GHANA SHIPPING ACT, 2003 (ACT 645)

As Amended by
GHANA MARITIME SECURITY ACT, 2004 (ACT 675).1
GHANA SHIPPING (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2011 (ACT 826).2
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Section

PART I—RESTRICTION ON TRADING IN GHANAIAN WATERS; REGISTRATION,

BUILDING, IMPORTATION AND LICENSING OF SHIPS AND PROPRIETARY
INTERESTS IN SHIPS
1. Restriction on trading in Ghanaian waters.
1A. Permit for foreign ships trading in Ghanaian waters
2. Qualifications for owning a Ghanaian ship.
3. Obligation to register and Regulations on Ghanaian ships.
4. Application for registration.
5. Declaration of ownership.
6. Building and sale of vessels.
7. Importation of a ship.
8. Builder's certificate and evidence required on first registration of a ship.
9. Restriction on registration.
10. Cancellation of registration.
11. Restriction on deregistration of ships.
12. Port of registry.
13. Register books and entries.
14. Documents to be retained by the Registrar of ships.
15. Name of ship.
16. Change of name of a ship.
17. Identity marks for fishing vessels.
18. Call sign.
19. Register book for ships under construction.
Tonnage Measurement of Ships
20. Survey.
21. Tonnage Regulations.
22. Tonnage once ascertained to be tonnage of ship.
23. Tonnage rules of foreign ships.
24. Foreign and other measurements.
25. Alterations between surveys.
26. Appointment of surveyors for tonnage measurement.
27. Marking of ships.
28. Certificate of Registry.
29. Power to make Regulations in relation to Certificate of Registry.
30. Issue and custody of Certificate of Registry.
31. Improper use of Certificate of Registry.
32. Provisional Certificate of Registry.
33. Temporary pass in lieu of Certificate of Registry.
Registration of Alteration and Registration anew
34. Registration of alterations of tonnage.
35. Rules for registration of alterations to a registered ship.
36. Provisional certificate for registration anew.
37. Change of ownership and registration anew.
38. Procedure for new registration.
39. Restrictions of re-registration of abandoned ships.
Licensing of Ships
40. Ships to be licensed.
41. Qualifications for owning a licensed Ghanaian ship.
42. Regulations for licensing of ships.
42A. Meaning of ship in relation to mortgages and issues affecting the title and ownership of a
ship
Transfer and Transmission of Interest
43. Transfer of ship or shares.
44. Declaration of transfer.
45. Registration of transfer.
46. Transmission of property on death, insolvency.
47. Order for sale on transmission to unqualified persons.
48. Transfer of ship on sale by order of court.
49. Power of court to prohibit transfer.
Mortgages
50. Mortgage of ship or shares.
51. Mortgage of provisionally registered ships.
52. Entry of discharge of mortgage.
53. Priority of mortgages.
54. Mortgagee not treated as owner.
55. Power of sale of mortgagee.
56. Mortgage not affected by bankruptcy.
57. Transfer of mortgages.
58. Transmission of interest in mortgage on death, bankruptcy
59. Authority to sell mortgage out of Ghana.
60. General rules for certificate of sale.
61. Procedure where ship under certificate of sale granted in Ghana.
62. Registration in Ghana where ship sold under certificate of sale granted by a foreign State.
63. Rules as to certificate of mortgage.
64. Loss of certificate of sale or mortgage.
65. Revocation of certificate of sale or mortgage.
Maritime Liens
66. Maritime liens.
67. Priority of maritime liens.
68. Order of priority of liens.
69. Rights of ship builders and ship repairers.
70. Characteristics of maritime liens.
71. Claims arising from radioactive products.
72. Extinction of maritime liens.
73. Notice of forced sale.
74. Effect of forced sale.
75. Disposition of proceeds of sale.
76. Issue of certificate that a ship is free of mortgage, liens.
Miscellaneous Provisions on Registration of Ships
77. Provisions relating to infancy or other incapacity.
78. Notice of trusts not received.
79. Definition of "beneficial interest" and equities not excluded by Act.
80. Liability of beneficial owner.
81. Registration of ship's managing owner or manager.
82. Power of Registrar to dispense with declaration, etc.
83. Mode of declarations.
84. Application of fees.
85. Returns to be made by the Registrar.
86. Inspection of books and documents admissible in evidence.
87. Documents and instructions as to registration in prescribed term.
88. Forgery of documents.
89. False declaration.
90. Liabilities of persons on unregistered ship.
91. Fees
PART II—NATIONAL CHARACTER AND FLAG
92. National character of ship to be declared before clearance.
93. National colours.
94. Right to fly the flag of Ghana.
95. Showing of national colours.
96. Unauthorised use of national colours.
97. Penalty for concealing Ghanaian character or assuming foreign character.
98. Penalty for acquiring ownership if unqualified.
PART III—MANNING AND CERTIFICATION
99. Registrations regarding manning and qualifications of a person serving in a Ghanaian ship.
100. Power to exempt.
101. Board of Inquiry.
102. Power of the Board.
103. Cancellation of certificate.
104. Revocation of certificate.
105. Appeals against cancellation of certificate.
106. Offences.
PART IV—ENGAGEMENT AND WELFARE OF SEAFARERS
107. Functions of Registrar of Seafarers.
108. Crew agreement.
109. Contents of crew agreements.
110. Regulations for disciplinary offences.
111. Disciplinary offence and criminal offence.
112. Procedures relating to certain crew agreements.
113. Further provisions as to crew agreements.
114. Stipulations not to be contrary to Law of Flag State.
115. Seafarers's certificate of discharge.
116. Character report.
117. Discharge on change of ship's registry.
118. Employment of children or persons under eighteen years.
119. Changes in crew of certain ships
120. Change of master.
121. Regulations for conditions of service.
122. Use of English language.
123. Crew's knowledge of English.
Wages and Emoluments
124. Time and manner of payment of wages.
125. Delivery of account of wages.
126. Deductions from wages.
127. Settlement of wages.
128. Registrar's decision on wages.
129. Registrar shall require ship's documents.
130. Rate of exchange.
131. Limited power of Registrar to settle wage disputes.
132. Court may award interest on wages due where there is no crew agreement.
133. Allotment notes.
134. Wages where service is terminated.
135. Protection of seafarer's rights and remedies.
136. Claims against seafarer's wages for maintenance.
137. Master's remedies, remuneration and disbursements.
138. Wages not to depend on freight.
139. Refusal to work.
140. Illness caused by own default.
141. Cost of procuring conviction.
142. Improper discharge.
143. Protection of wages.
144. Leave and holidays.
145. Seafarer may sue for wages.
146. Jurisdiction of court in the recovery of wages.
147. Power to rescind contracts.
Property of Deceased Seafarers
148. Property of deceased seafarer.
149. Delivery of deceased seafarer's property.
150. Forgery of documents.
Occupational Safety
151. Occupational safety regulations.
Required Provisions and Water for Ships
152. Provisions and water.
153. Complaints as to provisions and water.
154. Allowance for short or bad provisions.
155. Weights and measures.
156. Medical fitness regulations.
157. Crew accommodation regulations.
158. Certified cook to be carried.
159. Medical stores regulations.
160. Right to medical treatment.
161. Recovery of expenses from owner.
162. Effect of Workman's Compensation.
163. Medical practitioners to be carried.
164. Facilities for making complaints.
Protection of Seafarers from Imposition
165. Assignment and sale of salvage.
166. Seafarer's debts.
167. Misconduct endangering life of ship.
168. General offences against discipline.
169. Desertion and absence without leave.
170. Improper negotiation of advance.
171. Certificate of discharge may be withheld.
172. Summary remedies not to affect other remedies.
173. False statement as to last ship.
174. Deserters from foreign ships.
175. Proof of desertion when wages are to be forfeited.
176. Application of forfeiture.
177. Question of forfeiture decided in suit for wages.
178. Deduction of penalty from wages.
179. Penalty on stowaways.
180. Trade disputes involving seafarers.
181. Offences to be entered in official log book.
Relief and Repatriation of Seafarers
182. Repatriation of seafarer.
183. Seafarer to bear expenses of repatriation in certain cases.
184. Duty of registrar of seafarers.
185. Application to foreign vessels.
186. Wages and effects of seafarer left behind.
187. Liability of master.
188. Liability of Government.
189. Non-application of section 186.
190. Sale of seafarer's effects.
191. Maintenance and return of seafarer who involuntarily terminates service.
192. Discharge on change of ownership
193. Certificate when seafarer is left behind.
194. Non-compliance with provisions of this part.
195. Account of wages of seafarer left behind.
196. Payment of seafarer's wages to proper officers.
197. Application of wages of seafarer left behind.
198. Relief of distressed seafarer.
199. Repayment of relief and return expenses.
200. Forcing ashore.
201. Proper return port.
202. Manner of return.
203. Return of seafarer to port.
204. Authority may provide temporary relief.
205. Unauthorised presence on board ship.
PART V—OFFICIAL LOG BOOK AND ORDINARY SHIP'S LOG
206. Official log book.
207. Entries in official log book.
208. Delivery of official log book to Director-General.
209. Delivery of official log book on change of ownership or employment or loss or abandonment
of ship.
210. Offences in respect of official log book.
211. Ordinary log book of a ship.
212. Returns of crew lists.
213. Returns of births and deaths on Ghanaian ships.
214. Returns on births and deaths of Ghanaian citizens on foreign ships.
215. Returns to be sent to Registrar of births and deaths.
216. Penalties imposed on master.
PART VI—PREVENTION OF COLLISIONS AND SAFETY OF NAVIGATION
217. Collision regulations.
218. Ghanaian ships to observe Collision Regulations.
219. Foreign ships in Ghanaian waters.
220. Damage caused by non-observance of Collision Regulations, presumption of fault.
221. Inspection to enforce compliance with Collision Regulations.
222. Duty to render assistance following collision.
223. Obligation to notify hazards of navigation.
224. Master to proceed moderately in dangerous areas.
225. Offence and penalty.
226. Obligation to assist ships in distress.
227. Right to requisition ships when in distress.
228. Obligation to assist persons in danger at sea.
229. Salvage rights not affected.
230. Regulations for signals of distress.
231. Report of accidents to ships.
232. Loss of Ghanaian ship.
233. Record of boat drill or fire drill to be kept in official log book.
234. Crew sufficient and efficient.
235. Notices to mariners and navigational warnings.
236. Establishment and management of aids to navigation.
237. Authority's permission to establish aids to navigation.
238. Change to the aids to navigation.
239. Functions of the authority in respect of aids to navigation.
240. Publication and updating of aids to navigation.
241. Prosecution of offences.
242. Detention.
243. Fire and lights detrimental to navigation.
244. Power of the Director-General on failure to extinguish false or unauthorised lights.
245. Marking of wrecks and prohibited areas.
246. Removal of obstructions other than wrecks.
247. Failure to pay navigational aids dues.
248. Regulations on lighting, marks and other features of aid to navigation.
PART VII—SAFETY OF LIFE AT SEA
249. Meaning of safety of life at sea.(sic)
250. List of Safety Convention Countries.
251. Application of safety Convention.
252. Regulations relating to Safety at Sea.
253. Ships in port through stress of weather, etc.
254. Surveying of ship.
255. Surveyor's powers of inspection.
256. Surveyor's report to Director-General.
257. Surveyor's record of inspections and certificates.
258. Surveys of passenger ships.
259. Initial survey of passenger ships.
260. Periodic surveys of passenger ships.
261. Additional surveys of passenger ships.
262. Passenger ship certificate.
263. Short voyage certificate for passenger ships.
264. Exemption and qualified certificate for passenger ships.
265. Validity of passenger ship short voyage certificates.
266. Passenger ship safety certificate to be carried on board.
267. Penalty for carrying excess passengers.
268. Safety equipment survey on cargo ship.
269. Cargo ship safety equipment certificate.
270. Cargo ship exemption and qualified safety equipment certificates.
271. Cargo ship radar and radio installation surveys.
272. Issue of cargo ship radio certificate.
273. Cargo ship exemption and qualified radio certificates.
274. Radio exemption certificate.
275. Cargo ship safety construction surveys.
276. Regulations for cargo ship safety construction requirements and surveys.
277. Issue of cargo ship safety construction certificates.
278. Cargo ship exemption and qualified safety construction certificates.
279. Validity period of cargo ship safety construction certificate.
280. Appeals against withholding of ship's certificates or detention.
281. Period of validity of certificates.
282. Extension of period of validity of certificates.
283. Validity of qualified certificates.
284. Penalty for non-compliance with conditions of exemption certificates.
285. Posting up of certificates on board ships.
286. Survey to verify safety certificates and compliance with conditions of issue.
287. Production of Safety Convention certificate.
288. Miscellaneous privileges for holding Safety Convention certificate.
289. Ship not to proceed to sea without appropriate certificates and documents
[As substituted by Ghana Maritime Security Act, 2004 (Act 675) s.73(a)].
