295. (1) Where the Government is satisfied- (a) that the Government of any country has accepted or denounced the Safety Convention or the Load Line Convention, or (b) that the Safety Convention or the Load Line Convention extends or has ceased to extend to any territory,it may, by notification in the official Gazette, make a declaration to that effect. (2) Any declaration made in any form whatsoever to the effect mentioned in sub section (1) and in force immediately before the commencement of this Ordinance shall be deemed to have been made under that sub section.

296. (1) The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules prescribing the requirements to be complied with in respect of the hull, equipment and machinery of Bangladesh passenger ships. (2) The rules made under sub section (1) shall include such requirements as appear to the Government necessary to implement the provisions of the Safety Convention prescribing the requirements that the hull, equipment and machinery of passenger ships except so far as those provisions are implemented by the rules for life saving and fire appliances, the radio rules, the rules for direction finders, muster rules, pilot ladder rules or the Collision Regulations. (3) The powers under this section shall be in addition and without prejudice to the powers conferred by any other provisions to prescribe the requirements which the passenger ships may be required to comply with.

297. (1) Every sea going Bangladesh ship, not being a passenger ship, shall be constructed in accordance with such specifications, and shall be surveyed to such extent, in such manner and at such intervals, as may be prescribed. (2) The provisions of this section shall apply, in the same manner as they apply to a Bangladesh ship, to every other ship while she is within any port or place in Bangladesh, unless there is produced in respect of such ship-(a) a valid Safety Convention Certificate equivalent to a Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificate; or(b) two valid Safety Convention Certificates, one of which is equivalent to a Qualified Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificate and the other to a corresponding Exemption Certificate.

298. (1) The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules prescribing the requirements for the hull, equipment and machinery of ships to which section 297 applies, and the requirements of survey thereof. (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 extent of surveys and the manner in which and the intervals at which surveys are to be made;(b) the requirements as to construction, machinery and equipment;(c) the form and manner in which declarations of surveys are to be issued and transmitted and the particulars which are to be stated therein;(d) the fees that may be charged for surveys made under these rules; and(e) such other matters as may be necessary for carrying out the purposes of section 297.

299. (1) The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules prescribing the life saving appliances and fire appliances to be carried by every Bangladesh ship going to sea. (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 arranging of ships into classes, having regard to the services in which they are employed, the nature and duration of the voyage and the number of persons carried;(b) the number, description, mode of construction of the boats, life rafts, line throwing appliances, life jackets, life buoy and buoyant apparatus to be carried by ships according to the classes in which the ships are arranged;(c) the equipment to be carried by any such boats and rafts and the method to be provided to get the boats and other life saving appliances into the water, including oil for use in stormy weather;(d) the provision in ships of a proper supply of lights and smoke signals inextinguishable in water and fitted for attachment to life buoys;(e) the position and means of securing the boats, life rafts, life-jackets, life buoys and buoyant apparatus;(f ) the marking of boats, life rafts and buoyant apparatus so as to show their dimensions and the number of person authorised to be carried on them;(g) the manning of life boats and the qualifications and certificates of life-boatmen;(h) the provision to be made for mustering the persons on board and for embarking them in the boats, including provisions for the lighting of, and the means of ingress to and egress from, different parts of the ship;(i) the provision of suitable means situated outside the engine room whereby any discharge of water into the boats can be prevented;(j) the assignment of specific duties to each member of the crew in case of emergency;(k) the methods to be adopted and the appliances to be carried in ships for the prevention, detection and extinction of fire;(l) the provision in ships of plans and other information relating to the means of preventing, detecting, controlling and extinguishing outbreaks of fire;(m) the practice in ships of boat drills and fire drills;(n) the provision in ships of means of making effective distress signals by day and by night;(o) the provision in ships, engaged on voyages in which pilots are likely to be embarked, of suitable pilot ladders, and of ropes, lights and other appliances designed to make the use of such ladders safe;(p) the periodical examination and maintenance of any appliances or equipment required by any rules made under this Ordinance to be carried by ships;(q) the manner in which a notice given under sub section (2) of section 300 shall be communicated to the Collector of Customs; and(r) the charging of fees for the grant of the certificate referred to in sub-section (3) of section 300, the amount of such fees, and the manner in which they shall be recoverable.

300. (1) A Surveyor may, at any reasonable time, inspect any ship to which the provisions of sections 296, 298 and 299, apply for the purpose of seeing that the ship complies with the requirements of the rules as to life saving appliances and fire appliances. (2) If the Surveyor finds that the ship fails to comply with the aforementioned requirements, he shall give to the master or owner notice in writing pointing out in what respect the ship fails to comply with them and what in his opinion is required to be done for compliance with them. (3) Every notice so given shall be communicated in the prescribed manner to the Collector of Customs of any port or place at which the ship may seek to obtain port clearance, and the ship shall be detained until a certificate signed by the Surveyor to the effect that the ship complies with the requirements of the rules as to life saving appliances and fire appliances is produced.

301. The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules in respect of ships for which a Passenger Ship Safety Certificate is required by Part V to regulate all or any of the following matters, namely:-(a) the closing and keeping closed of openings in ships' hulls and in water tight bulkheads;(b) the securing, keeping in place and inspecting contrivances for closing any such openings as aforesaid;(c) the operation of mechanisms of contrivances for closing any such openings as aforesaid and drills in connection with the operation thereof;(d) the exhibition of plans and other information relating to the boundaries of water tight compartments, the openings therein, the means of closing such openings and the arrangements for correcting any list due to flooding; and(e) the entries to be made in the official log book or other record to be kept of any of the matters aforesaid.

302. (1) There shall be carried on board every Bangladesh ship whose keel was not laid before the first day of May, 1955, such information in writing about the ship's stability as is necessary for the guidance of the master in loading and ballasting the ship, and, in the case of a passenger ship, also in maintaining sufficient stability to enable the ship to withstand damage. (2) The aforesaid information shall be in such form as may be approved by the Government and shall be based on the determination of the ship's stability by means of an inclining test of the ship: Provided that the Government may allow the information to be based on a similar determination of the stability of a sister ship: Provided further that in the case of a ship specifically designed for the carriage of liquids or ore in bulk, or, of any class of such ships, the Government may allow the inclining test to be dispensed with if it is satisfied from the information available in respect of similar ships that the ship's proportions and arrangements are such as to ensure more than sufficient stability in all probable loading conditions. (3) Whenever the accuracy of the information provided under sub section (1) is materially affected by alterations made to the ship, such information shall be replaced by fresh information of the nature specified in that sub section; and, in any such case, the Government may require a fresh inclining test of the ship. (4) When any information under this section is provided for any ship, the owner shall send, for approval, two copies thereof to such officer as may be authorised by the Government in this behalf who shall, after endorsing them, send a copy to the owner and retain the other for his record. (5) If any such ship proceeds or attempts to proceed to sea without having on board such information as aforesaid, the owner or the master of the ship shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five thousand Taka.

303. (1) Every sea going Bangladesh passenger ship of whatever tonnage and every other Bangladesh ship of sixteen hundred tons gross or upwards shall be provided with a radio telegraph apparatus, and every Bangladesh ship of three hundred tons gross or upwards but under sixteen hundred tons gross shall be provided with either a radio telegraph apparatus or a radio telephone apparatus: Provided that the Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, exempt from the operation of this section any ship or class of ships, if it is of opinion that, having regard to the nature of the voyages on which the ship or ships are engaged, or other circumstances of the case, the provision of a radio telegraph apparatus or a radio telephone apparatus, as the case may be, is unnecessary or unreasonable. (2) The master or owner of any such ship in respect of which the provisions of sub section (1) are not complied with shall be punishable with fine which may extend to twenty thousand Taka.

