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Commonwealth legislation
This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
These 1963 regulations are the HR rulebook for ships under Australian/British registry: they set mandatory paperwork, standard forms and a Sydney register, prescribe crew contracts and apprenticeship indentures, regulate wages, allotments and final pay, authorize masters’ disciplinary fines and appeals, require detailed voyage record-keeping, and impose a schedule of official fees for crew processing. They affect seafarers, masters, shipowners and marine officials.
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Direct links to the current provisions in Navigation (Master and Seamen) Regulations.
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
STATUTORY RULES.
1963. No. 102.
REGULATIONS UNDER THE NAVIGATION ACT 1912-1961.*
I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL in and over the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby make the following Regulations under the Navigation Act 1912-1961.
Dated this 25th
day of October, 1963.
DE L’ISLE
Governor-General.
By His Excellency’s Command,
HUBERT OPPERMAN
Minister of State for Shipping and Transport.
NAVIGATION (MASTER AND SEAMEN) REGULATIONS.
Citation.
Repeal.
2.—(1.) The Navigation (Master and Seamen) Regulations (comprising the Statutory Rules specified in the First Schedule to these Regulations) are repealed.
(2.) The Schedule to the Navigation (General Amendments) Regulations is amended by omitting item 16.
Interpretation.
3.—(1.) In these Regulations, unless the contrary intention appears—
“holiday”, in relation to the services of an official, means any day observed at the place at which the official is employed as a holiday in the Public Service of the Commonwealth under section 76 of the Public Service Act 1922-1960;
“ordinary official hours”, in relation to a port, means the hours during which the Mercantile Marine Office at that port is open for public business;
“the Act” means the Navigation Act 1912-1961.
(2.) A reference in these Regulations to a form by number shall be read as a reference to the form so numbered in the Second Schedule to these Regulations.
General Register of Seamen.
4.—(1.) The General Register of Seamen referred to in section 12 of the Act shall be kept at the Mercantile Marine Office at Sydney.
(2.) There shall be entered in the General Register of Seamen a record of each person who—
(a) is engaged in;
(b) is discharged from;
(c) has failed to join; or
(d) has been left behind from or deserted from,
a British ship at a port in Australia or a ship registered in Australia at any port.
*Notified in the Commonwealth Gazette on 25th October, 1963.
10556/61.—Price 1s 3d. 10/3.5.1963.
Indentures of apprenticeship.
Permit to sign articles.
6.—(1.) A permit to sign articles under section 41 of the Act may be in accordance with Form 2.
(2.) The fee payable by a seaman who has previously served at sea for the issue of a permit to sign articles is Six shillings.
Agreement with crew.
Changes in crew.
8.—(1.) For the purposes of paragraph (d) of section 47 and of sub-section (1.) of section 52 of the Act, the prescribed form is Form 4.
(2.) Where the master furnishes a report of a transaction referred to in section 47 of the Act, he shall deliver to the proper authority any discharge of the seaman to whom the report relates that is in the possession of the master.
(3.) The master shall not mark in any way a discharge required to be delivered under the last preceding sub-regulation.
Fees, engagement and discharge.
(a) the prescribed fee is Four shillings; and
(b) the prescribed proportion of the fee is one-half.
Certificate of discharge.
Report of seaman’s character.
(a) in the case of a seaman in respect of whom the report is “very good”—Part II. of Form 12; and
(b) in the case of a seaman in respect of whom the report is other than “very good “—Form 6.
Allotment notes.
Account of wages.
(a) the prescribed time is a time at least two hours before the seaman is to be discharged; and
(b) the prescribed form is Form 8.
Release of claims.
(a) where the whole crew is being discharged on the termination of the agreement—Part III. of Form 3; and
(b) where a member of the crew is discharged at any other time— Form 9.
Punishment of breaches of discipline by master.
Objections to fines.