290. Detention of ship for non production of certificates.
291. Ships to carry stability information.
292. Penalty for forgery of survey report or certificates.
293. Maintaining condition of ship and notice on change in condition
294. Re-survey of a ship following alterations or damage.
295. Application of this Part to foreign ships within Ghanaian waters.
296. Survey of foreign ships and issue of Safety Convention certificates.
297. Survey of Ghanaian ships by other Safety Convention countries.
298. Exceptions.
299. Regulations for safety requirements and issue of Ghanaian safety certificate.
PART VIII—LOAD LINES
300. Interpretation of Part XVIII
301. Exceptions.
302. Countries to which Load Line Convention applies.
303. Load line regulations.
304. Certificates issued under the load line convention.
305. International and Ghanaian load line certificate.
306. Certificates issued by other Governments.
307. Certificates issued at the request of other Governments.
308. Regulations as to the validity of foreign certificates.
309. Exemptions from application of this Part.
310. Extent of exemption.
311. Issue of exemption certificates.
312. Duration and extension of exemption.
313. Effect of Load Line Certificate.
314. Duration, renewal, extension and cancellation of Load Line Certificate.
315. Ships not to proceed to sea without Load Line Certificate.
316. Deck cargo regulations.
317. Inspection of Ghanaian Load Line ships.
318. Notice to be given of alteration affecting structural position of ship's load lines.
319. Submersion of load lines.
320. Alteration or defacement of load line marks.
321. Ships not to proceed to sea unless complying with load line regulations.
322. Production of Load Line Certificates of Ghanaian ships.
323. Production of Load Line Certificates of foreign ships.
324. Submersion of Load Lines of foriegn ships.
325. Posting up of Load Line Certificate and entry of Load Line details in ship's log book.
326. Inspection of ships regarding Load Lines.
327. Contravention of Load Line Regulations and detention of ships.
PART IX—CARRIAGE OF BULK CARGOES
328. Bulk cargo regulations.
329. Precautions regarding grain cargoes.
330. Offences.
Dangerous Goods
331. Regulations as to dangerous goods.
332. Carriage and marking of dangerous goods.
333. Rejection and disposal of dangerous goods by ship.
334. Forfeiture of dangerous goods.
PART X—SEAWORTHINESS OF SHIPS
335. Unseaworthy ship.
336. Sending unseaworthy ship to sea—an offence.
337. Owners obligation for unseaworthy ships.
338. Detention of unseaworthy ship.
339. Method of detention of unseaworthy ships.(sic)
340. Supplementary provisions relating to detention of unseaworthy ship.
341. Powers of surveyors regarding detention.
342. Liability for costs and damages.
343. Power to require complainant to give security for costs.
344. Survey of ship alleged by seafarers to be unseaworthy.
345. Court's discretion to appoint surveyors.
346. Cost of survey.
PART XI—WRECKS AND SALVAGE WRECKS
347. Powers of Principal Receiver and Receivers of wreck.
348. Fees of receiver.
349. Duty of receiver where ship is in distress.
350. Power of receiver in case of ship in distress.
351. Power to pass over adjoining lands.
352. Power of receiver to prevent plunder of and disorder on wrecked ship.
353. Examination on oath regarding ships in distress.
354. Rules to be observed by person finding wreck.
355. Penalty for taking wreck at the time of casualty.
356. Notice of wreck to be given by receiver.
357. Delivery of wreck to owner.
358. Immediate sale of wreck by receiver.
359. Wrecked goods subject to duties.
360. Right to unclaimed wreck.
361. Disposal of unclaimed wreck.
362. Delivery of unclaimed wreck by receiver not to prejudice title.
363. Removal of wreck by port, harbour or other authority.
364. Breaking up and removal of wreck.
365. Extent of power of remover of wreck.
366. Taking wreck to a foreign port.
367. Boarding of wrecked vessels.
368. Interfering with wreck.
369. Receiver to apply for search warrant.
PART XII—SALVAGE
370. Definitions.
371. Non-application to platforms and drilling units.
372. Non-application to foreign state-owned vessels.
373. Salvage of life.
374. Salvage of cargo.
375. Services excluded from salvage remuneration.
376. Conditions for salvage remuneration.
377. Salvage contracts.
378. Annulment or modification of contracts.
379. Duties of salvor.
380. Duties of owner and master.
381. Powers of the Authority as regards protection of maritime environment.
382. Criteria for fixing salvage reward.
383. Responsibility for payment of reward.
384. Quantum of reward.
385. Special compensation.
386. Services rendered under existing contracts.
387. Apportionment between salvors.
388. Salvor misconduct.
389. Maritime lien.
390. Duty to provide security.
391. Interim payment.
392. State-owned cargoes.
393. Humanitarian cargoes.
394. Determination of salvage dispute.
395. Summary determination of salvage disputes.
396. Valuation of property salvaged.
397. Detention of property liable to salvage by receiver.
398. Sale of detained property.
399. Apportionment of small amount of salvage.
400. Apportionment of salvage by court.
401. Salvor's right to interest.
402. Application to the Government.
403. Limitation of actions.
404. Publication of judicial and arbitral awards.
PART XIII—PASSENGER SHIPS
405. Power of the Minister to make Regulations respecting passenger ships.
406. Offences in connection with passenger ships.
PART XIV—LIMITATION AND DIVISION OF LIABILITY
407. Interpretation.
408. Persons entitled to limit liability.
409. Claims subject to limitation.
410. Liability against ships and invoking limitation not an admission of liability.
411. Claims exempted from limitation.
412. Conduct barring limitation.
413. Set off of claims.
414. Limits of liability calculation.
415. Priorities.
416. Measurement of ship's tonnage.
417. Limitation of liability of port and owners of docks.
418. Limitation for passenger claims.
419. Conversion of Unit of Account to Ghanaian currency.
420. Aggregation of claims.
421. Provision of security and release of ship.
422. Distribution of the fund.
423. Bar to other actions.
424. Rules as to division of loss.
425. Damages for personal injury.
426. Definition of "freight".
427. Right of contribution.
428. Limitation of action.
PART XV—COURT OF SURVEY
429. Court of Survey.
430. Jurisdiction of Court of Survey.
431. Power and procedure of Court of Survey.
PART XVI—INQUIRIES AND INVESTIGATIONS INTO MARINE CASUALTIES
432. Investigations of shipping casualties.
433. Preliminary inquiry.
434. Formal investigation.
435. Power of Authority as to certificates.
436. Limitation on power of the Director-General as to certificate.
437. Delivery of certificate.
438. Right to appeal from the Director-General's decision.
439. Rehearing of investigations.
PART XVII—LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Jurisdiction
440. Jurisdiction in case of offences.
441. Provisions as to mortgages of ships sold to foreigners.
442. Jurisdiction over ships lying off coasts.
443. Jurisdiction in case of offences on board ship.
444. Offences at foreign ports.
445. Jurisdiction in collision and other cases.
446. Actions in rem
Detention Of Ships and Distress on Ships for Damage Caused
447. Power to detain foreign ships.
448. Enforcing detention of ships.
449. Notice to consular officer on detention of foreign ship.
450. Distress on ships.
451. Inquiries into deaths of crew members and others.
452. Ship may be seized and sold if penalty not paid.
453. Conveyance of offences and witnesses to Ghana.
Prosecution and Compounding of Offences
454. Liability of ship owners.
455. Offences by bodies of persons, servants and agents.
456. General penalty and continuing offences.
457. Compounding of offences.
458. Admissibility of documents in evidence.
459. Service of documents.
460. All officers to be public officers.
461. Protection of public officers.
462. Notices to be in writing.
PART XVIII—MISCELLANEOUS
463. Definition of "authorised officer".
464. Powers of authorized officers to board ships.
465. Power to require production of documents.
466. Inspection of ships.
467. Report by Surveyor to Director-General.
468. Powers of surveyor.
469. Returns of surveyors.
470. Receipt of fee by surveyor an offence.
471. Obstruction of Surveyor.
472. Power of arrest.
473. Books.
474. Exemption from stamp duty.
475. Offences in respect of use of forms.
476. Power to apply Act to ships of other countries, and to exempt such ships.
477. General power to make regulations.
478. Fees.
479. Publication of international conventions ratified by the Republic.
479A. Issue and form of Maritime Circulars
PART XIX—FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
480. Application of this Act.
481. Interpretation.
482. Repeals and savings.
SCHEDULE
THE SIX HUNDRED AND FORTY-FIFTH
ACT
 OF THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA
ENTITLED
THE GHANA SHIPPING ACT, 2003
AN ACT to consolidate with amendments the law on regulation of ships and the maritime industry
and to provide for related matters.
DATE OF ASSENT: 3rd July, 2003.
BE IT ENACTED by Parliament as follows—
PART I—RESTRICTION ON TRADING IN GHANAIAN WATERS; REGISTRATION,
BUILDING, IMPORTATION AND LICENSING OF SHIPS AND PROPRIETARY INTEREST
IN SHIPS
Section 1—Restriction on trading in Ghanaian waters
(1) No ship shall trade in or from Ghanaian waters unless the ship
(a) is a Ghanaian ship; or
(b) possesses a certificate of foreign registry or similar document.
(2) Subject to any treaty or agreement with any foreign Government, only Ghanaian ships may
engage in local trade in Ghanaian waters.
(3) A person not qualified to own a Ghanaian ship as specified in section 2 shall not engage in any
charter or otherwise engage any Ghanaian ship for local trade in Ghanaian waters except in
accordance with such conditions as the Board of the Ghana Maritime Authority may in writing
direct.
(4) A Ghanaian ship trading in any waters in Ghana and a ship trading in or from Ghanaian waters
shall provide evidence of financial responsibility against risks of damage to third parties in such
form as the Board of the Ghana Maritime Authority may in writing direct.
(5) Where the master, owner or agent of a ship contravenes subsections (1), (2) or (4) or where
any person contravenes subsection (3) the master, owner, agent or that person commits an offence
and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the cedi equivalent of $1 million and
the ship shall be detained until the fine is paid.
Section 1A—Permit for foreign ships trading in Ghanaian waters
(1) Despite subsection (2) of section l, a foreign ship that intends to engage in local trade from the
coast of Ghana to an offshore installation located within Ghana's maritime jurisdiction may do so
if the foreign ship has a permit issued by the Authority.
(2) An application for a permit shall be
(a) made to the Director-General; and
(b) in the form specified in the Schedule.
(3) An application under subsection (2) shall contain
(a) the name of ship;
(b) the Registry of the ship;
(c) the port of registry;
(d) the International Maritime Organisation Number;
(e) the name and address of the registered owner;
(f) the name, address, telephone, fax and e-mail contacts of the applicant's agent in Ghana;
(g) the nature of the intended trade in Ghanaian waters;
(h) the duration of the intended trade in Ghanaian waters; and
(i) evidence that indicates the commitment of the applicant to social responsibility in relation to
the training of Ghanaian seafarers and cadets.
(4) The Minister may on the approval of the Board grant the permit subject to
(a) conditions that the Board considers necessary in the national interest; and
(b) the payment of the prescribed fee.
(5) The Ghana Maritime Authority-shall publish in the Gazette the fee for a permit and may revise
the fee periodically. [As inserted by the Ghana Shipping (Amendment) Act, 2011 (Act 826) s. 1]
Section 2—Qualification for owning a Ghanaian ship
Except otherwise provided by any other enactment, a ship is not a Ghanaian ship unless the ship
is owned by
(a) a citizen of Ghana;
(b) a body corporate registered under the Companies Code, 1963 (Act 179);
(c) a partnership registered under the Incorporated Partnership Act, 1962 (Act 152);
(d) a foreign individual or a foreign company in registered joint venture relationship with a
Ghanaian national or company; and
(e) any of the persons specified in paragraphs (a), (b) or (c) who charters ships on bare boat charter.
Section 3—Obligation to register and Regulations on Ghanaian ships
(1) A ship owned by any of the persons described in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (e) of section 2
shall be registered in Ghana unless
(a) the ship is licensed to operate solely within Ghanaian waters, or
(b) the ship is exempt from being licensed under section 40.
(2) A foreign ship owned by a person or a body corporate in registered joint venture relationship
with a Ghanaian may be registered in Ghana.
(3) A Ghanaian Government ship shall be registered in one of the register books provided for
under section 13 of this Act.