304. (1) Every Bangladesh ship of sixteen hundred tons gross and upwards shall be provided with a radio direction finding apparatus: Provided that the Government may exempt from the operation of this section any ship of less than three thousand five hundred tons gross, not being a passenger ship, if it is of opinion that, having regard to the nature of the voyages on which the ship is engaged, the provision of a radio direction finding apparatus is unnecessary or unreasonable. (2) The master or owner of any such ship in respect of which the provisions of sub section (1) are not complied with shall be punishable with fine which may extend to twenty thousand Taka.

305. (1) Every ship compulsorily equipped under the provisions of section 303 with radio installation shall maintain in the radio room a radio log in which shall be entered such particulars relating to the operation of the radio installation and the maintenance of the radio service as may be prescribed. (2) The provisions of section 381 shall apply to the radio log kept under sub-section (1) as if it were an official log book.

306. (1) A Radio Inspector may inspect any ship for the purpose of seeing that she is properly provided with radio installation and certificated Radio Officers in conformity with this Chapter, and for this purpose may go on board any ship at all reasonable times and do all things necessary for such inspection and may also require the master of the ship to supply him with any information which it is in the power of the master to supply for the purposes of the provisions of this Chapter relating to radio installation and radio service, including the production of any certificate granted under this Part in respect of the installation and of the certificates of the Radio Officers on the ship: Provided that if a valid Safety Convention Certificate is produced in respect of any ship such Certificate shall be accepted unless there are clear grounds for believing that the condition of the ship or its equipment does not correspond substantially with the particulars of that Certificate. (2) If a Radio Inspector finds that a ship is not so provided, he shall give to the master or owner notice in writing pointing out the deficiency, and also pointing out what in his opinion is requisite to remedy the same. (3) Every notice given under sub section (2) shall be communicated, in the prescribed manner, to the Collector of Customs of any port or place at which the ship may seek to obtain port clearance; and the Collector of Customs to whom a notice is so communicated shall order that the ship be detained until a certificate under the hand of a Radio Inspector is produced to the effect that the ship is properly provided with radio installation and certificated Radio Officers in conformity with this Chapter. (4) The provisions of this section shall apply in relation to such portable radio apparatus as boats or life rafts may be required to carry by rules made under section 299 as they apply in relation to radio installation of a ship.

307. The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to ships other than Bangladesh ships while such ships are in any port or place in Bangladesh in the same manner as they apply to Bangladesh ships.

308. (1) The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules to carry out the purposes of this Chapter. (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 nature of the radio installation to be provided and of the radio service to be maintained, the form of the radio log and the particulars to be entered therein, and the number, grades and qualifications of certificated Radio Officers to be carried; (b) the requirements for such portable radio apparatus as boats and life rafts may be required to carry by the rules made under section 299; (c) the manner in which a notice given under sub section (2) of section 306 shall be communicated to the Collector of Customs; (d) the charging of fees for the grant of the certificate referred to in sub-section (3) of section 306, the amount of such fees and the manner in which they shall be recoverable.

309. (1) Upon the receipt of a declaration of survey granted under Part V in respect of a passenger ship for which a Passenger Ship Safety Certificate is required by that Part, the Government shall, if it is satisfied-(a) that the ship complies fully with the requirements of the rules made under section 296 and with the provisions of this Ordinance and the rules made under sections 299 and 308 applicable to such ship and is properly provided with lights, shapes and means of making fog signals required by the Collision Regulations, cause Passenger Ship Safety Certificate to be prepared under section 247 in respect of the ship, or(b) that there is in force in respect of the ship an Exemption Certificate granted under section 313 and that the ship complies with all the requirements of clause (a) other than those from which the ship is exempt under that Certificate, cause a Qualified Passenger Ship Safety Certificate to be prepared in respect of the ship, and the same to be delivered to the owner or master of the ship through the Principal Officer or such other officer as the Government may appoint in this behalf. (2) The Passenger Ship Safety Certificate shall be in the form to be prescribed under section 259 and shall state that the ship complies with the requirements of the Safety Convention. (3) The Qualified Passenger Ship Safety Certificate shall be in the prescribed form and shall state in what respects the ship complies with the requirements of the Safety convention.

310. (1) If the Government is satisfied in respect of Bangladesh ship other than a passenger ship that the ship complies with the requirements of the rules made under section 299 applicable to such ship, and that the ship is properly provided with lights, shapes and means of making fog signals required by the Collision Regulations, the Government shall, on an application by the owner or master of the ship, cause to be issued- (a) if the ship complies fully with the aforesaid requirements, a Cargo Ship Safety Equipment Certificate; and (b) if there is in force in respect of the ship an Exemption Certificate granted under section 313 and if the ship complies with all the aforesaid requirements other than those from which the ship is exempt under that Certificate and is properly provided with lights, shapes and means of making fog signals required by the Collision Regulations, a Qualified Cargo Ship Safety Equipment Certificate. (2) The Cargo Ship Safety Equipment Certificate shall be in the prescribed form and shall state that the ship complies with all the requirements of the Safety Convention as to equipment and that she is provided with lights and means of making fog signals as required by the Collision Regulations. (3) The Qualified Cargo Ship Safety Equipment Certificate shall be in the prescribed form and shall state in what respects the ship complies with the requirements of the Safety Convention as to equipment and that the ship is provided with lights, shapes and means of making fog signals required by the Collision Regulations.

311. (1) If the Government is satisfied in respect of a Bangladesh ship, other than a passenger ship, which is required by the provisions of section 303 to be provided with radio installation and which is intended to ply on voyages from or to any port or place in Bangladesh to or from any port or place outside Bangladesh that the ship complies with all the provisions as to radio installation and radio service applicable to such ship under Chapter 22, the Government shall, on an application by the owner or master of the ship, cause to be issued through the Principal Officer or such other officer as it may appoint in this behalf-(a) if the ship is provided with radio telegraph equipment, a Cargo Ship Safety Radio telegraphy Certificate;(b) if the ship is provided with radio telephone equipment, a Cargo Ship Safety Radio telephony Certificate; or(c) if there is in force in respect of the ship referred to in clause (a), an Exemption Certificate granted under section 313 and if the ship complies with all the aforesaid requirements other than those from which the ship is exempt under that Certificate, a Qualified Cargo Ship Safety Radio telegraphy Certificate. (2) The Cargo Ship Safety Radio telegraphy Certificate shall be in the prescribed form and shall state that the ship complies with such of the requirements of the Safety Convention as to radio telegraphy and radio direction-finding equipment as are applicable to the ship. (3) The Cargo Ship Safety Radio telephony Certificate shall be in the prescribed form and shall state that the ship complies with the requirements of the Safety Convention as to radio telephone equipment and radio service. (4) The Qualified Cargo Ship Safety Radio telegraphy Certificate shall be in the prescribed form and shall state in what respect the ship complies with requirements of the Safety Convention as to radio installation.

312. (1) If the Government or a person authorised by it in this behalf is satisfied, on receipt of a declaration survey in respect of a Bangladesh ship to which section 297 applies that the ship complies with all the provisions of the rules made under section 298 and applicable to such ship and to such voyages as she is to be engaged on, the Government or such person shall, on the application of the owner, cause to be issued in respect of the ship-(a) if the ship is of not less than five hundred tons gross, a Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificate, and in any other case, a certificate showing that she complies with the said rules; or(b) if there is in force in respect of the ship an Exemption Certificate granted under section 313 and the ship complies with the aforesaid requirements other than those from which the ship is exempt under that Certificate, a Qualified Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificate. (2) The Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificate shall be in the prescribed form and shall state that the ship complies with such of the requirements of the Safety Convention as to hull, equipment and machinery as are applicable to the ship. (3) The Qualified Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificate shall be in the prescribed form and shall state in what respects the ship complies with the requirements of the safety Convention as to hull, equipment and machinery.

