to receive and enter in the register book any bill of sale, mortgage, or other instrument for the disposal or transfer of any ship or share, or any interest therein, which is made in any form other than that for the time being required under this Act, or which contains any particulars other than those contained in such form.

• (3) The Revenue Commissioners shall cause the said forms to be supplied to all registrars under this Act for distribution to persons requiring to use the same, either free of charge, or at such moderate prices as they may direct.

87 Instructions by Revenue Commissioners as to duties of their officers under this Act.

87.—The Revenue Commissioners, with the consent of the Minister, may, for carrying into effect this Act, give such instructions to their officers as to the manner of making entries in the register book, as to the execution and attestation of powers of attorney, as to any evidence required for identifying any person, as to the referring to themselves of any question involving doubt or difficulty, and generally as to any act or thing to be done in pursuance of this Act, as they think fit.

Forgery and False Declarations.

88 Forgery of documents.

88.—If any person forges, or fraudulently alters, or assists in forging or fraudulently altering, or procures to be forged or fraudulently altered, any of the following documents, namely, any register book, builder's certificate, surveyor's certificate, certificate of registry, declaration, bill of sale, instrument of mortgage, or certificate of mortgage or sale under this Act, or any entry or endorsement required by this Act to be made in or on any of those documents, that person shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.

89 False declarations concerning ownership, etc., of ships.

89.—(1) Every person who, in relation to any declaration made or any document or other evidence produced under this Act—

• (a) wilfully makes, or assists in making, or procures to be made any false statement concerning the title to or ownership of, or the interest existing in any ship, or any share in a ship, or

• (b) utters, produces or makes use of any declaration or document containing any such false statement knowing it to be false,

shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.

• (2) Every person who wilfully makes a false declaration in relation to the qualification of himself or of any other person or of any body corporate to own a registered ship or any share therein, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.

• (3) Every ship or share in a ship in respect of which any false declaration is made within the foregoing subsection of this section, shall be subject to forfeiture to the extent of the interest therein of the declarant, and also of any person or body corporate on behalf of whom such declaration was made unless such person or body proves that such declaration was made without his or their authority.

Forfeiture of Ship.

90 Proceedings on forfeiture of ship.

90.—(1) Where any ship has either wholly or as to any share therein become subject to forfeiture under this Act,

• (a) a member of the Garda Síochána not below the rank of Inspector, or

• (b) an officer of customs and excise, or

• (c) such other person as may be authorised by the Minister for the purpose,

may seize and detain the ship and bring her for adjudication before the High Court, and the Court may thereupon adjudge the ship with her tackle, apparel and furniture to be forfeited to the State and make such order in the case as to the Court seems just.

• (2) Any officer or person mentioned in subsection (1) of this section shall not be responsible either civilly or criminally to any person whomsoever in respect of any such seizure or detention as aforesaid, notwithstanding that the ship has not been brought in for adjudication, or if so brought in is declared not liable to forfeiture, if it is shown to the satisfaction of the Court before whom any trial relating to such ship or such seizure or detention is held that there were reasonable grounds for such seizure or detention; but if no such grounds are shown the Court may award costs and damages to any party aggrieved, and make such other order in the premises as the Court think just.

Measurement of Ship and Tonnage.

91 Ascertainment of tonnage of ships to be registered.

91.—(1) The tonnage of every ship to be registered under this Act, with the exception mentioned in subsection (2) of section 25 of this Act shall, previously to her being registered, be ascertained in accordance with regulations made by the Minister (in this Act referred to as the tonnage regulations of this Act) and such regulations may make different provisions for different classes of such ships.

• (2) The tonnage regulations of this Act may provide for such allowances and deductions as the Minister thinks fit.

92 Tonnage once ascertained to be the tonnage of ship.

92.—Whenever the tonnage of any ship has been ascertained and registered in accordance with the tonnage regulations of this Act, the same shall thenceforth be deemed to be the tonnage of the ship, and shall be repeated in every subsequent registry thereof, unless any alteration is made in the form or capacity of the ship, or unless it is discovered that the tonnage of the ship has been erroneously computed; and in either of those cases the ship shall be remeasured, and her tonnage ascertained and registered according to the tonnage regulations of this Act.

93 Space occupied by deck cargo to be liable to dues.

93.—(1) If any ship carries as deck cargo, that is to say, in any uncovered space upon deck, or in any covered space not included in the cubical contents forming the ship's registered tonnage, timber, stores or other goods, all dues payable on the ship's tonnage shall be payable as if there were added to the ship's registered tonnage the tonnage of the space occupied by those goods at the time at which the dues become payable.