(4) The Director-General may detain any ship wholly owned by persons qualified to own a
registered or licensed Ghanaian ship where the master of the ship fails to produce the certificate of
registry or any licence on demand until that evidence is produced.
(5) A ship required to be registered under this Act shall not be recognised as a Ghanaian ship and
shall not be entitled to rights and privileges accorded a Ghanaian ship unless it is registered.
(6) Where the Director-General has any doubt as to the qualification of any ship registered under
this Part the Director-General may direct the Registrar of ships to demand that evidence be
produced to the satisfaction of the Director-General within such time as the Director-General may
specify that the ship is qualified to be registered.
(7) Where the Director-General specifies a time limit within which satisfactory evidence of
qualification has to be given to the Registrar and it is not given the ship shall be de-registered.
(8) The Minister may make Regulations on matters relating to the obligation to register ships.
Section 4—Application for registration
(1) Application for the registration of a ship shall be made to the Registrar of Ships,
(a) in the case of an individual, by the person requiring to be registered as owner or agent;
(b) in the case of a number of persons by one or more of the persons or their agent; and
(c) in the case of a body corporate by the body corporate or its agent.
(2) The Registrar shall demand satisfactory proof of ownership before registration.
Section 5—Declaration of ownership
(1) A person shall not be registered as the owner of a Ghanaian ship or of a share in it unless that
person or in the case of a body corporate the person authorised by the body corporate under section
4(1) to make the application on its behalf has made a declaration of ownership in the prescribed
form.
(2) The declaration shall be accompanied with a certificate of survey for the ship and shall include
the following particulars of the applicant and the ship:
(a) the full name and address of the applicant;
(b) national status or in the case of a body corporate a statement of the constitution and business
interests as proof of its qualification to own a Ghanaian ship;
(c) a statement of the time when and the place where the ship was built or if the ship was built
outside Ghana and the time and place of building is not known, a statement to that effect; and in
addition in the case of a ship previously registered outside Ghana a statement of the name by which
it was registered;
(d) the number of shares in the ship in respect of which the person or the body corporate is entitled
to be registered as owner; and
(e) a statement that to the best of the knowledge and belief of the applicant no unqualified person
has any legal or beneficial interest in the ship or any share in it.
(2) For the purposes of this section, "beneficial interest" has the meaning assigned to it by section
79 of this Act.
Section 6—Building and sale of Vessels
(1) A person shall not undertake in Ghana the building of a ship unless that person has been granted
a licence to do so by the Minister for Industries in consultation with the Minister and the Minister
for Agriculture where the ship is a fishing vessel.
(2) The design for the building of a ship shall be subject to the approval of the Minister or the body
charged by law with the responsibility.
(3) The building of any ship in Ghana shall be supervised by a surveyor employed by the person
who commissioned the building of the ship and it shall be the duty of the employer to submit
periodic progress reports of the work on the ship to the Minister.
(4) A person shall not sell or offer for sale, whether within or outside Ghana, any new ship built in
Ghana unless there has been issued in respect of that ship a Certificate of Seaworthiness by the
Minister in such form as may be prescribed.
(5) The Minister may in consultation with the Board of the Ghana Maritime Authority make
Regulations prescribing the
(a) standards and specifications for the design and construction of different types of ships; and
(b) forms of application, licence and Certificate of Seaworthiness described in this section.
(6) The owner, operator and master of a ship built or sold in contravention of subsections (1), (2),
(3), or (4) commit an offence and each is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding
500 penalty units and in addition the court may order the forfeiture of the ship in respect of which
the offence was committed.
Section 7—Importation of ships
(1) A person shall not
(a) without the prior approval in writing granted by the Minister in accordance with the
recommendation of the Authority import any ship; or
(b) import into the country any ship
(i) in the case of a trawler which is more than ten years; or
(ii) in the case of a tuna fishing vessel or any other vessel which is more than fifteen years
from the date of construction except that a trawler of not more than fifteen years or a tuna vessel
or any other vessel of not more than eighteen years from the date of construction may be imported
subject to the acceptance by the Minister in consultation with the Ghana Maritime Authority and
on the advice of the Board of a survey, report of seaworthiness issued by a recognised international
classification authority.
(3) The importer of a ship shall pay such fees and costs as may be determined by the Board,
including the cost of any inspection which may be required pursuant to subsection (1) (b).
(4) A person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on summary
conviction to a fine of the cedi equivalent of not less than $10,000 and not exceeding $100,000 or
to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to both, and in addition the court may order
the forfeiture of the vessel in respect of which the offence was committed.
Section 8—Builder's certificate and evidence required on irst egistration of a Ship
(1) Where a ship is built in Ghana the builder shall issue to the owner a signed builder's certificate
containing the following:
(a) the true account of the proper denomination and tonnage of the ship as estimated by the builder;
(b) the date and place where the ship was built; and
(c) the name of the person for whom the ship was built.
(2) A ship builder who fails to comply with subsection (1) or wilfully makes a false statement in a
certificate given commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding
500 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.
(3) On the first registration of a ship the following evidence shall be produced by the applicant in
addition to the declaration required under section 5:
(a) the builder's certificate specified under subsection (1);
(b) if there has been any sale, the bill of sale under which the ship or any share in her has become
vested in the applicant;
(c) in the case of a foreign-built ship, a builder's certificate unless the applicant declares
(i) that the date and place of its building are unknown to the applicant, or
(ii) that the builder's certificate cannot be procured,
in which case there shall be registered only the bill of sale under which the ship or a share in it
became vested in the applicant; and
(d) in the case of a ship condemned by a competent authority, the official copy of the condemnation
document.
Section 9—Restriction on registration
(1) Where a ship is registered in any country she shall not be eligible for registration under this
Act unless in the case of a ship registered in a country which is a party to the International
Convention for the unification of the rules relating to Liens and Mortgages, 1993
(a) a certificate has been issued by that country to the effect that the ship has been de-registered;
or
(b) a certificate has been issued by that country to the effect that the ship will be de-registered on
the day that the new registration is effected in Ghana.
(2) An applicant seeking registration of a ship registered in another country shall satisfy the
Registrar of Ships that
(a) the ship has been deregistered on the day that the new registration is effected or that the foreign
registration has been cancelled or will be cancelled on the day that the new registration is effected;
and
(b) no mortgages are outstanding against the ship or where there are outstanding mortgages against
the ship the mortgagees have consented in writing to the deregistration or cancellation of the ship's
foreign registration.
Section 10—Cancellation of registration
The registration of a ship shall be cancelled by the Registrar if at anytime the ship
(a) is found to be also registered in another country; or
(b) ceases to qualify for registration as a Ghanaian ship under section 2 of this Act; or
(c) is considered by the Registrar to have been lost or broken up.
Section 11—Restriction on deregistration of ships
No ship shall be deregistered without the consent in writing of all registered mortgagees of the
ship.
Section 12—Port of registry
(1) The ports of Takoradi and Tema are the Ports of Registry for the registration of Ghanaian ships.
(2) The Authority may by notice published in the Gazette declare any other port of Ghana as a Port
of Registry.
Section 13—Register books and entries
(1) The Registrar of ships shall keep such register books as may be necessary for the purposes of
this Act including a register book for
(a) merchant ships;
(b) fishing vessels; and
(c) ships under construction.
(2) Entries in the registers shall be made in accordance with the following conditions:
(a) the property in a ship shall be divided into sixty-four shares;
(b) subject to the provisions of this Act with respect to joint owners or owners by transmission,
not more than sixty-four individuals shall be entitled to be registered at the same time as owners
of any one ship, except that this provision does not affect the beneficial title of any number of
persons or of any company represented by or claiming under or through any registered owner or
joint owner;
(c) a person is not entitled to be registered as owner of a fractional part of a share in a ship; but
any number of persons not exceeding five may be registered as joint owners of a ship or of any
share in it;
(d) joint owners shall be considered as constituting one person only for registration and are not
entitled to dispose separately of any interest in a ship, or in any share in it for which they are
registered; and
(e) a body corporate may be registered as owner by its corporate name.
(3) Upon the completion of the preliminary requirements for the registration of a ship, the Registrar
shall enter in the appropriate register the following particulars of the ship:
(a) the present name of the ship and the previous name and registry, if any;
(b) the details contained in the certificate of survey;
(c) the particulars in respect of its origin stated in the declaration of ownership;
(d) the name, address, occupation and nationality of its owner and where there is more than one
owner the percentage of shares held by each owner;
(e) the port of registry or home port and the official number or identity mark;
(f) the international call sign of the ship, where one is assigned;
(g) the name of the builder, place and year of the building of the ship;
(h) the description of the main technical characteristics of the ship; and
(i) the details of any mortgages.
(4) The Registrar shall not register a ship purchased or otherwise acquired from a foreigner or a
corporate body where a bill of sale or other document by which the ship became vested in the
applicant for registration contains express, implied or constructive provisions restricting the use of
the vessel or imputing a measure of continued control by the government of a foreign country.
(5) Individual owners, joint owners and corporate bodies that have been recorded in the register
book as owners shall be regarded as owners of the ship or any part of her;
(6) The Registrar shall keep a record in a manner approved by the Director-General of
(a) the date of deletion or suspension of the previous registration of a ship; and
(b) the name, address, nationality and other details as appropriate of a ship owner who is qualified
under section 2.
Section 14—Documents to be Retained by the Registrar of Ships
The Registrar shall on the registration of a ship retain the following:
(a) the certificate of survey;
(b) the builder's certificate;
(c) the carving notes;
(d) any previous bill of sale of the ship;
(e) the copy of the condemnation, if any;
(f) all declarations of ownership;
(g) notice of the name of the ship; and
(h) the application for registration.
Section 15—Name of ship
(1) A merchant ship registered in the register for merchant ships shall have a name but no two or
more merchant ships shall bear the same name.
(2) A Ghanaian ship shall not be described by any name other than that by which it is registered.
(3) The Registrar may refuse to register a ship by the name she is proposed to be registered, if that
name is already the name of a registered Ghanaian ship, a name which is similar to a ship already
registered or is a name likely to deceive or offend the public.
(4) Where the Registrar refuses to register a ship by a proposed name, the Registrar shall direct
the applicant to make such rectification as the Registrar considers necessary and the Registrar shall
not register the ship under the proposed name, until the directives have been complied with.
Section 16—Change of Name of Ship
(1) A change of the name of a Ghanaian ship shall not be made without the consent of the Registrar.
(2) An application for a change of the name shall be made to the Registrar on a prescribed form.
(3) The Registrar may not grant permission to change the name of a Ghanaian ship, unless the
Registrar is satisfied that all registered mortgagees have been notified of the proposed change of
name.
(4) The Registrar shall grant the approval for a change of the name of a ship and the registration
shall be carried out in the manner specified in Regulations made under this Part.
(5) A person who contravenes or permits a person under that person's control to contravene this
section or Regulations made under this part commits an offence and is liable on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units or imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to
both.
Section 17—Identity Marks for Fishing Vessels
(1) The Registrar shall allocate to a fishing vessel on registration a combination and sequence of
letters and numbers, in this Act referred to as "identity mark" which shall be entered in the relevant
register book.
(2) No two fishing vessels shall be allocated the same identity mark.
(3) A registered fishing vessel shall display the identity mark allocated to it on both sides of the
bow of the ship and shall show the name of the ship's port of registry on the stern.
(4) The master and owner of a fishing vessel which displays an identity mark not allocated to the
vessel or fails to display the vessel's identity mark commit an offence and are each liable on
summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 18—Call sign
A merchant ship or fishing vessel which is equipped either with a wireless radio transmitting
station or with a radio telephone installation shall also possess an internationally registered code
designation, in the form of international call letters or numbers as appropriate to the flag state of
registration and assigned to the ship.
Section 19—Register Book for Ships under Construction
A ship under construction may be entered in the register book for ships under construction from
the date of the signing of the contract for construction until the ship is placed on another register
after its completion.
Tonnage Measurement of Ships
Section 20—Survey
(1) A ship shall be surveyed and its tonnage ascertained before registration by a surveyor of ships
appointed under section 26.
(2) The surveyor shall grant a Certificate of Survey specifying the ship's tonnage and build and
other particulars descriptive of the identity of the ship as the Registrar may require.
(3) No ship shall be registered without the submission to the Registrar of a Certificate of Survey.
Section 21—Tonnage Regulations
(1) The Minister may make Regulations in this Act referred to as "Tonnage Regulations"
(a) to provide for method for ascertaining the tonnage of a ship;
(b) to make different provisions for different descriptions of ships or for the same descriptions of
ships in different circumstances; and
(c) to prohibit or restrict the carriage of goods or stores in spaces not included in the assessment
of the net tonnage of a ship.