313. The Principal Officer or an officer authorised by the Government in this behalf shall, on an application by the owner or master of any Bangladesh ship in regard to which the Government has made an order of exemption under the proviso to sub section (1) of section 303 or under the proviso to sub section (1) of section 304 or which is exempt from any of the provisions of the rules made under sections 296, 298, 299 or 308 issue in the prescribed form an Exemption Certificate in respect of such ship.

314. (1) A Passenger Ship Safety Certificate, a Cargo Ship Safety Radio telegraphy Certificate, a Cargo Ship Safety Radio-telephony Certificate or an Exemption Certificate stating that a ship is wholly exempt from the provision of the Safety Convention relating to radio installation shall be in force for one year, and a Cargo Ship Safety Equipment Certificate shall be in force for two years, and a Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificate shall be in force for five years, from the date of issue, or for such shorter period as may be specified in the Certificate: Provided that the Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, authorise the issue of a Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificate to remain in force for a period not exceeding six years. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub section (1), no Certificate shall remain in force after notice is given by the authority issuing the certificate to the owner or master of the ship in respect of which it has been issued that, that authority has cancelled or suspended the Certificate. (3) An Exemption Certificate issued in respect of a ship other than a certificate stating that the ship is wholly exempt from the provisions of the Safety Convention relating to radio installation, shall be in force for the same period as the Qualified Passenger Ship Safety Certificate, the Qualified CargoShip Safety Equipment Certificate or the Qualified Cargo Ship Safety Radio telegraphy Certificate or the Qualified Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificate issued in respect of the ship. (4) The Government, or any person authorised by it in this behalf, may grant an extension of any Certificate issued under this Chapter in respect of a Bangladesh ship for a period not exceeding one month from the date on which the Certificate would, but for such extension, have expired, or, if the ship is absent from Bangladesh on that date, for a period not exceeding five months from that date. (5) Without prejudice to the powers of extension conferred by sub section (4), where a Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificate is in force in respect of a ship and the Certificate was issued for a period shorter than five years, the Government or any person authorised by it for the purpose may, if satisfied on receipt of a declaration of survey in respect of the ship that it is proper to do so, grant on extension of the certificate for a period not exceeding one year, and not exceeding, together with the period for which it was issued and any period by which it was previously extended under this sub section, the longest period for which it could have been issued in pursuance of a notification under the proviso to sub section (1).

315. If the ship, in respect of which a Passenger Ship Safety Certificate is in force, or a Special Trade Passenger Ship Certificate and Special Trade Passenger Ship Space Certificate together with a Passenger Ship Safety Certificate are in force, has on board in the course of a particular voyage a total number of persons which is less than the number for which life saving appliances on the ship provide and less than the number stated in the Special Trade Passenger Ship Space Certificate, the owner or master of the ship may obtain from the authority who issued the certificate a memorandum to be attached to the Special Trade Passenger Ship Certificate or the Passenger Ship Safety Certificate stating the total number of persons carried on the ship on that voyage and the modifications which may be made for the purpose of that voyage in the particulars with respect to life saving appliances stated in the relevant certificate.

316. (1) For the purpose of the provisions of this Ordinance, the expression “a valid Safety Convention Certificate” means a Certificate or Certificates complying with such of the rules made under sub section (4) as are applicable in the circumstances. (2) Where there is produced in respect of any ship other than a Bangladesh ship a valid Convention Certificate, such Certificate shall, subject to the rules referred to in sub section (4), be accepted as having the same force as the corresponding Certificate issued in respect of a Bangladesh ship. (3) Where a valid Safety Convention Certificate is produced in respect of a passenger ship other than a Bangladesh ship and there is attached to the Certificate a memorandum which-(a) has been issued by or under the authority of the Government of the country to which the ship belongs, and(b) modifies, for the purpose of any particular voyage, in view of the number of persons carried on that voyage, the particulars stated in the certificates with respect to life saving appliances, the certificate shall have effect for the purpose of that voyage as if it were modified in accordance with the memorandum. (4) With a view to determining the validity in Bangladesh of certificates purporting to have been issued in accordance with the Safety Convention in respect of ships other than Bangladesh ships, the Government shall make such rules as appear to it to be necessary.

317. The Government may, at the request of the Government of a country to which the Safety Convention applies, cause an appropriate Safety Convention Certificate to be issued in respect of a ship of that country if it is satisfied in like manner as in the case of a Bangladesh ship that such Certificate can properly be issued, and, where a Certificate is issued at such a request, it shall contain a statement that it has been issued at such request.

318. (1) The Government may request the Government of a country to which the Safety Convention applies to issue in respect of a Bangladesh ship any Certificate, the issue of which is authorised under this Chapter, and a Certificate issued in pursuance of such a request and containing a statement that it has been so issued shall have effect for purposes of this Ordinance as if it had been issued by the Government. (2) Where the Government requests the Government of a country to issue any such certificate as aforesaid, and that Government is willing to issue, in pursuance of that request, an appropriate Qualified Certificate, but is not willing to issue the corresponding Exemption Certificate, the Government may issue that Exemption Certificate.

319. (1) No Bangladesh passenger ship shall proceed to sea, except on voyages between ports or places situated within Bangladesh, unless there is in force in respect of the ship either-(a) a Passenger Ship Safety Certificate issued under section 309, or(b) a Qualified Passenger Ship Safety Certificate issued under that section and Exemption Certificate issued under section 313,being a certificate or certificates which by the terms thereof is or are applicable to the voyage on which the ship is about to proceed and to the trade in which she is for the time being engaged. (2) No sea going Bangladesh ship of five hundred tons gross or upwards other than a passenger ship shall proceed to sea, except on voyages between ports or places situated within Bangladesh, unless there is in force in respect of the ship-(a) such certificate or certificates as would be required in her case by the provisions of sub section (1) if she were a passenger ship, or(b) such certificates as are required in her case by the provisions of sections 310, 311, 312 and 313,being a certificate or certificates which by the terms thereof is or are applicable to the voyage on which the ship is about to proceed and to the trade in which she is for the time being engaged. (3) No sea going ship as aforesaid, being of less than five hundred but not less than three hundred tons gross, shall proceed to sea, except on voyages between ports or places situated within Bangladesh, unless there are in force in respect of the ship such certificates as are required in her case by the provisions of sections 311 and 313, being certificates which by the terms thereof, are applicable to the voyage on which the ship is about to proceed and to the trade in which she is for the time being engaged. (4) No Bangladesh ship shall proceed on any voyage between ports or places situated within Bangladesh unless there is in force in respect of the ship such certificate or certificates as may be prescribed being a certificate or certificates which by the terms thereof is or are applicable to the voyage on which the ship is about to proceed and to the trade in which she is for the time being engaged. (5) The master of every ship to which this section applies shall produce, to the Collector of Customs from whom a port clearance for the ship is sought, the certificate or certificates required by the foregoing provisions of this section to be in force when the ship proceeds to sea, and port clearance shall not be granted and the ship may be detained until the said certificate or certificates are so produced. (6) If any ship to which this section applies proceeds or attempts to proceed to sea in contravention of any of the foregoing provisions of this section, the master or owner shall, without prejudice to any other liability under this Ordinance, for each offence, be punishable, in the case of a passenger ship, with fine which may extend to twenty thousand Taka and, in the case of any other ship, with fine which may extend to fifteen thousand Taka. (7) Where an Exemption Certificate issued under section 313 in respect of any ship to which this section applies specifies any conditions on which the Certificate is issued and any of those conditions is contravened, the master or owner of the ship shall, for each offence, be punishable with fine which may extend to ten thousand Taka.