16.—(1.) For the purposes of sub-section (5.) of section 115 of the Act—
(a) the prescribed period is the period commencing at the time at which the seaman is furnished with a copy of the entry referred to in sub-section (3.) of section 115 of the Act or, if a copy of the entry is not furnished to the seaman within the period of twenty-four hours referred to in paragraph (b) of that sub-section, at the time at which that period of twenty-four hours expires (in this regulation referred to as “the commencing time”) and ending—
(i) if the ship is in a prescribed port at the commencing time and remains at the prescribed port for not less than forty-eight hours after the commencing time— at the expiration of forty-eight hours after the commencing time;
(ii) if the ship is in a prescribed port at the commencing time and leaves the prescribed port before the expiration of forty-eight hours after the commencing time—at the expiration of forty-eight hours after the ship first arrives at a prescribed port after leaving the prescribed port at which it was at the commencing time; and
(iii) if the ship is not in a prescribed port at the commencing time—at the expiration of forty-eight hours after the ship first arrives at a prescribed port after the the commencing time;
(b) the prescribed fee is Three pounds; and
(c) the prescribed ports are Sydney, Newcastle, Port Kembla, Melbourne, Brisbane, Port Adelaide, Fremantle and Hobart.
(2.) In calculating the prescribed period for the purposes of the last preceding sub-regulation, any time that occurs on a Saturday, Sunday or a day observed at the prescribed port as a holiday in the Public Service of the Commonwealth under section 76 of the Public Service Act 1922-1960 shall not be counted.
Reduction and remission of fines.
17.—(1.) The prescribed circumstances in which a fine imposed on a seaman by the master of a ship may be reduced, under sub-section (8.) of section 115 of the Act, are that—
(a) a period of not less than fourteen days has passed since the date on which the breach of discipline was committed; and
(b) the conduct of the seaman on whom the fine was imposed has, in the period commencing at the time when the fine was imposed and ending at the time of his discharge, been very good.
(2.) The prescribed circumstances in which a fine imposed on a seaman by the master of a ship may be remitted, under sub-section (8.) of section 115 of the Act, are that—
(a) a period of not less than twenty-eight days has passed since the date on which the breach of discipline was committed; and
(b) the conduct of the seaman on whom the fine was imposed has, in the period commencing at the time when the fine was imposed and ending at the time of his discharge, been very good.
(3.) The prescribed manner in which the master may reduce or remit, under sub-section (8.) of section 115, a fine imposed on a seaman is by making an entry in the official log-book setting out the amount to which the fine has been reduced or the fact that the fine has been remitted, as the case may be.
Account of wages of seamen, &c., left on shore.
Entries in log-book relating to money and effects of deceased seaman or apprentice.
(a) the amount of money; and
(b) the nature and condition of the effects.
Search of ships— signal to heave to.
(a) by day—the flag signal WZ of the International Code, or the letter K of the Morse Code (— – —) communicated by long and short blasts of a whistle; and
(b) by night—the burning of a blue light or flare, followed by the letter K of the Morse Code (— – —) communicated by long and short blasts of a whistle or by lamp or torch.
Particulars, of crew.
Official log-book.
Entries In logbook— section 171 (1.).
(a) a conviction by a legal tribunal of a member of his crew, and the punishment imposed;
(b) a promotion, including the date of the promotion, the rating to which the seaman is promoted and any increase in wages consequent on that promotion;
(c) misconduct on the part of an officer;
(d) where a stowaway is discovered on board—his full name, age and birthplace, the place where he came aboard and where he is put ashore, and any proceedings taken against him and the result of those proceedings; and
(e) the events specified in section 268 of the Act.
Signatures to entries in log-book.
24.—(1.) An entry in the official log-book of a ship shall be signed at the time the entry is made—
(a) by the master; and
(b) by an officer or another member of the crew.
(2.) Where there is on board a ship’s surgeon, an entry in the official log-book relating to a death, injury or illness shall also be signed at the time the entry is made by the ship’s surgeon.
(3.) An entry in the official log-book relating to the effects of a deceased seaman or apprentice shall also be signed, at the time the entry is made, by a third person who shall be a member of the crew other than an officer.
(4.) An entry in the official log-book relating to a birth shall also be signed, as soon as practicable after the entry is made, by the father or mother of the child and, if another person was present at the birth, by that person.
Entries relating to births, deaths, &c., in log-book.
25.—(1.) For the purposes of paragraph (d) of sub-section (1.) and paragraph (b) of sub-section (2.) of section 417 of the Act, the prescribed form is Form 13.
(2.) For the purposes of sub-section (4.) of section 417 of the Act, the prescribed officer is the Secretary to the Department of Shipping and Transport.