(2) The Minister shall in making the Tonnage Regulations incorporate the International
Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969 including any amendments to it.
Section 22—Tonnage once ascertained to be tonnage of ship
(1) Where the tonnage of a ship has been ascertained in accordance with the Tonnage Regulations,
that tonnage shall be registered as the tonnage of that ship.
(2) The tonnage of a ship once ascertained shall be entered in every subsequent registration of that
ship unless
(a) an alteration is made in the size or capacity of the ship, or
(b) it is discovered that the tonnage of the ship has been erroneously determined, and in each case
the ship shall be remeasured and her tonnage ascertained and registered in accordance with the
Tonnage Regulations.
Section 23—Tonnage rules of foreign Ships
(1) Where the Director-General is satisfied that the tonnage rules of a foreign country are
substantially the same as the Tonnage Regulations of Ghana, the Director-General may direct that
the tonnage denoted in the Ship's Certificate of Registry or other certificate of Registry be
considered as the tonnage of that ship.
(2) Where a surveyor inspects a foreign ship and certifies to the Director-General that the
construction and equipment of the ship do not meet the standard required of a Ghanaian ship of
the same tonnage, the surveyor shall remeasure the ship and assign a tonnage in accordance with
this Act or Regulations made for the purpose under this Act by deducting from the tonnage the
space occupied by seafarers or apprentices as shown on the Certificate of Registry or other
certificates relating to the foreign ship.
(3) The Director-General may direct that a foreign ship be remeasured where it appears to the
Director-General that the tonnage materially differs from the tonnage specified by or under this
Act.
Section 24—Foreign and other measurements
(1) A surveyor may accept and use any figures or measurement contained in the latest register
where the ship is registered as a foreign ship, or in the case of an unregistered ship in the latest
Certificate of Survey relating to that ship.
(2) A surveyor shall be satisfied that there have been no changes of measurement since the making
of the register or certificate which the surveyor proposes to use and where any changes have been
made, the surveyor shall remeasure the ship to the extent of the changes.
Section 25—Alterations between surveys
(1) The owner or master of a Ghanaian ship shall within thirty days after the completion of the
alteration or reconstruction of the ship advise the Registrar of the alteration or reconstruction and
give the Registrar details where the alteration or reconstruction could affect the ship's
classification, measurement, tonnage or loading.
(2) The owner or master of a ship who fails to comply with subsection (1) commits an offence
and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units or to a term of
imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to both.
Section 26—Appointment of surveyors for tonnage measurement
(1) The Authority may appoint duly qualified surveyors within or outside Ghana to survey and
measure ships.
(2) The Authority may nominate within or outside Ghana a classification society.
(3) A classification society so nominated may appoint competent persons to survey and measure
ships subject to such conditions as the Authority may determine.
Section 27—Marking of ships
(1) A ship shall before being registered in Ghana be permanently and conspicuously marked in
accordance with the Regulations made under this Part.
(2) Where the Registrar is satisfied that a ship is insufficiently or inaccurately marked, the
Registrar may suspend the Certificate of Registry of the ship or in the absence of such certificate
the Registrar may detain the ship until the insufficiency or inaccuracy has been remedied to the
Registrar's satisfaction.
(3) The Minister may make Regulations to exempt any specified class of ships from any of the
provisions of this section in accordance with the advice of the Authority.
Section 28—Certificate of Registry
(1) A Certificate of Registry shall be in such form as may be prescribed by the Minister.
(2) A Certificate of Registry shall include
(a) the name of the owner of the ship, the owner's occupation and address, and if there is more
than one owner, the proportions of their interests in the ship;
(b) the date and place where the ship was built;
(c) the details given in the Certificate of Survey; and
(d) the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) number of the ship.
Section 29—Power to make Regulations in relation to Certificate of Registry
The Minister may make Regulations relating to
(a) the grant of a new Certificate of Registry;
(b) the loss and replacement of Certificate of Registry;
(c) the endorsement of a change of ownership on a Certificate of Registry; and
(d) the delivery up of the Certificate of Registry of a ship that is lost, broken up or has ceased to
be a Ghanaian ship.
Section 30—Issue and custody of Certificate of Registry
(1) The Registrar shall upon registration of a ship issue a Certificate of Registry to the ship.
(2) A Certificate of Registry shall be kept on board the ship and shall be used only for the lawful
navigation of the ship and shall not be subject to retention by any title, lien, charge or other interest
of any owner, mortgagee or other person.
(3) A person shall on demand deliver the Certificate of Registry in that person's possession to the
person entitled to its custody for the purposes of lawful navigation of the ship, or to the Registrar,
surveyor of ships, Customs, Excise and Preventive Service officer or other person entitled by law
to require its delivery.
(4) A person who contravenes subsection (3) commits an offence and is liable on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12
months or to both.
(5) Where a Court in any proceedings in respect of an offence under this section is satisfied that
the certificate is lost, it shall advise the Director-General in writing.
Section 31—Improper use of Certificate of Registry
Where the master or owner of a Ghanaian ship uses or attempts to use for navigation a Certificate
of Registry not legally granted, he commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a
fine not exceeding 500 penalty units or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to
both and the ship may also be forfeited to the State.
Section 32—Provisional Certificate of Registry
(1) Where the owner of a ship intends to apply for registration of the ship as a Ghanaian ship but
the Registrar is not immediately available, an authorised officer may grant a provisional certificate
on an application by the owner which application shall include a statutory declaration stating
(a) the name of the ship;
(b) the name and particulars of the owner of the ship;
(c) the date and place of its purchase and the name of the purchaser;
(d) that the foreign registry, if any, of the ship has been closed, and
(e) that the best particulars on the ship's tonnage, date and place of construction and such other
particulars as the owner is able to provide are attached,
and the officer shall forward a copy of the Certificate at the first convenient opportunity to the
Registrar.
(2) A Provisional Certificate under this section shall have the effect of a Certificate of Registry
until the expiration of 6 months after its date of issue or until the arrival of the ship at a port in
Ghana whichever happens first and upon the occurrence of either of these events, the Provisional
Certificate shall cease to have effect.
(3) The master of a ship in respect of which a Provisional Certificate has been granted shall within
10 days of the ship's first arrival at a port in Ghana deliver the certificate to the Registrar, and
where a master fails to comply with these conditions the master commits an offence and is liable
on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not
exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 33—Temporary pass in lieu of Certificate of Registry
(1) Where the Director-General considers that in any special circumstances it is desirable that
permission be granted to a ship which is not registered to pass from a port in Ghana to another port
within or outside Ghana the Director-General may in a case where the ship belongs to a country
whose law permits the issue of a temporary pass to a Ghanaian ship, direct the Registrar to grant a
pass.
(2) The pass granted shall have the same effect as a Certificate of Registry within the geographical
limits.
Registration of Alteration and Registration anew
Section 34—Registration of alterations of tonnage
(1) Where a Ghanaian ship is altered so as not to correspond with the particulars relating to
tonnage, notification of the alteration shall be given within 30 days of the alteration to the
Registrar.
(2) The notice to the Registrar shall be accompanied by a Certificate of Survey specifying the
particulars of the alteration.
(3) The Registrar shall upon receipt of a notice of alteration under subsection (1) cause the
alteration to be registered or direct that the ship be registered anew.
(4) The Registrar may suspend the Certificate of Registry of the ship where there is a failure to
comply with the requirements specified in subsections (1), (2) or (3) of this section.
(5) The owner of a ship commits an offence where there is default in registering anew a ship that
has been altered and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units or
to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to both and in addition is liable to a fine of 100
penalty units for each day during which the offence continues after the conviction.
Section 35—Rules for Registration of Alterations to a Registered ship
(1) For the purposes of registration of any other alteration in a ship, the ship's Certificate of
Registry shall be produced to the Registrar within 60 days after the alteration and the Registrar
shall either
(a) retain the Certificate and grant a new Certificate of Registry containing a description of the
ship as altered; or
(b) endorse on the existing Certificate of Registry, a statement of the alteration.
(2) The Registrar shall enter in the Register book the particulars of the alteration and the fact that
a new certificate has been granted or an endorsement has been made.
Section 36—Provisional Certificate for Registration anew
(1) Where a Ghanaian ship is outside the territories of Ghana and a notification for a new
registration is given, a proper officer of the Authority shall on an application by the master grant
either a provisional certificate describing the ship as altered or provisionally endorse the particulars
of the alteration on the existing Certificate.
(2) Where the proper officer or other appropriate authority grants a provisional certificate or
provisionally endorses a Certificate under this section, the officer or authority shall add to the
certificate or endorsement a statement that it is provisional only.
(3) The master of a ship in respect of which a provisional Certificate is granted or a Certificate is
endorsed under this section shall, within ten days of the ship's arrival at a port in Ghana or within
six months of the date of issue or endorsement of the Certificate, whichever is sooner, deliver that
certificate to the Registrar.
(4) A master who fails to comply with subsection (3) commits an offence and is liable on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12
months or to both.
(5) Where a ship in respect of which a Provisional Certificate is granted under this section first
arrives at a port in Ghana, application for registration of that ship anew shall be made to the
Registrar and the other requirements for registration shall be complied with.
(6) An owner of a ship who fails to comply with subsection (5) commits an offence and is liable
on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not
exceeding 12 months and an additional fine of 50 penalty units for each day that the offence
continues after the conviction.
Section 37—Change of ownership and registration anew
The Registrar may, on an application by the owner of a Ghanaian registered ship direct that a new
registration be made where the ownership has changed.
Section 38—Procedure for new registration
(1) Where a ship is to be registered anew, the Registrar shall proceed as in the case of a first
registration and on the delivery to the Registrar of the existing certificate of registration and in
compliance with the other requirement for registration, or in the case of a change of ownership in
compliance with such of the requirements as the Registrar thinks material, the Registrar shall re-
register the ship, and grant it a Certificate of Registry.
(2) When a ship is registered anew, her former registration shall be considered as closed, except
so far as relates to any unsatisfied mortgage entered into, but the names of all persons formally
registered as owners or mortgagees shall be entered on the new register, and the new registration
shall not in any way affect the rights of any of those persons.
Section 39—Restriction on re-registration of abandoned ships
Where a Ghanaian registered ship has prior to an application for its registration been wrecked or
abandoned or captured by an enemy or for any other reason been transferred to a person not
qualified to own a Ghanaian ship the ship shall not be re-registered until the ship has, at the expense
of the applicant for registration been surveyed by a surveyor and certified by the surveyor to be
seaworthy.
Licensing of Ships
Section 40—Ships to be licensed
(1) A Ghanaian ship under twenty-four metres in length or a gross tonnage of one hundred and
fifty and every vessel of whatever length or weight trading or operating solely within the inland
waters of Ghana shall instead of being registered be licensed.[As substituted by the Ghana
Shipping (Amendment) Act, 2011 (Act 826) s. 2]
(2) The following ships are exempt from licensing
(a) pleasure craft of less than five metres in length not equipped with propulsion machinery;
(b) pleasure craft of less than three metres in length equipped with propulsion machinery of not
more than 3.75 kilowatts; and
(c) ships registered under this Act.
(3) The Authority may in writing exempt, either generally or specifically, ships from compliance
with subsection (1) on such conditions as the Board of the Authority may determine.
Section 41—Qualifications for owning a licensed Ghanaian ship
(1) A ship shall not be licensed in Ghana unless it is owned wholly by persons referred to in
section 2 of this Act.
(2) Not more than eight persons may be recorded as joint owners of a licensed Ghanaian ship.
(3) A licensed Ghanaian ship, shall within 7 days, or such further period as may be allowed by
the Director-General after a change of ownership, notify the Registrar in writing of the change.
(4) Where the owner of a licensed Ghanaian ship fails to comply with subsection (3), the licence
of the ship shall be cancelled.
(5) The Authority may by notice published in the Gazette generally or specifically exempt a class
of ships required to be licensed from licensing while operating outside Ghanaian waters.
Section 42—Regulations for Licensing of ships
The Minister may make Regulations regarding the licensing of Ghanaian ships, and in particular
for
(a) the manning, life-saving, safety, pollution prevention and fire-fighting equipment of such
ships;
(b) the examination and certification of officers, skippers, mechanics and deck hands;
(c) surveys and inspections;
(d) the appointment of surveyors;
(e) the keeping of records;
(f) fees;
(g) discipline on board; and
(h) operating permits.
Section 42A—Meaning of ship in relation to mortgages and issues affecting the title and ownership
of a ship
In sections 43 to 85 of this Part a reference to ownership or title to a ship extends to a vessel even
when the vessel ceases to be a ship as defined in section 481.[As inserted by the Ghana Shipping
(Amendment) Act, 2011 (Act 826) s. 3]
Transfer and Transmission of Interest
Section 43—Transfer of ship or shares
(1) A registered ship or a share in it when disposed of to a person qualified to own a Ghanaian
ship shall be transferred by a bill of sale.