320. The Government may, by order in writing, authorise any person to perform all or any of the functions assigned to it by sections 309, 310, 311, 312 and 317 in respect of any ship or class of ships.

321. (1) The master of every ship other than a Bangladesh ship, being a passenger ship or being any other ship of five hundred tons gross or upwards, belonging to a country to which the Safety Convention applies, shall produce a valid Safety Convention Certificate to the Collector of Customs from whom a port clearance for the ship is sought in respect of a voyage from a port or place in Bangladesh to a port or place outside Bangladesh, and port clearance shall not be granted and the ship may be detained until such a certificate is so produced. (2) Where any such ship, other than a passenger ship, as is referred to in sub-section (1), is of less than five hundred but not less than three hundred tons gross, the master shall be required to produce only a valid Safety Convention Certificate equivalent to those issued under section 311 and the other provisions of sub section (1) shall apply accordingly. (3) Where a valid Safety Convention Certificate is produced in respect of a ship other than a Bangladesh ship, the ship shall not be deemed to be unsafe for the purposes of section 359, by reason of the defective condition of her hull, equipment or machinery unless it appears that the ship cannot proceed to sea without danger to the passengers or crew owing to the fact that the actual condition of the ship does not correspond substantially with the particulars stated in the certificate.

322. The provisions of sections 251, 252, 253 and 254, shall apply to and in relation to every certificate issued under sections 309, 310, 311, 312 and 313 and under sub section (4) of section 319, in the same manner as they apply to and in relation to a Passenger Ship Safety Certificate.

323. (1) The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules to carry out the purposes of this Chapter. (2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may prescribe the form of the Certificates referred to in sections 309, 310, 311, 312 and 313 and in sub section (4) of section 319, the charging of fees for the grant of such Certificates, the amount of such fees, and the manner in which they shall be recoverable.

324. (1) The Government may, on such conditions, not inconsistent with the rules made under section 325, as it may think fit, exempt from the provisions of this Chapter- (a) any ship plying between the near neighbouring ports of two or more countries if the Government and the Governments of those countries are satisfied that the sheltered nature and conditions of the voyages between those ports make it unreasonable or impracticable to apply such provisions to ships so plying; (b) any ship plying between near neighbouring ports of the same country if the Government is satisfied as aforesaid; (c) any Bangladesh ship of less than 150 tons gross, the keel of which was laid before the commencement of this Chapter, or any Bangladesh ship less than 79 feet (24 metres) in length, the keel of which was laid after such commencement; (d) any Bangladesh ship, other than a ship referred to in clause (c), which normally plies between ports within Bangladesh but which is in exceptional circumstances, required to undertake a single voyage between a port in Bangladesh and a port outside Bangladesh; and (e) any Bangladesh ship of not less than 150 tons gross, the keel of which was laid before the commencement of this Chapter, or any Bangladesh ship not less than 79 feet (24 metres) in length, the keel of which was laid after such commencement, if in the opinion of the Government, that ship embodies features such that, if such ship had to comply with all the requirements of this Chapter relating to load lines and the rules made under section 325, the development of these features might be seriously impeded. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section or in the rules made under section 325, the Government may, by order, exempt a ship under 80 tons register engaged solely in the coasting trade or class of any such ships as may be specified in the order from the provision of this Chapter.

325. (1) The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules, hereinafter referred to as the “Load Line Rules”, to carry out the purposes of this Chapter. (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) survey and periodical inspection of ships;(b) determination of free board deck in relation to any ship and marking on each side of the ship to indicate the position of that deck by a mark, hereinafter referred to as a “deck line”;(c) determination in relation to a ship, by reference to her deck line and free boards, of the position in which each side of the ship is to be marked with lines, hereinafter referred to as “load lines”, to indicate the maximum depths to which the ship may be loaded in various circumstances;(d) conditions, hereinafter referred to as the “conditions of assignment”, on which load lines may be assigned; (e) requirements, relevant to the assignment of free boards, in respect of hull, superstructures, fittings and appliances;(f ) particulars to be recorded in relation to matters referred to in clauses (d) and (e) and the manner in which they shall be recorded;(g) the circumstances in which a ship, during the continuance of the assignment of free boards assigned to her, if any, shall be deemed, for the purposes of the provisions of this Chapter, to comply with the conditions of assignment;(h) the form in which an International Load Line Certificate, a Bangladesh Load Line Certificate, an International Load Line Exemption Certificate and a Bangladesh Load Line Exemption Certificate shall be issued;(i) the period during which an exemption certificate shall remain in force;(j) the extension and termination of the period for which an exemption certificate was issued;(k) the manner in which endorsements relating to periodical inspection of a ship or to an extension of the period for which an exemption certificate was issued shall be made on the certificate; and(l) the fees payable for the issue or extension of a certificate referred to in clause (h) and the rates according to which the fees payable in respect of the surveys and periodical inspections shall be calculated. (3) The load line rules shall also include provisions requiring such information relating to the stability of any ship to which free boards are assigned thereunder, and such information relating to the loading and ballasting of any such ship, as may be determined in accordance with the rules to be provided for the guidance of the master of the ship in such manner as may be so determined.

326. (1) No Bangladesh ship, being a ship, the keel of which is laid after the commencement of this Chapter and not being exempt from the provisions of this Chapter, shall proceed to sea unless-(a) she has been surveyed in accordance with the Load Line Rules;(b) she complies with the conditions of assignment; and(c) she is marked with a deck line and with load lines in accordance with the Load Line Rules. (2) No Bangladesh ship, being a ship of which the keel was laid before the commencement of this Chapter and not being exempt from the provisions of this Chapter, shall proceed to sea unless-(a) she has been surveyed in accordance with the Load Line Rules or the corresponding rules in force immediately before such commencement;(b) she complies with the conditions of assignment or with such lesser related requirements as were applicable to her immediately before such commencement; and(c) she is marked with a deck line and with load lines in accordance with the Load Line Rules and the deck line and load lines have been marked in the position required by the rules in force immediately before such commencement. (3) If any ship proceeds or attempts to proceed to sea in contravention of this section the master and owner thereof shall, for each offence, be punishable with fine which may extend to twenty thousand Taka. (4) Any ship attempting to proceed to sea without being surveyed and marked as required by this section may be detained until she has been so surveyed and marked, and any ship which does not comply with the conditions of assignment to the extent required in her case shall be deemed to be unsafe for the purpose of section 353.

327. A Bangladesh ship, not being exempt from the provisions of this Chapter, shall not be so loaded that the appropriate load line on each side of the ship, that is to say, the load line indicating or purporting to indicate the maximum depth to which the ship is for the time being entitled under the Load Line Rules to be loaded, is submerged if the ship is in salt water and has no list or would be submerged if the ship were in salt water and has no list.

328. Where a Bangladesh passenger ship has been marked with sub division load line, that is to say, load lines indicating the depth to which the ship may be loaded having regard to the extent to which the ship is sub divided and the space for the time being allotted to passengers, and when the appropriate sub division load line, that is to say, the sub division load line appropriate to the space for the time being allotted to passengers on the ship, is lower than the load line indicating the maximum depth to which this ship is for the time being entitled under the provisions of this Chapter to be loaded, the ship shall not be so loaded that the appropriate sub division load line on each side of the ship is submerged if the ship is in salt water and has no list or would be submerged if the ship were in salt water and had no list.

329. (1) If any ship is loaded in contravention of section 327 or section 328, the owner and master thereof shall, for each offence, be punishable with fine which may extend to twenty thousand Taka, and with such additional fine not exceeding the amount mentioned in sub section (2), as the Court thinks fit to impose having regard to the extent to which the earning capacity of the ship was, or would have been, increased by reason of the submersion: Provided that it shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under this sub section to prove that the contravention was due solely to deviation or delay was caused solely by stress of weather or other circumstances which neither the master nor the owner nor the charterer, if any, could have prevented or forestalled. (2) The aforesaid additional fine shall not exceed ten thousand Taka for every inch or fraction of an inch by which the appropriate load line or sub-division load line, as the case may be, on each side of the ship was submerged, or would have been submerged if the ship had been in salt water and had no list. (3) Without prejudice to any proceedings under the foregoing provisions of this section, any ship which is loaded in contravention of section 327 or section 328 may be detained until the ship ceases to be so loaded.