Certificate of service as a seaman.
26.—(1.) Upon application to a Superintendent by a person who has served at sea and payment of the prescribed fee, a certificate, in accordance with Form 14, may be issued to the person.
Fees.
(2.) The prescribed fee for the purposes of the last preceding sub-regulation is—
(a) for a certificate covering one voyage—Five shillings; and
(b) for a certificate covering more than one voyage—Five shillings for the first voyage and One shilling for each other voyage.
27.—(1.) Where, upon application by the owner or master of a ship, the services of officials are provided for work in connexion with the engagement or discharge of seamen in the circumstances specified in sub-regulation (2.), (3.) or (4.) of this regulation, a fee for their services as prescribed by whichever of those sub-regulations is applicable is payable by the owner or master of the ship.
(2.) Where the work is performed on board ship during ordinary official hours, the charge is in accordance with the following table:—
(a) Engagement of Seamen.
<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width:490.3pt; margin-left:2pt; border-collapse:collapse"><tbody><tr style="height:32.9pt"><td style="width:409.75pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-right:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:1.62pt; padding-left:2pt; vertical-align:middle"><p style="text-align:center; font-size:10pt"><span>Number engaged at any one period of attendance of the officials.</span></p></td><td colspan="3" style="width:72.55pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-left:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:2pt; padding-left:1.62pt; vertical-align:middle"><p style="text-align:center; font-size:10pt"><span>Fee.</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height:12.85pt"><td style="width:409.75pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-right:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:1.62pt; padding-left:2pt; vertical-align:top"><p style="text-align:justify; font-size:11pt"><span></span></p></td><td style="width:24.15pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-left:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:2pt; padding-left:1.62pt; vertical-align:middle"><p style="text-align:center; font-size:11pt"><span>£</span></p></td><td style="width:20.35pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:2pt; padding-left:2pt; vertical-align:middle"><p style="text-align:center; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-style:italic">s.</span></p></td><td style="width:20.05pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:2pt; padding-left:2pt; vertical-align:middle"><p style="text-align:center; font-size:11pt"><span style="font-style:italic">d.</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height:9pt"><td style="width:409.75pt; border-right:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:1.62pt; padding-left:2pt; vertical-align:top"><p style="text-align:justify; font-size:11pt"><span>Not exceeding 30</span><span style="width:327.01pt; font-family:'Lucida Console', monospace; display:inline-block">.................................................</span></p></td><td style="width:24.15pt; border-left:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:2pt; padding-left:1.62pt; vertical-align:top"><p style="margin-right:7.2pt; text-align:right; font-size:11pt"><span>1</span></p></td><td style="width:20.35pt; padding-right:2pt; padding-left:2pt; vertical-align:top"><p style="margin-right:7.2pt; text-align:right; font-size:11pt"><span>10</span></p></td><td style="width:20.05pt; padding-right:2pt; padding-left:2pt; vertical-align:top"><p style="margin-right:7.2pt; text-align:right; font-size:11pt"><span>0</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height:9pt"><td style="width:409.75pt; border-right:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:1.62pt; padding-left:2pt; vertical-align:top"><p style="text-align:justify; font-size:11pt"><span>Exceeding 30 but not exceeding 60</span><span style="width:249.73pt; font-family:'Lucida Console', monospace; display:inline-block">.....................................</span></p></td><td style="width:24.15pt; border-left:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:2pt; padding-left:1.62pt; vertical-align:top"><p style="margin-right:7.2pt; text-align:right; font-size:11pt"><span>3</span></p></td><td style="width:20.35pt; padding-right:2pt; padding-left:2pt; vertical-align:top"><p style="margin-right:7.2pt; text-align:right; font-size:11pt"><span>0</span></p></td><td style="width:20.05pt; padding-right:2pt; padding-left:2pt; vertical-align:top"><p style="margin-right:7.2pt; text-align:right; font-size:11pt"><span>0</span></p></td></tr><tr style="height:19.3pt"><td style="width:409.75pt; border-right:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:1.62pt; padding-left:2pt; vertical-align:top"><p style="text-align:justify; font-size:11pt"><span>Exceeding 60</span><span style="width:344.43pt; font-family:'Lucida Console', monospace; display:inline-block">.............................................
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