(2) The bill of sale shall contain the description of the ship as is contained in the Certificate of
Survey.
(3) The bill of sale shall be in the form prescribed in Regulations made under this Act or in any
other form acceptable to the Authority and shall be executed by the transferor in the presence of,
and attested by, a witness.
Section 44—Declaration of transfer
(1) Where a registered ship or a share in it is transferred, the transferee shall not be entitled to be
registered as owner until the transferee, or, in the case of a body corporate, the person authorized
by this Act to make declarations on behalf of the body corporate has made and signed a declaration
that refers to the ship and contains a statement of the qualifications of the transferee to own a
Ghanaian ship.
(2) Where the transferee is a body corporate, the nature of its business shall be a condition for it
to be qualified to own a Ghanaian ship.
Section 45—Registration of transfer
(1) A bill of sale for the transfer of a registered ship or a share in it when duly executed, shall be
produced to the Registrar at the port of registry of the ship with the declaration of transfer.
(2) The Registrar shall, upon the production of the bill, enter in the relevant register the name of
the transferee as owner of the ship or the share, and the Registrar shall endorse on the bill of sale
the fact of that entry having been made, with the day and hour of the entry.
(3) A bill of sale of a ship or a share in it shall be entered in the register book in the order of their
production to the Registrar.
Section 46—Transmission of property on death, insolvency
(1) Where a registered ship or a share in it is transmitted to a person qualified to own a Ghanaian
ship on the death or insolvency of any registered owner, or by any lawful means other than by a
transfer under this Act, that person shall authenticate the transmission by signing a "declaration",
in this Part referred to as a "declaration of transmission", identifying the ship and containing the
several statements required to be contained in a declaration of transfer, or as near as possible as
circumstances permit.
(2) There shall also be provided a statement of the manner in which and the person to whom the
property has been transmitted.
(3) Where the transmission is consequent upon insolvency, the declaration of transmission shall
be accompanied with evidence admissible in a court as proof of the title of persons claiming under
insolvency.
(4) Where the transmission is consequent upon death, the declaration of transfer shall be
accompanied by the instrument of representation or an official extract from it.
(5) The Registrar shall on receipt of the declaration of transmission, enter in the register book the
name of the person entitled under the transmission as owner of the ship or of the share of the ship
which has been transmitted.
(6) Where there is more than one person the Registrar shall enter the names of all those persons,
except that for the purposes of this Part the number of persons entitled to be registered as owners
shall be considered as one person.
Section 47—Order for sale on transmission to unqualified persons
(1) Where a Ghanaian ship or a share in it is transmitted on death, insolvency or otherwise to a
person not qualified to own a Ghanaian ship, the High Court may, on application made by or on
behalf of the Unqualified person, order a sale of the ship and direct that the proceeds of the sale,
after deducting the expenses involved, be paid to the person entitled under the transmission or
otherwise as the Court may direct.
(2) The Court may require such evidence as it considers necessary in support of the application,
and may make an order on terms and conditions it thinks just, and may generally act in the case as
the justice of the case requires.
(3) An application for sale shall be made within 30 days after the occurrence of the event on which
the transfer has taken place, or within such further time, not exceeding in the aggregate of one year
from the date of the occurrence of the event, as the Court may allow.
(4) Where an application is not made within the time specified in this section or where the Court
refuses an order for sale, the ship or the share transmitted shall thereupon be subject to forfeiture
under this Act.
Section 48—Transfer of ship on sale by order of Court
Where the High Court orders the sale of a ship or any share in it whether under this Act or any
other law the order of the Court shall contain a declaration vesting in a person named by the Court
the right to transfer that ship or share; and the person named shall be entitled to transfer the ship
or the share as if he were the registered owner of it.
Section 49—Power of court to prohibit transfer
(1) The High Court may on the application by any interested person make an order prohibiting for
a time specified in the order, any dealing with a ship or a share in it.
(2) The Court may make the order on any terms or conditions it thinks just and may generally act
in the case as the justice of the case requires; and the Registrar, without being made a party to the
proceedings, shall on being served with an order or an official copy of the order obey the order.
Mortgages
Section 50—Mortgage of ship or shares
(1) A registered ship or a share in it may be made a security for a loan or other valuable
consideration, and the instrument creating the security shall be in the form prescribed in
Regulations made under this Act.
(2) The Registrar shall as circumstances permit and on the production of the instrument creating
the security, record the mortgage in the register book at the ship's port of registry.
(3) Mortgages shall be recorded by the Registrar in the order of time in which they are produced
to him.
(4) The Registrar shall by a memorandum signed by him state on each mortgage that it has been
recorded by him and indicate the day and hour of that record.
(5) The transfer of a mortgage or its transmission shall not affect the order of priority of the
mortgage.
Section 51—Mortgage of provisionally registered ships
(1) Where a ship is provisionally registered, a mortgage executed outside Ghana may be produced
to a consular officer who shall notify the Registrar of the production of the mortgage.
(2) The Registrar shall, as soon as possible record the names of the parties and the amount secured
on the mortgage.
(3) Where the Registrar has received notice of a provisional registration of a ship and of the
production of a mortgage relating to the ship, the mortgage shall be considered as registered and
its priority shall be preserved from the time of receipt by the Registrar of the notice of the mortgage.
(4) The Registrar shall make an appropriate entry in the relevant register book from the time of
receipt of the mortgage, or from the time of the receipt of the notice of mortgage, whichever first
occurs.
(5) The provisions of subsections (3) and (4) of section 50 shall apply to mortgages under this
section as they apply to mortgages under that section, except that the day and hour of record shall
not derogate from any priority preserved under subsections (3) and (4) of this section.
(6) On the final registration of a ship provisionally registered under this section the priority of any
mortgage recorded under this section shall be preserved notwithstanding that the provisional
registration may have ceased to have effect before the final registration.
Section 52—Entry of discharge of mortgage
(1) Where a registered mortgage is discharged, the Registrar shall, on the production of the
mortgage with a receipt for the mortgage money endorsed and attested, make an entry in the
relevant register to the effect that the mortgage has been discharged.
(2) On that entry being made, the interest, if any, which passed to the mortgagee shall vest in the
person in whom, having regard to intervening acts and circumstances, if any, the interest would
have vested if the mortgage had not been made.
Section 53—Priority of mortgages
Where there is more than one mortgage registered in respect of the same ship or share in it, the
mortgagees shall, notwithstanding any express, implied or constructive notice, be entitled in
priority one over the other, according to the date on which each mortgage is recorded in the register
and not according to the date of each mortgage itself.
Section 54—Mortgagee not treated as owner
A mortgagee shall not, by reason of the mortgage, be considered the owner of a ship or a share in
it, nor shall the mortgagor cease to be the owner except as may be necessary for making a
mortgaged ship or a share in it available as a security for the mortgaged debt.
Section 55—Power of sale of mortgagee
(1) A registered mortgagee has power to dispose of the ship or a share in it in respect of which the
mortgagee is registered and to give effective receipt for the purchase money.
(2) Where more than one person is registered as mortgagee of the same ship or a share in it, a
subsequent mortgagee shall not, except under the order of the High Court, sell the ship or the share,
without the concurrence of every prior mortgagee.
(3) A mortgagee referred to in sub-sections (1) and (2) is entitled to enforce the mortgage by an
action in rem in admiralty whenever any sum secured by the mortgage is unpaid when due, in
accordance with the terms of any deed or instrument collateral to the mortgage.
(4) A registered mortgagee of a Ghana Government ship shall not without first obtaining an order
from the High Court dispose of the ship or any share in it in respect of which the mortgagee
registered and give receipts for the purchase money.
Section 56—Mortgage not affected by bankruptcy
A registered mortgage of a ship or a share in it shall not be affected by any bankruptcy of the
mortgagor and the mortgage shall be preferred to any right, claim or interest of the other creditors
of the mortgagor or any trustee or assignee on their behalf.
Section 57—Transfer of mortgages
(1) A registered mortgage of a ship or share in it may be transferred to any person.
(2) The instrument effecting the transfer shall be in a form prescribed in Regulations made under
this Act.
(3) The Registrar shall on the production of the instrument record it by entering in the relevant
register the name of the transferee as mortgagee of the ship or a share in it, and shall, by a signed
memorandum, testify on the instrument of transfer that it has been recorded by the Registrar and
state the day and hour of the record.
Section 58—Transmission of interest in mortgage on death, bankruptcy
(1) Where the interest of a mortgagee in a ship or share in it is transmitted on death, bankruptcy,
or by any lawful means other than by a transfer under this Act, the transmission shall be limited to
the person to whom the interest is transmitted.
(2) The transmission shall contain a statement of the manner in which, and the person to whom,
the property has been transmitted, and shall be accompanied by evidence as is required by this Part
in the case of a transmission of the ownership of a ship or a share in it.
(3) The Registrar, shall on the receipt of the declaration and the production of the evidence
specified in this Part enter the name of the person entitled under the transfer in the register as the
mortgagee of the ship or a share in it.
Section 59—Authority to sell mortgage out of Ghana
(1) Where a registered owner of a Ghanaian ship or a share in it, desires to dispose of the ship or
the share in it by sale or mortgage at any place out of Ghana, the registered owner may make
application, by declaration in writing , to the Registrar.
(2) The application shall contain the following particulars:
(a) the name and address of the person by whom the power mentioned in the certificate is to be
exercised, together with
(i) in the case of a sale, the minimum price at which a sale is to be made if it is intended to fix any
such minimum; or
(ii) in the case of a mortgage, the maximum amount, if it is intended to fix any such maximum;
(b) the place where the power is to be exercised, or, if no place is specified, a declaration that the
power may be exercised anywhere as may be specified; and
(c) the time limit within which the power may be exercised.
(3) Subject to section 60(1), in the case of an application to dispose of a ship by way of sale the
Registrar shall enable the applicant to dispose of the ship or the share in the manner required in
accordance with subsection (4).
(4) On receipt of an application made under this section, the Registrar shall enter in the register
book a statement of the particulars set out in the application, and shall grant to the applicant a
Certificate of Sale or a Certificate of Mortgage, as the case may require.
(5) A certificate of sale and a certificate of mortgage of a ship shall
(a) be in the prescribed form;
(b) not authorise any sale or mortgage to be made in Ghana or by any person not named in the
certificate; and
(c) contain a statement of the particulars set out in the application and also a statement of any
registered mortgages or sale and the relevant certificates issued.
Section 60—General rules for Certificate of Sale
(1) A certificate of sale shall not be granted except for the sale of an entire ship; and the certificate
shall not be granted under this Part, except upon the application made by declaration in writing of
all persons who appear who appear on the relevant register to be interested in the ship as owners
or mortgagees.
(2) The power conferred by the certificate shall be exercised in conformity with the directions
contained in it.
(3) An agreement for sale entered into in good faith in the exercise of the power conferred by the
certificate to a purchaser for valuable consideration shall not be invalidated by reason of the person
by whom the power was given dying at any time between the giving of the power and the
completion of the sale.
(4) Whenever such a certificate contains a specification of the place at which, and a time limit not
exceeding twelve months within which the power is to be exercised, a sale made in good faith to
a purchaser for valuable consideration without notice shall not be invalidated by reason of the
bankruptcy or insolvency of the person by whom the power was given.
Section 61—Procedure where ship under Certificate of sale granted in Ghana
(1) Where a Ghanaian ship is sold to a person qualified to own a Ghanaian ship, in exercise of a
power conferred by a certificate of sale granted under this Part
(a) the transfer of the ship shall be made by a bill of sale and the certificate of sale issued shall be
produced to a proper officer at the place where the ship is sold who shall endorse the certificate of
sale with a statement of the fact that the ship has been sold, and shall forthwith notify the Registrar;
(b) the ship may be registered anew in the manner provided by this Act; and
(c) the Registrar upon receipt of the certificate of sale and the ship's Certificate of Registry from a
proper officer shall endorse them to the effect that the ship has been sold and the sale shall be
entered in the relevant register.