330. If- (a) the owner or master of a Bangladesh ship which has been marked in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this Chapter, fails, without reasonable cause, to keep the ship so marked; or (b) any person conceals, removes, alters, defaces or obliterates, or suffers any person under his control to conceal, remove, alter, deface or obliterate any mark placed on any such ship in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this Chapter, except with the authority of a person entitled under the Load Line Rules to authorise the alteration of the mark, or except for the purpose of escaping capture by an enemy or by a foreign man of war in the exercise of some belligerent right; he shall, for each offence, be punishable with fine which may extend to fifteen thousand Taka.

331. Any Surveyor authorised in this behalf by the Government may inspect any Bangladesh ship for the purpose of seeing that the provisions of this Chapter have been complied with, and for this purpose may go on board the ship at all reasonable times and do all things necessary for the proper inspection of the ship and may also require the master of the ship to supply him with any information which it is in the power of the master to supply for that purpose, including the production of any certificate granted under this Part in respect of the ship.

332. (1) Where a Bangladesh ship has been surveyed and marked in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 24 and complies with the conditions of assignment to the extent required in her case by those provisions, there shall be issued to the owner of the ship on his application and on payment of the prescribed fee- (a) in the case of a ship of not less than 150 tons gross, the keel of which was laid before the commencement of this Chapter, and in the case of a ship not less than 79 feet (24 metres) in length, the keel of which was laid after such commencement, a certificate to be called an International Load Line Certificate; and (b) in the case of any other ship, a certificate to be called a Bangladesh Load Line Certificate: Provided that no certificate under this sub section shall be issued in respect of a ship before the expiry of the similar certificate last issued. (2) Every such certificate shall be issued either by the Government or by a person authorised by it in this behalf and shall be in such form and manner as may be prescribed by the Load Line Rules. (3) The Government may request the Government of a country to which the Load Line Convention applies, to issue a certificate in the form of an International Load Line Certificate under that Convention in respect of a Bangladesh Ship, and a certificate issued in pursuance of such a request and containing a statement that it has been so issued shall have effect for the purposes of this Chapter as if it had been issued by the Government. (4) Where in respect of a ship, a certificate issued under sub section (3) and for the time being in force is produced- (a) the ship shall be deemed to have been surveyed in accordance with the Load Line Rules; and (b) if lines are marked on the ship corresponding in number and description to the deck line and load lines as required by the Load Line Rules and the position of those lines so marked corresponds with the position of the deck line and load lines specified in the certificate, the ship shall be deemed to be marked as required by those Rules. (5) Every Load Line Certificate issued by or under the authority of the Government shall, unless it is extended in accordance with the provisions of sub section (6), expire at the end of such period, not exceeding five years from the date of its issue, as may be specified therein. (6) Any such Load Line Certificate may, after a survey not less effective than the survey required by the Load Line Rules before the issue of the certificate, be extended by the Government or by a person authorised by it to issue a Load Line Certificate, for such period not exceeding five months as the Government or the person extending the certificate thinks fit: Provided that no certificate in respect of a ship shall be extended if there have been such alterations in the structure, equipment, arrangements, materials or scantlings as affect the free board originally assigned to the ship. (7) An extension of a certificate under sub section (6) shall be endorsed on the certificate in the manner provided by the Load Line Rules. (8) The Government may cancel any such Load Line Certificate in force in respect of a ship if it has reason to believe that- (a) material alterations have taken place in the hull or superstructures of the ship which affect the position of the load lines; or (b) the fittings and appliances for the protection of openings, the guard rails, the freeing ports or the means of access to the crew's quarters have not been maintained on the ship in as effective a condition as they were when the certificate was issued; or (c) the markings of the deck line and load line on the ship have not been properly maintained. (9) The owner of a ship in respect of which any such certificate has been issued shall, so long as the certificate remains in force, cause the ship to be periodically inspected in such manner and at such intervals as may be prescribed by the Load Line Rules; and, if the ship is not caused to be so inspected, the Government shall cancel the certificate. (10) Where any such Load Line Certificate has expired or been cancelled, the Government may require the owner or master of the ship to which the certificate relates, to deliver up the certificate to such authority as it directs, and the ship may be detained until such requirement has been complied with, and if the owner or master fails, without reasonable cause, to comply with such requirement, he shall, for each offence, be punishable with fine which may extend to five thousand Taka. (11) On the survey of any ship in pursuance of this section there shall be paid by the owner of the ship such fee as may be prescribed.

333. (1) Where an exemption is granted under section 324 to a Bangladesh ship, there shall be issued to the owner of the ship, on payment of the prescribed fee,- (a) in the case of a ship referred to in clause (a), (d) or (e) of sub section (1) of that section, an exemption certificate to be called an International Load Line Exemption Certificate, and (b) in the case of any other ship, an exemption certificate to be called a Bangladesh Load Line Exemption Certificate. (2) An exemption certificate under sub section (1) shall be issued by the Government or an officer authorised by it in this behalf in such form and manner and shall remain in force for such period as may be prescribed. (3) The owner of a ship in respect of which any such exemption certificate is issued shall, so long as the certificate remains in force, cause the ship to be periodically inspected in such manner and at such intervals as may be prescribed. (4) The Government shall cancel any such exemption certificate if the ship in respect of which it was issued is not caused to be inspected as required by sub-section (3) or if any of the conditions on which the exemption was granted under section 324 has been violated or if the exemption has ceased to be in force. (5) Where any such exemption certificate in respect of a ship has ceased to be in force or been cancelled or been withdrawn, the owner or master shall deliver up the certificate to the Government; and the ship may be detained until the certificate is so delivered up. (6) The owner or master of a ship, if he fails, without reasonable cause, to deliver up the exemption certificate as required by sub section (5), shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five thousand Taka.

334. (1) No Bangladesh ship, except a ship exempt by an order under sub section (2) of section 324 from the provisions of this Chapter, shall proceed to sea unless there is in force in respect of the ship a Load Line Certificate issued under section 332 or a Load Line Exemption Certificate issued under section 333. (2) The master of every Bangladesh ship shall produce to the Collector of Customs, from whom a port clearance for the ship is sought, the certificate which is required by sub section (1) to be in force when the ship proceeds to sea, and port clearance shall not be granted, and the ship may be detained, until that certificate is so produced. (3) The master of any ship which proceeds or attempts to proceed to sea in contravention of this section shall, for each offence, be punishable with fine which may extend to twenty thousand Taka.

335. (1) When a Load Line Certificate has been issued in pursuance of the foregoing provisions of this Chapter in respect of a Bangladesh ship, other than a home trade ship, not exceeding two hundred tons gross-(a) the owner of the ship shall forthwith on receipt of the certificate cause it to be framed and posted up in some conspicuous place on board the ship, and to be kept so framed and posted up and legible so long as the certificate remains in force and the ship is in use; and(b) the master of the ship, before making any other entry in any official log book, shall enter or cause to be entered therein the particulars as to the position of the deck line and load lines specified in the certificate. (2) Before any such ship leaves any dock, wharf, harbour or other place for the purpose of proceeding to sea, the master thereof shall-(a) enter or cause to be entered in the official log book such particulars relating to the depth to which the ship is for the time being loaded, as the Government may, by rules made in this behalf, prescribe; and(b) cause a notice, in such form and containing such of the said particulars as may be required by the said rules, to be posted up in some conspicuous place on board the ship and to be kept so posted up and legible until the ship arrives at some other dock, wharf, harbour or place:Provided that the Government may by the said rules exempt home trade ships or any class of home trade ships from the requirements of clause (b). (3) If the owner or master of any ship fails to comply with the provisions of this section, he shall, for each offence, be punishable with fine which may extend to five thousand Taka.