• (2) The space so occupied shall be deemed to be the space limited by the area occupied by the goods and by straight lines enclosing a rectangular space sufficient to include the goods.

• (3) The tonnage of the space shall be ascertained by a surveyor of ships or an officer of customs and excise in accordance with the tonnage regulations of this Act, and when so ascertained shall be entered by such surveyor or officer in the ship's official log-book, and also in a memorandum which such surveyor or officer shall deliver to the master, and the master shall, when the said dues are demanded, produce that memorandum in like manner as if it were the certificate of registry, or, in the case of a ship which is not a registered ship or a ship registered in a reciprocating state, the document equivalent to a certificate of registry, and in default shall be liable to the same penalty as if he had failed to produce the said certificate or document.

• (4)
• (a) This section shall not apply to a ship employed in trading or going within the following geographical limits, namely, Ireland, Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man and the continent of Europe between the river Elbe and Brest or within such limits as varied by an order under paragraph (b) of this subsection and for the time being in force.

• (b) The Minister may, if he so thinks fit, by order vary the limits set out in paragraph (a) of this subsection and may amend or revoke any order made under this paragraph.

94 Surveyors and directions for measurement of ships.

94.—All duties in relation to the survey and measurement of ships shall be performed, in accordance with the directions of the Minister, by surveyors of ships or by any person authorised by the Minister for the purpose.

95 Tonnage of ships of other countries.

95.—(1) Where the Minister is satisfied that the rules in force for the measurement of tonnage of ships applied by another country are similar to the tonnage regulations of this Act, the Minister may direct that the ships of that country shall, without being remeasured in the State, be deemed to be of the tonnage denoted in their certificates of registry or other national papers, in the same manner, to the same extent and for the same purposes as the tonnage denoted in the certificate of registry of a registered ship is deemed to be the tonnage of that ship, and any space shown by the certificate of registry or other national papers of any such ship as deducted from tonnage on account of being occupied by seamen or apprentices, and appropriated to their use, shall be deemed to have been certified under this Act and to comply with the provisions of this Act which apply to such a space in the case of registered ships, unless a surveyor of ships certifies to the Minister that the construction and the equipment of the ship as respects that space do not come up to the standard required under this Act in the case of a registered ship, and if any question arises whether the construction and the equipment of the ship so come up to the required standard a surveyor of ships may inspect the ship for the purpose of determining whether such a certificate should be given by him or not.

• (2) The Minister may limit the time during which the direction is to remain in operation, and make the direction subject to such conditions and qualifications (if any) as the Minister may deem expedient, and the operation of the direction shall be limited and modified accordingly.

• (3) If it is made to appear to the Minister that the tonnage of a ship, as measured by the rules of the country to which she belongs, materially differs from that which would be her tonnage if measured under this Act, the Minister may direct that, notwithstanding any direction for the time being in force under this section, any of the ships of that country may, for all or any of the purposes of this Act, be remeasured in accordance with this Act.

Register Office.

96 Establishment of register office.

96.—There shall be maintained, under the control of the Minister, a general register and record office of shipping and seamen which shall be known as An Phríomh-Oifig Chláraithe agus Taifeadta Loingis agus Mairnéalach.

97 Register of seamen.

97.—The person for the time being in charge of the General Register and Record Office shall, by means of documents transmitted to him and by any other means in his power, keep at his office a register of all persons who serve in ships subject to this Act.

Prosecution of Offences.

98 Misdemeanour.

98.—An offence under this Act declared to be a misdemeanour shall be punishable upon conviction on indictment by a fine not exceeding five hundred pounds or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or by both such fine and imprisonment but may, instead of being prosecuted on indictment, be prosecuted summarily in the District Court and shall be punishable upon summary conviction by a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or by both such fine and imprisonment.

FIRST SCHEDULE. Enactments Repealed.

SECOND SCHEDULE. Ports of Registry.

Cork, Drogheda, Dublin, Dundalk, Galway, Limerick, Skibbereen, Sligo, Tralee, Waterford, Westport and Wexford.

THIRD SCHEDULE. Documents of which the forms are to be directed by the Revenue Commissioners and consented to by the Minister.

Bill of Sale.

Certificate of surveyor.

Declaration of ownership by individual owner.

Declaration of ownership on behalf of a body corporate as owner.

Certificate of registry.

Temporary certificate.

Declaration of ownership by individual transferee.

Declaration of ownership on behalf of a body corporate as transferee.

Declaration of owner taking by transmission.

Mortgage.

Transfer of Mortgage.

Declaration of mortgagee taking by transmission.

Certificate of mortgage.

Certificate of sale.

Revocation of certificate of sale or mortgage.