(2) Where a Ghanaian ship is sold to a person not qualified to own a Ghanaian ship in the exercise
of a power conferred by a certificate of sale, granted under this Part,
(a) the certificate of sale and the Certificate of Registry shall be produced to the proper officer at
the place where the ship is sold, and the officer shall endorse a statement that the ship has been
sold to a person not qualified to own a Ghanaian ship;
(b) the officer making the endorsements shall forward the certificates of sale and Registry, each
being duly endorsed, to the Registrar;
(c) the Registrar, shall upon receipt of the certificates of sale and Registry make an entry of the
sale in the relevant register;
(d) the registration of the ship shall be considered as closed, except as far as it relates to any
unsatisfied mortgages or existing certificate of mortgage entered in it;
(e) where default is made in the production of the certificates mentioned in this sub-section, the
person to whom the ship is sold shall be considered to have acquired no title to or interest in the
ship; and
(f) the person on whose application the Certificate of Sale was granted under this subsection, and
the person exercising the powers conferred thereby, each commits an offence.
(3) Where no agreement for sale is entered into, in exercise of the power conferred by a certificate
of sale granted under this Part, that certificate shall be delivered to the Registrar, and the Registrar
shall thereupon cancel the certificate, and enter the cancellation in the register.
Section 62—Registration in Ghana where ship sold under certificate of sale granted by a foreign
State
(1) Where any ship registered in a foreign country is sold in exercise of a power conferred by a
certificate of sale granted under the law of that country to a person qualified to own a Ghanaian
ship, that ship may be registered in Ghana in accordance with this section.
(2) Application for registration anew shall be made to the Registrar and shall be accompanied
with the bill of sale by which the ship is transferred, the certificate of sale and the Certificate of
Registry of the ship.
(3) The Registrar, on registration of a ship anew shall
(a) retain the certificates of sale and Registry, and endorse on each of the certificates an entry of
the fact of the sale having taken place;
(b) forward the certificates to the Registrar at the ship's former port of registry;
(c) enter in the relevant register such particulars as are, by this Act required to be entered in it upon
the first registration of a ship in Ghana; and
(d) state any registered mortgages or certificates of mortgage enumerated on the certificate of sale.
(4) Where a ship is registered under this Part
(a) the description of the ship contained in its former Certificate of Registry may be transferred
into the relevant register without the ship being resurveyed.
(b) the declaration to be made by the purchaser shall be the same as is required to be made by an
ordinary transferee; and
(c) all persons on the register interested in that ship as owners or mortgagees shall have the same
rights, and their rights shall be determined in the same manner, as if that ship had been first
registered in Ghana in the manner provided in this Act and as if any unsatisfied mortgages or
existing certificates of mortgage had been entered in the register at that port.
Section 63—Rules as to certificate of mortgage
The following rules shall be observed as to a certificate of mortgage:
(a) the power conferred by the certificate shall be exercised in conformity with the directions
contained in the certificate;
(b) every mortgage executed under the certificate shall be registered by the endorsement of a record
on the certificate by the proper officer at the place where the mortgage is executed;
(c) a mortgage executed in good faith under it shall not be invalidated by reason of the person by
whom the power was given dying at any time between the giving of the power and execution of
the mortgage;
(d) if the certificate contains a specification of the place where and a time limit, not exceeding
twelve months, within which the power is to be exercised, a mortgage executed in good faith to a
mortgagee without notice shall not be invalidated by reason of the bankruptcy or insolvency of the
person by whom the power was given;
(e) a mortgage which is registered on the certificate shall have priority over all mortgages of the
same ship or a share created subsequent to the date of the entry of the certificate in the relevant
register;
(f) where there is more than one mortgage registered in respect of a ship the respective mortgagees
claiming under them shall notwithstanding any express implied or constructive notice, be entitled
to priority according to the date and time that each mortgage is registered on the certificate, and
not according to the date of the mortgage;
(g) subject to the preceding rules, a mortgagee whose mortgage is registered on the certificate shall
have the same rights and powers, and be subject to the same liabilities, as he would have had if his
mortgage had been registered in the register book instead of on the certificate.
(h) the discharge of a mortgage registered on the certificate may be endorsed on the certificate by
the Registrar or a proper officer on the production of such evidence as is required by this Act to be
produced to the Registrar for the entry of the discharge of a mortgage in the relevant register;
(i) on the endorsement on the certificate being made the interest which passed to the mortgagee
shall vest in the same person in whom it would have vested if the mortgage had not been made
having regard to the intervening acts and circumstances; and
(j) on the delivery of any certificate of mortgage to the Registrar he shall after recording it in the
register book in such manner as to preserve the priority of any unsatisfied mortgage registered in
the register book, cancel the certificate and enter the fact of the cancellation in the register.
Section 64—Loss of certificate of sale or mortgage
Upon proof at any time to the satisfaction of the Registrar that a certificate of sale or mortgage is
lost or destroyed, or is so damaged as to be useless and that the powers given have never been
exercised, or, if they have been exercised, then, upon proof of the several matters and things that
have been done under it, the Registrar may either issue a new certificate or direct such entries to
be made in the register book, or such other things to be done, as might have been been made or
done if the loss, destruction or damage had not occurred.
Section 65—Revocation of certificate of sale or mortgage
(1) The owner of a Ghanaian ship, or a share in it in respect of which a certificate of sale or
mortgage has been granted may by an instrument signed by him authorise the Registrar to give
notice to every officer that the certificate is revoked.
(2) Notice shall accordingly be given and be recorded by the authorised officer receiving it.
(3) After the notice has been recorded by the proper officer
(a) the certificate shall be considered to be revoked in respect of any sale or mortgage made at that
place;
(b) the notice shall be produced to any person who applies for the purpose of effecting or obtaining
a transfer or mortgage under the certificate; and
(c) an authorised officer shall inform the Registrar by whom the certificate was granted whether
any previous exercise of the power to which the certificate refers has taken place.
Maritime Liens
Section 66—Maritime Liens
Subject to this Act, any of the following claims against an owner, demise charterer, manager or
operator of a vessel shall be secured by a maritime lien on the vessel:
(a) claims for wages and other sums due to the master, officers and other members of the vessel's
complement in respect of their employment on the vessel including costs of repatriation and social
insurance contributions payable on their behalf;
(b) claims in respect of loss of life or personal injury occurring, whether on land or water, in direct
connection with the operation of the vessel;
(c) claims for reward for salvage of the vessel;
(d) claims for ports, canal and other waterway dues and pilotage dues;
(e) claims based on tort arising out of physical loss or damage caused by the operations of the
vessels other than loss of or damage to cargo, containers and passengers' effects carried on the
vessel.
Section 67—Priority of maritime liens
Subject to section 74(5) and (6) the maritime liens set out in section 66 shall take priority over
registered mortgages which comply with the following conditions;
(a) the mortgages have been effected and registered in accordance with the laws of the country in
which the vessel is registered;
(b) the register and any instruments required to be deposited with the Registrar in accordance with
the law of the country in which the vessel is registered is open to public inspection and extracts
from the register and copies of any such instruments can be obtained from the Registrar;
(c) where the register or any instrument referred to in paragraph (b) specifies at least the name
and address of the person in whose favour the mortgage has been effected or that it has been issued
to the bearer and the maximum amount secured, if that is the requirement of the law of the country
of registration;
(d) the maximum amount secured is specified in the instrument creating the mortgage and the date
and other particulars which, according to the law of the country of registration, determine the
ranking in relation to other registered mortgages are stated.
Section 68—Order of priority of liens
(1) The maritime liens set out in section 66 shall rank in the order listed, except that maritime
liens securing claims for cost of salvage of the vessel shall take priority over all other maritime
liens which have been attached to the vessel prior to the time when the operations giving rise to
the said liens were performed.
(2) The maritime liens set out in paragraphs (a), (b), (d) and (e) of section 66 shall rank in pari
passu as among themselves.
(3) Maritime liens to secure claims for the cost of salvage of a vessel shall rank in the inverse
order of the time when the claim secured accrued. Such claims shall be considered to have accrued
on the date on which each salvage operation was terminated.
Section 69—Rights of ship builders and ship repairers
Where a preferential right arises, pursuant to any law relating to bankruptcy or insolvency, in
respect of a ship in the possession of
(a) a ship builder in order to secure claims for the building of the ship; or
(b) a ship repairer in order to secure claims for the repair of the ship,
the right shall be postponed to all the maritime liens set out in section 66 but may take precedence
over any mortgage or other preferential right registered under this Part so long as the ship is in the
possession of the ship builder or ship repairer.
Section 70—Characteristics of maritime liens
Subject to section 68 maritime liens follow the vessel notwithstanding any change of ownership
or of registration or flag.
Section 71—Claims arising from radioactive products
No maritime lien shall be attached to a vessel to secure claims set out in paragraphs (b) or (e) of
section 66 which arises from
(a) damage in connection with the carriage of oil or other hazardous or noxious substances by sea
for which compensation is payable to the claimants under international conventions or under the
laws of Ghana which provide for strict liability and compulsory insurance or other means of
securing the claims; or
(b) the radioactive properties or a combination of radioactive properties with toxic, explosives or
other hazardous properties of nuclear fuel or radioactive products or waste.
Section 72—Extinction of maritime liens
(1) The maritime liens set out in section 66 is extinguished after a period of one year unless, prior
to the expiring of the period, the vessel has been arrested or seized, and the arrest or seizure leads
to a forced sale.
(2) The one-year period referred to in subsection (1) shall commence
(a) with respect to the maritime liens set out in section 66 (a) from the date of the claimant's
discharge from the vessel; or
(b) with respect to the maritime liens set out in section 66(b) to (e), on the date when claims
secured under the section arise, and shall not be subject to suspension or interruption, except that
time shall not run during the period when the arrest or seizure of the vessel is not permitted by law.
Section 73—Notice of forced sale
(1) Prior to a forced sale of a vessel in Ghana, the Authority shall ensure that notice in accordance
with this Act is served on
(a) the authority in charge of the register of the state of registration;
(b) holders of registered mortgages, which have not been issued to bearer;
(c) holders of registered mortgages issued to bearer and all holders of maritime liens; and
(d) the registered owner of the vessel.
(2) The notice shall be given at least 30 days prior to the forced sale and shall contain
(a) the time and place of the forced sale and such particulars concerning the forced sale or the
proceedings leading to the forced sale as the Authority shall determine as being sufficient to protect
the interest of the persons entitled to notice; or
(b) where the time and place of the forced sale cannot be determined with certainty, the appropriate
time and anticipated place of the forced sale and the particulars concerning the forced sale as the
authority conducting the proceedings shall determine as being sufficient to protect the interests of
persons entitled to notice.
(3) Where notice is given in accordance with subparagraph (b), additional notice of the actual time
and place of the forced sale shall be provided when known but, in any event, not later than 7 days
prior to the forced sale.
(4) The notice specified in subsections (2) and (3) shall be in writing and may be given by
registered mail, or given by any electronic or other appropriate means which confirm the receipt
by persons interested as specified in subsection (1) if known.
(5) In addition to the other provisions of this section, the notice shall be given by press
announcement in the state where the forced sale is to be conducted and, if considered appropriate
by the authority conducting the forced sale in other publications.
Section 74—Effect of forced sale
(1) Upon the forced sale of a vessel in Ghana, the registered mortgages, except those assumed by
the purchaser with the consent of the holders, and the liens and other encumbrances of whatever
nature shall cease to attach to the vessel, provided that
(a) at the time of the sale the vessel is within the jurisdiction of Ghana; and
(b) the sale was effected in accordance with this Act.
(2) The costs and expenses arising out of the arrest, seizure and subsequent sale of a vessel shall
be paid first out of the proceeds of sale and these shall include the costs for the upkeep of the vessel
and the crew as well as wages, other sums and costs referred to in section 66(a), incurred from the
time of arrest or seizure.
(3) The balance of the proceeds shall be distributed to the extent necessary to satisfy the respective
claims in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
(4) Upon satisfaction of all claims, the residue of the proceeds, if any, shall be paid to the owner
and the money shall be transferable through the banks.
(5) In the event of the forced sale of a stranded or sunken vessel following its removal by a public
authority in the interest of safe navigation or the protection of the marine environment, the costs
of the removal shall be paid out of the proceeds of the sale before all other costs secured by a
maritime lien on the vessel.
(6) Where at the time of the forced sale the vessel is in the possession of a shipbuilder or a ship
repairer who under this Act enjoys a right of retention, the shipbuilder or ship repairer shall
surrender the possession of the vessel to the purchaser, but the shipbuilder or ship repairer is
entitled to obtain satisfaction of the claim of the shipbuilder or ship repairer out of the proceeds of
sale after the satisfaction of the claims of holders of maritime liens mentioned in section 66.
(7) The Authority shall ensure that any proceeds of a forced sale are transferable.
Section 75—Disposition of proceeds of sale
The costs awarded by a court and arising out of the arrest and subsequent sale of a ship shall be
paid first out of the proceeds of the sale, and the balance of such proceeds shall be distributed
among
(a) the holders of maritime liens under section 66;
(b) the holders of preferential rights under section 69; and
(c) the holders of mortgages and other preferential rights registered under this Part,
to the extent necessary to satisfy their claims.