336. (1) Before an agreement with the crew of any ship, in respect of which a Load Line Certificate is in force, is signed by any member of the crew, the master of the ship shall insert in the agreement the particulars as to the position of the deck line and load lines specified in the certificate, and if he fails to do so, he shall, for each offence, be punishable with fine which may extend to five thousand Taka. (2) In the case of a ship required by this Ordinance to engage its crew before a Shipping Master, the Shipping Master shall not proceed with the engagement of the crew until-(a) there is produced to him a Load Line Certificate for the time being in force in respect of the ship; and(b) he is satisfied that the particulars required by this section have been inserted in the agreement with the crew.than Bangladesh ships, the Government shall make such rules as appear to it to be necessary.

337. (1) The Government may, at the request of a country to which the Load Line Convention applies, issue an International Load Line Certificate in respect of a ship of that country if it is satisfied in like manner as in the case of a Bangladesh ship that it can properly issue the certificate, and where a certificate is issued at such a request, it shall contain a statement that it has been so issued. (2) An International Load Line Certificate issued in respect of any ship other than a Bangladesh ship by the Government of the country to which the ship belongs shall, subject to the rules referred to in sub section (3), have the same effect in Bangladesh as a Load Line Certificate issued in respect of a Bangladesh ship under this Part. (3) With a view to determining the validity in Bangladesh of certificate purporting to have been issued in accordance with the Load Line Convention in respect of ships other than Bangladesh ships, the Government shall make such rules as appear to it to be necessary.

338. (1) Any Surveyor authorised in this behalf by the Government may, at any reasonable time, go on board any ship other than a Bangladesh ship belonging to a country to which the Load Line Convention applies, being a ship of 150 tons gross or upwards, the keel of which was laid before the commencement of this Chapter, or a ship not less than 79 feet (24 metres) in length, the keel of which was laid after such commencement, when such ship is within any port or place in Bangladesh, for the purpose of demanding the production of any Load Line Certificate for the time being in force in respect of the ship. (2) If a valid International Load Line Certificate is produced to the Surveyor on such demand, the Surveyor's powers of inspecting the ship with respect to load line shall be limited to seeing-(a) that the ship is not loaded beyond the limits allowed by the certificate;(b) that the position of the load lines on the ship corresponds with the position specified in the certificate;(c) that no material alterations have taken place in the hull or superstructures of the ship which affect the position of the load lines;(d) that the fittings and appliances for the protection of openings, the guard rails, the freeing ports and the means of access to the crews' quarters have been maintained on the ship in as effective a condition as they were when the certificate was issued. (3) If it is found on any such inspection that the ship is loaded beyond the limits allowed by the certificate, the ship may be detained and the provisions of section 359 shall apply. (4) If it is found on any such inspection that the load lines on the ship are not in the position specified in the certificate, the ship may be detained until the matter has been rectified to the satisfaction of the Surveyor. (5) If it is found on any such inspection that the ship has been so materially altered in respect of the matters referred to in clauses (c) and (d) of sub section (2) that the ship is manifestly unfit to proceed to sea without danger to human life, the ship shall be deemed to be unsafe for the purpose of section 359: Provided that where the ship has been detained, the Government shall order the ship to be released as soon as it is satisfied that the ship is fit to proceed to sea without danger to human life. (6) If a valid International Load Line Certificate is not produced to the Surveyor on such demand as aforesaid, the Surveyor shall have the same power of inspecting the ship, for the purpose of seeing that the provisions of this Part relating to load lines have been complied with, as if the ship were a Bangladesh ship. (7) For the purposes of this section, a ship shall be deemed to be loaded beyond the limits allowed by the certificate if she is so loaded as to submerge in salt water, when the ship has no list, the appropriate load line on each side of the ship, that is to say, the load line appearing by the certificate to indicate the maximum depth to which the ship is for the time being entitled under the Load Line Convention to be loaded.

339. The master of every ship other than a Bangladesh ship belonging to a country to which the Load Line Convention applies, being a ship of 150 tons gross or upwards, the keel of which was laid before the commencement of this Chapter, or a ship not less than 79 feet (24 metres) in length, the keel of which was laid after such commencement, shall produce to the Collector of Customs from whom a port clearance for the ship is sought-(a) in a case where port clearance is sought in respect of a voyage to a port or place outside Bangladesh, a valid International Load Line Certificate or a valid International Load Line Exemption Certificate; and(b) in a case where port clearance is sought in respect of any other voyage, a valid International Load Line Certificate or International Load Line Exemption Certificate or a valid Bangladesh Load Line Certificate or Bangladesh Load Line Exemption Certificate and port clearance shall not be granted and the ship may be detained until the certificate is so produced.

340. The provisions of section 326 shall apply to ships other than Bangladesh ships proceeding or attempting to proceed to sea from ports or places in Bangladesh as they apply to Bangladesh ships subject to the following modifications, (a) the said section shall not apply if a valid International Load Line Certificate or a valid International Load Line Exemption Certificate is produced in respect of the ship, and(b) subject to the provisions of clause (a), a ship which does not comply with the conditions of assignment to the extent required in her case by section 326 shall be deemed to be unsafe for the purpose of section 359.

341. The provisions of sections 327, 328 and 329 shall apply to ships other than Bangladesh ships while they are within any port or place in Bangladesh as they apply to Bangladesh ships subject to the following modifications, namely:-

(a) no ship belonging to a country to which the Load Line Convention applies being a ship of 150 tons gross or upwards, the keel of which was laid before the commencement of this Chapter or a ship not less than 79 feet (24 metres) in length, the keel of which was laid after such commencement, shall be detained, and no proceedings shall be taken against the owner or master thereof, by virtue of this said section except after an inspection by a Surveyor as provided by section 338; and

(b) the expression “the appropriate load line”, in relation to any ship other than a Bangladesh ship, shall mean-

(i) in the case of a ship in respect of which there is produced on such an inspection as aforesaid a valid International Load Line Certificate, the load line appearing by the certificate to indicate the maximum depth to which the ship is for the time being entitled under the Load Line Convention to be loaded;

(ii) in any other case, the load line which corresponds with the load line indicating the maximum depth to which the ship is for the time being entitled under the Load Line Rules to be loaded, or, if no load line on the ship corresponds as aforesaid, the lowest load line thereon.

342. The provisions of section 331 shall apply, in the same manner as they apply to Bangladesh ships, to all other ships while they are within any port or place in Bangladesh except ships to which the provisions of section 338 apply.

343. (1) The provisions of this Part relating to the issue, effect, duration, renewal and cancellation of Bangladesh Load Line Certificates shall apply to ships other than Bangladesh ships as they apply to Bangladesh ships subject to the following modifications, namely:-(a) any such certificate may be issued in respect of any such ship as in respect of a Bangladesh ship provided that any such certificate issued in respect of a ship of one hundred and fifty tons gross or upwards belonging to a country to which the Load Line Convention applies shall only be valid so long as the ship is not plying on voyages from or to any port or place in Bangladesh to or from any port or place outside Bangladesh, and shall be endorsed with a statement to that effect and shall be cancelled by the Government if it has reason to believe that the ship is so plying; and(b) the survey required for the purpose of seeing whether the certificate should remain in force shall take place when required by the Government. (2) If the Government is satisfied-(a) that provision has been made for the fixing, marking and certifying of load lines by the law in force in any country outside Bangladesh with respect to ships or any class or description of ship of that country and has also been so made or has been agreed to be so made for recognising Bangladesh Load Line Certificates as having the same effect in ports or places of that country as certificates issued under the said provisions; and(b) that the said provision for the fixing, marking and certifying of load lines is based on the same principles as the corresponding provisions of this Part relating to load lines and is equally effective,it may, by notification in the official Gazette, direct that Load Line Certificates issued in pursuance of the said provision or in respect of ships of that class or description of ships of that country, shall have the same effect for the purpose of this Part as Bangladesh Load Line Certificates: Provided that such direction shall not apply to ships of one hundred and fifty tons gross or upwards belonging to countries to which the Load Line Convention applies, if such ships are engaged in plying on voyages from or to any port or place in Bangladesh to or from any port or place outside Bangladesh.

