Section 14 in The Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Act, 2002
14. Amendment of section 317.- In section 317 of the principal Act,-(i) in sub- section (1), after the existing proviso, the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:-" Provided further that when the survey for the purpose of issue of certificate under sub- section (1) of section 316 is completed within three months before the expiry date of the existing certificate, the new certificate may be valid from the date of com letion of such survey to a date not exceeding five years from the date of expiry of the existing certificate.";
(ii)in sub- section (3), for the portion beginning with the words" shall cease'' and ending with the words'' Indian ship", the following shall be substituted, namely:-" shall cease to be valid when-(a) the ship ceases to be an Indian ship;(b)material alterations such as would necessitate the assignment of an increased free board have taken place in the hull or superstructure of the ship;(c)the fittings and appliances for the protection of openings, the guard rails, freeing ports, or the means of access to the crew' s quarters are not maintained in an effective condition;(d)the structural strength of the ship is lowered to such an extent as to render the ship unsafe;(e)the certificate is not endorsed to prove that the ship has been surveyed as required under sub- section (5); or(f)the marking of the deck line and load lines on the ship have not been properly maintained";(iii)sub- section (4) shall be omitted;(iv)in sub- section (5), for the portion beginning with the words" once at least in each year" and ending with the words" caused to be so surveyed", the following shall be substituted, namely:-" and the certificate endorsed once at least in each year during the period commencing three months before and ending three months after the anniversary date of expiry of the certificate for the purpose of ensuring that-(a) alterations have not been made to the hull or superstructure which would affect the calculations determining the position of the load lines;(b)the fittings and the appliances for the protection of openings, the guard rails, freeing ports, or the means of access to the crew' s quarters are maintained in an effective condition;(c)the free board marks are correctly and permanently marked; and(d)the stability information required under section 298 is readily available on board";(v)for sub- sections (6) and (7), the following sub- sections shall be substituted, namely:-" (6) If an annual survey is completed before the period specified in sub- section (5) then,-(a) the anniversary date mentioned on the certificate shall be amended by endorsement to a date which shall not be more than three months later than the date on which the survey was completed;(b)the subsequent annual survey required by sub- section (5) shall be completed using the new anniversary date;(c)the expiry date of the certificate may remain unchanged provided one or more annual survey is carried out so that the maximum interval between the surveys specified under sub- section (5) is not exceeded.(7) If a certificate under sub- section (1) of section 316 is issued for a period of less than five years, the Central Government or any person authorised by it in this behalf, may extend the validity of the certificate beyond the expiry date to a maximum period specified in sub- section (1): Provided that annual surveys referred to in sub- section (5) are carried out as may be appropriate.(7A)If a ship at the time when a certificate expires is not in a port at which it is to be surveyed, the Central Government or any person authorised by it in this behalf may extend the period of validity of the certificate, but this extension shall be g anted only for the purpose of allowing the ship to complete the voyage to the port in which it is to be surveyed and also only in cases where it appears proper and reasonable to do so: Provided that no certificate shall be extended for a period longer than three months and the ship to which an extension is granted shall not on its arrival at the port in which it is to be surveyed leave that port without having a new certificate: Provided further that when the survey is completed, the new certificate shall be valid to a date not exceeding five years from the date of expiry of the existing certificate.(7B)A certificate, issued to a ship engaged in short voyage which has not been extended under sub- section (7A), may be extended by the Central Government or any person authorised by it in this behalf for a period up to one month from the date of expiry nd when the survey is completed, the new certificate shall be valid up to a date not exceeding five years from the date of expiry of the existing certificate.(7C)In special circumstances where the Central Government so determines a new certificate, need not be dated from the date of expiry of the existing certificate, shall be valid up to a date not exceeding five years from the date of completion of the su vey.".