Section 76—Issue of certificate that a ship is free of mortgages, liens
(1) Where a vessel registered in a state party to the International Convention on Liens and
Mortgages, 1993 is the subject of a forced sale in any state party, the Authority shall, at the request
of the purchaser, issue a certificate to the effect that the vessel is free of all registered mortgages,
except those assumed by the purchaser, and of all liens, encumbrances, provided that
(a) at the time of the sale the vessel is within the jurisdiction of Ghana; and
(b) the sale was effected in accordance with this Act
(2) Upon the production of the certificate the Registrar shall
(a) delete all registered mortgages except those assumed by the purchaser;
(b) register the vessel in the name of the purchaser; and
(c) issue a certificate of deregistration for the purpose of a new registration.
Miscellaneous Provisions on Registration of Ships
Section 77—Provisions relating to infancy or other incapacity
(1) A court may on application made in connection with registration appoint a guardian or a
committee if by reason of infancy, unsoundness of mind or any other cause a person interested in
a ship or a share in it is incapable of making a declaration or doing anything required or permitted
to be done in connection with registration under this Act.
(2) The person appointed shall make a declaration as nearly as possible corresponding with the
circumstances and perform any act or thing in the name and on behalf of the incapacitated person.
(3) All acts done by the person in the name and on behalf of the incapacitated person shall be as
effectual as if done by the infant, person of unsound mind or incapacitated person.
Section 78—Notice of trusts not to be received
(1) A notice of any trust, express, implied or constructive, shall not be entered in the register or
be receival by the Registrar.
(2) The registered owner of a ship or of a share in it shall dispose of the ship or the share in it in
the manner provided for in this Act and give a valid receipt for any money paid or advanced by
way of consideration.
Section 79—Definition of "Beneficial Interest" and equities not excluded by Act
The expression "beneficial interest", where ever used in this Part includes interests arising under
contract and other equitable interests, and accordingly notwithstanding
(a) any provisions in this Act for preventing notice of trusts from being entered in the register or
received by the Registrar; or
(b) the powers of disposition and of giving receipts conferred by this Act on registered owners
and mortgagees; or
(c) the provisions of this Act relating to the exclusion of unqualified persons from the ownership
of Ghanaian ships, interests arising under contract or other equitable interests may be enforced by
or against owners and mortgagees of ships in respect of their interest in it in the same manner as
in respect of any other personal property.
Section 80—Liability of beneficial owner
(1) Where a person has a beneficial interest, other than a mortgage, in any ship or a share in a ship
registered in the name of another person as owner, the person interested as well as the registered
owner shall be subject to all pecuniary penalties imposed by this or any other enactment on the
owner of a ship or shares in it.
(2) Proceedings may be taken for the enforcement of the penalties against both or either of the
parties mentioned in subsection (1).
Section 81—Registration of ship's managing owner or manager
(1) The name and address of the managing owner for the time being of a ship registered at a port
in Ghana shall be registered with the Registrar at the port.
(2) Where there is no managing owner there shall be registered the name of the person to whom
the management of the ship is entrusted to.
(3) A person whose name is registered under subsection (2) shall, for the purpose of this Act, be
under the same obligations, and be subject to the same liabilities, as if the person were the
managing owner.
(4) Where default is made in complying with this section the owner shall be liable.
(5) Where there is more than one managing owner managing each owner shall be liable in
proportion to that owner's interest in the ship, to a fine not exceeding in the aggregate 500 penalty
units for each time the ship leaves any port in Ghana without the name and address of the managing
owner being registered.
Section 82—Power of Registrar to dispense with declaration
Where, under this Part a person is required to make a declaration on behalf of himself or of a body
corporate, or any evidence is required to be produced to the Registrar; and it is shown to the
satisfaction of the Registrar that from any reasonable cause that person is unable to make the
declaration, or that the evidence cannot be produced, the Registrar may, with the approval of the
Director-General and on the production of such other evidence, and subject to such terms as the
Registrar may think fit, dispense with the declaration or evidence.
Section 83—Mode of declarations
(1) Declarations required to be made under this Part shall be made before the Registrar, a proper
officer or any other person authorized by law to administer oaths.
(2) Declarations required to be made under this Part may be made on behalf of a body corporate
by the Secretary or any other officer of the body corporate authorized by the directors for the
purpose.
Section 84—Application of fees
All fees authorized to be charged under this Part shall, except where otherwise provided in this
Act be applied in the payment of the general expenses of carrying into effect the functions of the
Authority under this Act and any other enactment.
Section 85—Returns to be made by the Registrar
The Registrar of Ships shall submit to the Director-General returns of all registrations, transfers,
transmissions, mortgages and other dealings with ships which have been registered by or
communicated to him in his capacity as Registrar and the names of persons concerned and such
other particulars as may be directed by the Director-General.
Section 86—Inspection of book, and documents admissible in evidence
(1) Any person may, on application to the Registrar during office hours and on payment of fees
determined from time to time by the Board inspect any register book.
(2) The following documents shall be admissible in evidence in the manner provided by this Act:
(a) any register book under this Part, on its production from the custody of the Registrar or other
person who has lawful custody of it;
(b) a Certificate of Registry under this Act signed by the Registrar or other proper officer;
(c) an endorsement on a Certificate of Registry signed by the Registrar or other proper officer; and
(d) a declaration made in pursuance of this Part in respect of a Ghanaian ship.
(3) A copy or transcript of the register of Ghanaian ships kept by the Authority shall be admissible
in evidence and has the same effect as the original register of which it is a copy or a transcript.
Section 87—Documents and instructions as to registration in prescribed form
(1) The following instruments and documents shall be in a form prescribed by legislative
instrument by the Minister
(a) certificate of survey;
(b) declaration of ownership by an individual owner;
(c) declaration of ownership on behalf of body corporate as owner;
(d) certificate of registry;
(e) provisional certificate;
(f) declaration of ownership by an individual transferee;
(g) declaration of ownership on behalf of body corporate as transferee;
(h) declaration of owner taking by transmission; and
(i) declaration of mortgagee taking by transmission.
(2) The Director-General may direct any officer of the Authority with regard to
(a) the manner of making entries in the register books;
(b) the execution and attestation of powers of attorney;
(c) any evidence required for identifying any person;
(d) the reference to him of any question involving doubt or difficulty; and
(e) generally any act or thing to be done in pursuance of this Part as the Director-General thinks
fit.
Section 88—Forgery of documents
Any person who forges, or fraudulently alters or assists in forging or fraudulently altering, or
procures to be forged or fraudulently altered, any register book, builder's certificate, certificate of
survey, certificate of registry, declaration, bill of sale or instrument of mortgage, under this Part,
or any entry or endorsement required by this Part to be made in or on any of those documents,
commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 2,500 penalty
units or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.
Section 89—False declaration
(1) A person who, in the case of any declaration made in the presence of, or produced to a Registrar
under this Part or in any document or other evidence produced to the Registrar.
(a) wilfully makes, or assists in making, or procures to be made any false statement concerning the
title to or ownership of, or the interest existing in any ship, or any share in a ship; or
(b) utters, produces or makes use of any declaration or document containing any false statement
knowing the same to be untrue, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not
exceeding 2,500 penalty units or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to both.
(2) Subject to subsection (1) a person who wilfully makes a false declaration concerning the
person's qualification or the qualification of any other person or body corporate to own a Ghanaian
ship or any share in it, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not
exceeding 2,500 penalty units or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to both, and
the ship or share shall be subject to forfeiture under this Act, to the extent of the interest of the
declarant, unless it is proved that the declaration was made without authority, of that person or that
body corporate.
Section 90—Liabilities of persons on unregistered ship
Where a Ghanaian ship is required to be registered under this Act, and is not registered, any person
found on that ship shall be dealt with in the same manner as if the ship were a registered Ghanaian
ship.
Section 91—Fees
The Board shall determine the fees payable in respect of the registration, and the transfer including
transmission, new registration, mortgage and transfer of mortgage of ships.
PART II—NATIONAL CHARACTER AND FLAG
Section 92—National character of ship to be declared before clearance
(1) A customs officer shall not grant a clearance to any ship until the master has declared the name
of the nation to which the master claims the ship belongs, and the officer shall upon the declaration
write the ships name on the clearance.
(2) Where a ship attempts to proceed to sea without a clearance, it may be detained until the
declaration is made.
Section 93—National colours
The national flag of Ghana is declared to be the national colours for all Ghanaian ships.
Section 94—Right to fly the flag of Ghana
(1) A ship registered or licensed in accordance with this Act as a Ghanaian ship shall fly the
national flag of Ghana.
(2) Nothing is this section shall be construed as prohibiting ships which are exempt from
registration or licensing under this Act from flying in Ghanaian waters the national colours of
Ghana.
Section 95—Showing of national colours
(1) A Ghanaian ship shall hoist the proper national colours
(a) on a signal being made to her from any ship or aircraft of the Armed Forces;
(b) on entering or leaving any Ghanaian or foreign port;
(c) when passing a warship; and
(d) while in a Ghanaian port, from sunrise to sunset.
(2) Where default is made in complying with this section the master of the ship commits an offence
and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or to a term of
imprisonment not exceeding 12 months.
(3) Where there are hoisted on board any Ghanaian ship, any colours or pendants usually worn by
ships of the Ghana Navy, or the national colours of any other country, the master of the ship or the
owner, if the owner is on board the ship, and every other person hoisting the pendants or colours,
commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units
and or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months in addition to the seizure of the colours
or pendants by the court.
(4) This section does not apply to fishing vessels exclusively employed in fishing, which are
lettered and numbered and entered in the fishing vessel register.
Section 96—Unauthorised use of national colours
(1) A person who uses or permits any person to use the national colours on board a ship which is
not a Ghanaian ship or in any other way makes a foreign ship or permits a foreign ship to be made
to appear to be a Ghanaian ship.
(a) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the cedi
equivalent of US $1 million or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or to both; and
(b) the ship shall be liable to forfeiture under this Act
unless the use or assumption of appearance was made for the purpose of escaping capture by an
enemy or a foreign warship exercising some belligerent right.
(2) In any proceedings under this section the burden of proving the right to use the national colours
and to assume the appearance of a Ghanaian ship is upon the person using the national colours or
assuming the appearance.
Section 97—Penalty for concealing Ghanaian character or assuming foreign character
(1) Subject to subsection (2) where the master or owner of a Ghanaian ship
(a) does anything or permits anything to be done; or
(b) carries or permits to be carried any papers or documents, with intent to;
(c) conceal the Ghanaian character of the ship from any person entitled by the law of Ghana to
investigation a Ghanaian ship;
(d) assume a foreign character; or
(e) deceive any person so entitled.
the owner or master commits an offence and that ship shall on conviction of the master or owner
be forfeited to the State.
(2) Where the master or owner of the ship commits or is privy to the commission of the offence
referred to in subsection (1) the master or owner shall, on summary conviction, be liable to a fine
not exceeding the cedi equivalent of US $1 million or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3
years or to both.
Section 98—Penalty for acquiring ownership if unqualified
Where a person not qualified to own a Ghanaian ship acquires by transfer, any interest, either legal
or beneficial, in such a ship and uses the national colours of Ghana or assumes a Ghanaian national
character, that person commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not
exceeding 2,500 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or to both and
the interest of that person shall be liable to forfeiture under this Act.
PART III—MANNING AND CERTIFICATION
Section 99—Regulations regarding manning and qualifications of a person serving in a Ghanaian
Ship
(1) The Minister may make Regulations for the manning requirements for a Ghanaian ship
including inland water craft and the qualifications of officers and seafarers of such a ship and for
other matters.