344. The master of every ship belonging to a country to which the Load Line Convention does not apply shall produce to the Collector of Customs from whom a port clearance for the ship is sought, either a Bangladesh Load Line Certificate or a certificate having effect under this Ordinance as such a certificate, being a certificate for the time being in force in respect of the ship, and port clearance shall not be granted and the ship may be detained until the certificate required by this section is so produced.

345. (1) The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules hereinafter referred to as “the deck cargo rules” prescribing requirements to be complied with where cargo is carried in any uncovered space on the deck of a Bangladesh ship or any other ship within any port or place in Bangladesh; and different requirements may be so prescribed in relation to different descriptions of ships, different descriptions of cargo, different voyages or classes of voyages, different seasons of the year or any other different circumstances. (2) If the load line rules provide, either generally or in particular cases or classes of cases, for assigning special free boards to ships which are to have effect only where a cargo of timber is so carried, then, without prejudice to the generality of the preceding sub section, the deck cargo rules may prescribe special requirements to be complied with in circumstances where any such special free board has effect. (3) If any provision of the deck cargo rules are contravened-(a) in the case of a Bangladesh ship, or(b) in the case of any other ship while the ship is within any port or at any place in Bangladesh,the master or owner of the ship shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand Taka. (4) Where a person is charged with an offence under the last preceding sub section, it shall be a defence to prove that the contravention was due solely to deviation or delay and that the deviation or delay was caused solely by stress of weather or other circumstances which neither the master nor the owner nor the charterer, if any, could have prevented or forestalled. (5) For the purpose of securing compliance with the deck cargo rules, any Surveyor authorised in that behalf by the Government may inspect any ship which is carrying cargo in any uncovered space on her deck.

346. (1) If any ship, either Bangladesh or foreign, other than a coasting ship or home trade 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, and not exempted by regulations under this Ordinance, 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 goods 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, for the purpose of this section, be ascertained by an officer of the Customs and when so ascertained shall be entered by him in a memorandum which he 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 foreign ship, the document equivalent to a certificate of registry, and in default, shall be liable to pay the same penalty as if he had failed to produce the said certificate or document.

347. (1) The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules for regulating, in the interests of safety, the carriage of dangerous goods in ships, or adopt, with or without modification, any rules, regulations or codes relating to the carriage of such goods made by any other country or any international organisation and the provisions of the rules, regulations or codes so adopted shall have effect as if they were rules made under this sub section. (2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for the classification of such goods, the packing, marking and stowing of such goods or any class of such goods, and the fixing of the maximum quantity of any such class of goods which may be carried in different ships or classes of ships. (3) The owner, master or agent of a ship carrying or intending to carry any dangerous goods as cargo and about to make a voyage from a port or place in Bangladesh shall furnish in advance the prescribed particulars of the ship and the cargo to the Principal Officer or to such other officer as may be specified for the purpose. (4) A Surveyor may inspect the ship for the purpose of ensuring that the rules made under this section are complied with. (5) If any of the rules made under this section is not complied with in relation to any ship, the owner or master of the ship shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to twenty thousand Taka, or with both, and the ship shall be deemed for purposes of this Part to be an unsafe ship. Explanation. In this section, the expression “dangerous goods” means goods which by reason of the nature, quantity or mode of stowage are either singly or collectively liable to endanger the life or the health of person on or near the ship or to imperil the ship, and includes all substances within the meaning of the expression “explosives” as defined in the Explosives Act, 1884 (IV of 1884), and any other goods which the Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, specify as dangerous goods, but shall not include any fog or distress signals or like equipment required to be carried by the ship under this Ordinance or the rules or regulations made thereunder.

348. (1) Where grain is loaded on board any Bangladesh ship or is loaded on board any ship within any port or place in Bangladesh, all necessary and reasonable precautions shall be taken to prevent the grain from shifting; and if such precautions are not taken, the owner or the master of the ship or any agent of the owner who was charged with the loading or with sending the ship to sea laden with grain shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five thousand Taka, and the ship shall be deemed for the purposes of this Part to be unsafe by reason of improper loading.

(2) Where any ship which is loaded with grain outside Bangladesh without all necessary and reasonable precautions having been taken to prevent the grain from shifting, enters any port or place in Bangladesh so laden, the owners or the master of the ship shall be punishable with fine which may extend to Taka ten thousand, and the ship shall be deemed for the purpose of this Part to be unsafe by reason of improper loading:

Provided that this sub section shall not apply to a ship which would not have entered any such port or place but for stress of weather or any other circumstances that neither the master nor the owner nor the charterer, if any, could have prevented or forestalled.

(3) On the arrival at a port or place in Bangladesh from a port or place outside Bangladesh of any ship carrying a cargo of grain, the master shall cause to be delivered at the office of the Principal Officer or to such other officer as may be specified by the Government in this behalf, a notice stating-

(a) the draught of water and free board of the said ship after the loading of the cargo was completed at the final port of loading; and

(b) the following particulars of the grain carried, namely:

(i) the kind of grain and quantity thereof stated in cubic feet, quarters, bushels or tons weight;

(ii) the mode in which the grain is stowed; and

(iii) the precautions taken to prevent the grain from shifting.

(4) If the master fails to deliver the notice required by sub section (3), or if in any such notice makes any statement that he knows it to be false in a material particular, or recklessly makes a statement that is false in a material particular, he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five thousand Taka.

(5) A Surveyor or any other person authorised in this behalf by general or special order of the Government may, for securing the observance of the provisions of this section, inspect a ship carrying a cargo of grain and the mode in which such cargo is stowed therein.

(6) The Government may make rules prescribing in relation to loading of ships generally or of ships of any class the precautions to be taken, and when such precautions have been prescribed, they shall be treated for the purposes of this section to be included in the expression “necessary and reasonable precautions”.

(7) In this section, the expression “grain” includes wheat, maize, oats, rye, barley, rice, pulses and seeds and processed forms thereof whose behaviour is similar to that of grain in its natural state.

349. (1) The Government may make rules in relation to the loading of bulk cargoes, other than grain as defined in sub section (7) of section 348 and oil in bulk, on any Bangladesh ship or in any ship within any port or place in Bangladesh. (2) The owner or master of a ship in respect of which the provisions of any of the rules made under sub section (1) are contravened shall be punishable with fine which may extend to ten thousand Taka.

350. A ship is “unseaworthy” within the meaning of this Ordinance when the materials of which she is made, her construction, the qualifications 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.

351. (1) Every person who sends or attempts to send a Bangladesh ship to sea from any port or place in Bangladesh in such an unseaworthy state that the life of any person is likely to be thereby endangered shall, unless he proves that he used all reasonable means to ensure her being sent to sea in a seaworthy state, or that her going to sea in such an unseaworthy state was under the circumstances reasonable and justifiable, be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to forty thousand Taka, or with both. (2) Every master of a Bangladesh ship who knowingly takes such ship to sea in such unseaworthy state that the life of any person is likely to be thereby endangered shall, unless he proves that her going to sea in such unseaworthy state was, under the circumstances reasonable and justifiable, be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to forty thousand Taka, or with both. (3) For the purpose of giving such proof, every person charged under this section may give evidence in the same manner as any other witness. (4) No prosecution under this section shall be instituted except by, or with the consent of, the Government.

352. (1) In every contract of service, express or implied, between the owner of a Bangladesh 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 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 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.

353. (1) Where a Bangladesh ship in any port or place to which the Government may specially extend this section is an unsafe ship, that is to say, is by reason of the defective condition of her hull, equipment or machinery, or by reason of under-manning 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 the service for which she is intended, such ship may be provisionally detained for the purpose of being surveyed or for ascertaining the sufficiency of her crew and either finally detained or released as follows, namely:- (a) the Government, if it has reason to believe, on complaint or otherwise, that any such ship is unsafe, may order the ship to be provisionally detained as an unsafe ship for the purpose of being surveyed; (b) a written statement of the grounds of such detention shall be forthwith served on the master of such ship; (c) when the Government orders that a ship be provisionally detained, it shall either refer the matter to the Court of Survey for the Port where the ship is detained, or forthwith appoint some competent person to survey such ship and report thereon; and, on receiving the report, may either order the ship to be released or, if in its opinion the ship is unsafe, may order her to be finally detained, either absolutely or until the performance of such conditions with respect to the execution of repairs or alterations, or the unloading or reloading of cargo, as the Government thinks necessary for the protection of human life; (d) before an order for final detention is made, a copy of the report shall be served upon the master of the ship, and within seven days after such service, the owner or master may appeal against such report, in the manner prescribed, to the Court of Survey for the port where the ship is detained; (e) where a ship has been provisionally detained and a person has been appointed under this section to survey such ship, the owner or master of the ship, at any time before such person makes that survey, may require that he shall take with him as assessor such person as the owner or master may select, being a person named in the list of assessors for the Court of Survey or, if there is no such list, or if it is impracticable to procure the attendance of any person named in such list, a person of nautical, engineering or other special skill and experience; if the Surveyor and assessor agree that the ship should be detained or released, the Government shall cause the ship to be detained or released accordingly, and the owner or master shall have no right of appeal; if the Surveyor and assessor differ in their report, the Government may act as if the requisition had not been made, and the owner or master shall have a right of such appeal touching the report of the Surveyor as is hereinbefore provided in this section; (f) where a ship has been provisionally detained, the Government may, at any time, if it thinks fit expedient, refer the matter to the Court of Survey for the port where the ship is detained; and (g) the Government may, at any time, if satisfied that a ship detained under this section is not unsafe, order her to be released either with or without any conditions. (2) A Principal Officer or any other person appointed by the Government for the purpose, in this Ordinance referred to as a Detaining Officer, shall have the same power as the Government has under this section of ordering that a ship be provisionally detained for the purpose of being surveyed, and of appointing a person to survey her; and, if he thinks that a ship so detained by him is not unsafe, a Detaining Officer may order her to be released. (3) A Detaining Officer shall forthwith report to the Government any order made by him for the detention or release of a ship. (4) A ship detained under this section shall not be released by reason of her ceasing to be a Bangladesh ship subsequent to her detention. (5) A Detaining Officer may, for the purpose of this Part,- (a) go on board any ship and may inspect the same or any part thereof, or any of the machinery, equipment and cargo on board thereof, and require the unloading or removal of any cargo, ballast or tackle, not unnecessarily detaining or delaying her from discharging, unloading or proceeding on any voyage; (b) by summons under his hand, require the attendance of all such persons as he thinks fit to call before him, examine such persons, and, by a like summons, require returns in writing to any inquiries he thinks fit to make; (c) require and enforce the production of all books, papers or documents which he considers important; and (d) administer oaths, or, in lieu of administering an oath, require every person examined by him to make and subscribe a declaration of the truth of the statements made by him in his examination.

354. If it appears that there was not reasonable and probable cause, by reason of the condition of the ship or the act or default of the owner or the master, for the provisional detention of a ship, the Government shall be liable to pay to the owner of the ship his costs of and incidental to the detention and survey of the ship, and also compensation for any loss or damage sustained by him by reason of the detention or survey

355. If a ship is finally detained under this Chapter, or if it appears that a ship provisionally detained was at the time of such detention unsafe or if a ship is detained in pursuance of any provision of this Part which provides for the detention of a ship until a certain event occurs, the owner of the ship shall be liable to pay to the Government the costs of and incidental to the detention and survey of the ship; and the ship shall not be released until such costs are paid.

356. For the purposes of this Ordinance, the costs of and incidental to any proceeding before a Court of Survey, and a reasonable amount in respect of the remuneration of the Surveyor or any person appointed to represent the Government before the Court, shall be deemed to be part of the costs of the detention and survey of the ship: Provided that, where the complaint is made by one fourth, being not less than three, of the seamen belonging to the ship, and is not in the opinion of the Government or the Detaining Officer frivolous or vexatious, such security shall not be required; and the Government or the Detaining Officer shall, if the complaint is made in sufficient time before the sailing of the ship, take proper steps to ascertain whether the ship ought to be detained under this Chapter.

357. When complaint is made to the Government or a Detaining Officer that a Bangladesh ship is unsafe, it shall be in the discretion of the Government or the Detaining Officer, as the case may be, to require the complainant to give security to the satisfaction of the Government or the Detaining Officer for the costs and compensation which such complainant may become liable to pay as hereinafter mentioned: Provided that, where the complaint is made by one fourth, being not less than three, of the seaman belonging to the ship, and is not in the opinion of the Government or the Detaining Officer frivolous or vexatious, such security shall not be required; and the Government or the Detaining Officer shall, if the complaint is made in sufficient time before the sailing of the ship, take proper steps to ascertain whether the ship ought to be detained under this Chapter.

358. Where a ship is detained in consequence of any complaint, and the circumstances are such that the Government is liable under this Chapter to pay to the owner of the ship any costs or compensation, the complainant shall be liable to pay to the Government all such costs and compensation as the Government incurs, or is liable to pay, in respect of the detention and survey of the ship.

359. When a ship other than a Bangladesh ship is in a port in Bangladesh and is, whilst at that port, unsafe by reason of the defective condition of her hull, equipment or machinery, or by reason of over loading or improper loading or by reason of under-manning, the provisions of this Chapter with respect to detention of ships shall apply to that ship as if she were a Bangladesh ship, with the following modifications, namely:- (a) a copy of the order for the provisional detention of the ship shall forthwith be served on the Consular Officer for the country to which the ship belongs at or nearest to the port in which such ship is detained;(b) the Consular Officer, at the request of the owner or master of the ship, may require that the person appointed by the Government to survey the ship shall be accompanied by such person as the Consular Officer may select, and in that case, if the Surveyor and that person agree, the Government shall cause the ship to be detained or released accordingly; but, if they differ, the Government may act as if the requisition had not been made, and the owner and master shall have the like right of appeal to a Court of Survey touching the report of the Surveyor as is hereinbefore provided in the case of a Bangladesh ship; and(c) where the owner or master of the ship appeals to the Court of Survey, the Consular Officer, at the request of the owner or master, may appoint a competent person to be assessor in the case in lieu of the assessor who, if the ship were a Bangladesh ship, would be appointed otherwise than by the Government.

360. Where any ship other than a Bangladesh Ship is detained under this Part in any case to which the provisions of section 359 do not apply, or where any proceedings are taken under this Part against the master or owner of any such ship, notice shall forthwith be served on the Consular Officer for the country to which the ship belongs at or nearest to the port where the ship is for the time being, and such notice shall specify the grounds on which the ship has been detained or the proceedings have been taken.