(2) Regulations made under subsection (1) may include
(a) provisions on the categories of Ghanaian ships by reference to their tonnage capacity, the nature
of their cargo and the trading areas including inland waters or voyages in which they are engaged;
(b) the manning requirements in relation to classes or descriptions of ships including inland-water
crafts, trading in prescribed areas including inland waters and in particular requiring ships to carry
such of description, qualified doctors and qualified cooks and such number of other seafarers or
qualified seafarers as may be prescribed in the Regulations;
(c) conditions as to the nationality of a person for service on board any Ghanaian ship, or any ship
engaged in local trade in Ghanaian waters;
(d) provisions requiring that a ship shall be under the charge of a properly certificated master and
that watches at sea and in port are always kept by suitably qualified officers;
(e) provisions requiring officers, seafarers and other persons performing prescribed functions in
relation to the operation and maintenance of Ghanaian ships to be holders of certificate of
competency, or otherwise and to satisfy such other conditions as may be prescribed, including
conditions as to nationality and prescribing for the grant, dispensation, revocation, extension,
validation, suspension, endorsement or variation and recording of such certificates;
(f) provisions relating to the
(i) conduct of examinations in respect of certificate of competency;
(ii) issue of certificate of competency to masters, mates and engineers;
(iii) the qualification of candidates for the examinations and the qualification and appointment of
the examiners;
(iv) the remuneration of examiners;
(v) the fees for the examinations; and
(vi) all other matters as the Minister thinks necessary for the purpose of the examinations;
(g) provisions for the exemption of persons with prescribed qualification or experience from the
whole or parts of the examinations for such certificates;
(h) provisions for the programmes of training and the curricula of study to be followed in the
training of seafarers;
(i) provisions for the establishment, maintenance and operation of schools for the training of
persons for certification as seafarers; and designating from time to time institutions as recognized
or affiliated places of training;
(j) provisions prescribing the manner in which enquiries may be instituted before a board of
enquiry appointed under section 102; and
(k) provisions prescribing any other matter which is required by this Act to be prescribed.
(3) In making Regulations under subsection (1) the Minister shall have regard to the relevant
Conventions of the International Labour Organisation, the International Convention on Standards
of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978 (STCW) as amended and any
other related international conventions to which Ghana is a party.
Section 100—Power to exempt
The Minister may exempt any ship or class of ships from the requirements of any Regulations
made under section 99 and an exemption given under this section may be for a particular period
or for one or more voyages.
Section 101—Board of Inquiry
Where there is an allegation that a seafarer
(a) is suffering from a habit or a mental or physical condition that renders him unfit to be a seafarer;
(b) is guilty of dishonesty, incompetence or misconduct in the performance of his functions as a
seafarer; or
(c) procured his certificate of competency as a result of a misleading, false or fraudulent
misrepresentation,
the Authority may appoint a board of inquiry of two or three persons, one of whom shall be a
Senior Officer of a ship, to enquire into the allegation and report its findings with its
recommendations in writing to the Authority.
Section 102—Powers of the board
A board appointed under section 101 shall have all the powers of a person holding an inquiry under
the section.
Section 103—Cancellation of Certificate`
The Board upon the recommendation of
(a) a board of inquiry set up under section 101; or
(b) the Director-General, consequent upon the conviction of a seafarer for an offence under this
Act
may in writing cancel or suspend a certificate issued under Regulations made under section 99 (2)
(f) and order the certificate to be surrendered at a place and time it directs.
Section 104—Revocation of certificate
The Board may upon the recommendation of
(a) a board of inquiry; or
(b) the Director-General as a result of the conviction of a seafarer in writing withdraw either
indefinitely or temporarily an approval for a certificate issued under Regulations made under
section 99 (2) (f).
Section 105—Appeals Against Cancellation of Certificate
A person who is aggrieved by a decision under section 103 or 104, cancelling or suspending a
Certificate, or withdrawing an approval under this Act, may appeal to the High Court against the
decision.
Section 106—Offences
(1) A person who
(a) serves as a seafarer on board a Ghanaian ship without being the holder of a valid certificate
appropriate to the category in which the person is engaged to serve; or
(b) either on the person's own accord or acting in the capacity of an agent, engages any other person
as a seafarer without taking the necessary steps to ascertain whether that other person is the holder
of an appropriate valid certificate,
commits an offence under this Act and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding
250 penalty units or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
(2) For the purpose of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) if it is established that a seafarer is serving
in any category without being the holder of a valid certificate appropriate to that category, the onus
shall be on the person who engaged that seafarer to prove that the necessary steps were taken to
ascertain that the seafarer was at the time when the seafarer was engaged, the holder of a valid
certificate appropriate to the capacity in which the seafarer is engaged to serve.
(3) A person who
(a) makes or procures or assists in making a false representation for the purpose of obtaining for
that person, or for any other person a certificate or a certified copy of a certificate;
(b) forges, assists in forging or procures the forging of a certificate or a copy of a certificate;
(c) fraudulently alters or assists in the fraudulent alteration of a certificate or a copy of a certificate,
or procures a certificate knowing it to be fraudulently altered;
(d) makes use of a certificate or a copy of a certificate which is forged, fraudulently altered,
cancelled, or suspended or which the person is not entitled to use;
(e) lends his certificate to, or allows it to be used by, any other person; or
(f ) has possession of or makes any document so closely resembling a certificate as to be calculated
to deceive,
commits an offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units or
to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to both.
(4) Any person who
(a) not being the holder of a valid certificate; or
(b) during a period when the certificate of the person is suspended or approval for the certificate
is withdrawn;
takes or uses any title, implying or calculated to lead another person to believe that the person is
entitled to serve as a seafarer on a Ghanaian ship, commits an offence and is liable on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 2
years or to both.
(5) A seafarer who fails to comply with a direction of the Authority to surrender the certificate of
the seafarer without reasonable cause commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to
a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
PART IV—ENGAGEMENT AND WELFARE OF SEAFARERS
Section 107—Functions of Registrar of Seafarers
(1) The functions of the Registrar of Seafarers are
(a) to conduct business connected with the engagement and discharge of
(i) a person who serves on board a Ghanaian ship; and
(ii) a Ghanaian seafarer who serves on a foreign ship;
(b) to afford facilities for engaging and discharging a seafarer by maintaining a register of the
names and conduct of
(i) seafarers who apply to the Registrar for engagement;
(ii) seafarers shipped or discharged by the Registrar;
(iii) seafarers who produce continuous discharge certificates in proof of service in foreign or
Ghanaian ships; and
(iv) seafarers who serve in Ghanaian ships.
(c) to cause copies of the certificates referred to in paragraph (b) (iii) to be kept at the Registrar's
office; and
(d) to perform the other duties entrusted to the Registrar relating to seafarers, apprentices and ships
in pursuance of this or any other enactment relating to shipping.
(2) A person shall not engage or recruit a Ghanaian seafarer for employment on board a Ghanaian
or foreign ship, without first obtaining a licence in the prescribed form from the Authority
authorising that person to engage or recruit Ghanaian seafarers for sea service.
(3) A person who contravenes subsection (2) commits an offence and is liable on summary
conviction to a fine of not less than 300 penalty units and not exceeding 500 penalty units or
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years.
Section 108—Crew agreement
(1) Subject to subsection (2), the owner or master of every ship shall enter into an agreement in
accordance with this Part with every Ghanaian seafarer whom the owner or master engages and
every seafarer whom the owner or master engages in Ghana and carries to sea as one of the crew.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to
(a) ships under twenty-four metres in length not engaged on international voyages, and
(b) vessels of any length trading or operating solely within the inland waters of Ghana.
(3) The Authority may waive the requirements stipulated in subsection (1), or vary the contents of
the approved form of the crew agreement in respect of any ship if it considers it expedient to do
so.
(4) The Minister may make Regulations for the engagement and matters pertaining to the
engagement of seafarers in respect of vessels under twenty-four metres in length or fifteen tons in
weight which are not engaged on international voyages and vessels of any length or weight trading
or operating solely within the inland waters of Ghana.
Section 109—Contents of crew agreements
(1) A crew agreement shall be in a prescribed form, dated at the time of the first signature and shall
be signed by the master before a seafarer signs the seafarer's name.
(2) A crew agreement shall show the place at which it is made, the surname and other names of
the seafarer, the seafarer's birth-place and age or date of birth, and shall state clearly the respective
rights and obligations of each of the parties, and shall contain as its terms the following particulars
(a) the name of the ship in which the seafarer undertakes to serve;
(b) either the nature and, as far as is practicable, the duration of the intended voyage or engagement,
or the maximum period of the voyage or engagement, which shall not exceed twelve months;
(c) the port at which it is intended to discharge the crew and the places or ports of the world, if
any, to which the voyage or engagement is not to extend;
(d) the number and description of the crew;
(e) if possible, the place and date at which each seafarer is to be on board or to begin work;
(f) the capacity in which each seafarer is to serve;
(g) the amount of wages which each seafarer is to receive;
(h) the prescribed scale of the provisions which are to be supplied to a seafarer;
(i) the time that is to expire after arrival at the port of discharge before a seafarer is discharged;
(j) any Regulations as to conduct on board and as to fines, and other lawful punishment for
misconduct which have been made by the Minister and which the parties agree to adopt; and
(k) a list of persons under the age of eighteen years and the dates of their births.
(3) The crew agreement shall contain the accepted provisions between the master of the ship and
the seafarer with regard to advances and wages to be paid.
(4) An agreement made to employ a seafarer under this section shall be terminated by
(a) consent of the parties;
(b) the death of the seafarer;
(c) the loss or total unseaworthiness of the ship; or
(d) where the agreement relates to employment for a particular period
(i) on the expiration of that period; or
(ii) if the period expires during the voyage on arrival of the ship, at the next port of call.
Section 110—Regulations for disciplinary offences
For the purpose of maintaining discipline on board Ghanaian ships, the Minister may make
Regulations
(a) making misconduct by seafarers on board a ship a disciplinary offence for which the master or
an officer designated by the master may impose penalties;
(b) to provide for the setting up of a disciplinary committee consisting of persons employed in the
ships and for the exercise by all or any of those members of the powers of the master in dealing
with disciplinary offences;
(c) to provide for the payment of penalties for disciplinary offences, and
(d) prescribing the procedure for the hearing of appeals against penalties for disciplinary offences.
Section 111—Disciplinary offence and criminal offence
Where a conduct is both a disciplinary offence and an offence against any other provision of this
Act, and that offence has been dealt with as a disciplinary offence, the offence shall not be dealt
with as an offence against that provision and vice versa.
Section 112—Procedures relating to certain crew agreements
The following provisions shall have effect with respect to a crew agreement made in the case of a
ship trading from and beyond the waters of Ghana:
(a) the agreement shall, subject to the provisions of this Act apply to substitutes;
(b) the Registrar of Seafarers shall cause the agreement to be read over and explained to each
seafarer in a language which the seafarer understands before the seafarer signs it and the Registrar
shall attest to each signature;
(c) the agreement shall be signed in duplicate when the crew is first engaged, and one copy
forwarded to the owner of the ship and the other retained by the master;
(d) the crew agreement shall also contain a special place or form for the description and signature
of a substitute or a person engaged subsequent to the first departure of the ship;
(e) the master shall where a substitute is engaged in the place of a seafarer who duly signed the
agreement and whose services are within twenty-four hours of the ship proceeding to sea, lost by
death, desertion or other unforeseen cause, cause the agreement to be read over and explained to
the substitute in a language which the substitute understands;
(f) the substitute shall sign the crew agreement in the presence of a witness who shall attest the
signature;
(g) an agreement may be made for a voyage or, if the voyage of the ship averages less than six
months in duration, may be made to extend over two or more voyages;
(h) an agreement made to extend over two or more voyages is referred to as a "running agreement"
in this Act;
(i) a running agreement shall not extend beyond the twelve months next following the date of the
making of the agreement or the first arrival of the ship at her port of destination after the expiration
of the twelve months;
(j) the master shall endorse an agreement for the engagement or discharge of a seafarer on every
return to the port where the crew was engaged before the final expiration of a running agreement;
(k) the master shall ensure that engagements or discharges have been made or are intended to be
made before the ship leaves port and that all those agreements comply with this Act,
(l) a master who wilfully makes a false statement in an endorsement commits an offence;
(m) the duplicate crew agreement retained by the owner of the ship on the first engagement of the
crew shall be kept by the owner for a period of seven years after the expiration of the agreement
and shall be produced on demand to the Registrar of Seafarers or other proper officer; and
(n) except as provided in section 128 a crew agreement shall not deprive any court of its
jurisdiction to hear and determine disputes in respect of the agreement.
Section 113—Further Provisions as to crew agreements
(1) The master shall, at the commencement of every foreign voyage or engagement, cause a legible
copy of the crew agreement (omitting the signatories) to be displayed in some part of the ship
which is accessible to the crew.
(2) An erasure, amendment or alteration in a crew agreement, except an addition made for the
purpose of shipping a substitute or a person engaged after the first departure of the ship, shall be
without effect unless proved to have been made with the consent of all persons interested in the
erasure, amendment or alteration.
(3) In any proceedings, a seafarer may introduce evidence to prove the contents of any crew
agreement or otherwise to support the seafarer's case without giving notice of intention to produce
the agreement or a copy of the agreement.
(4) A person who fraudulently alters, makes any false entry in, or delivers a false copy of a crew
agreement commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 100
penalty units or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or to both.
Section 114—Stipulation not to be contrary to law of flag State
In no case shall stipulations adopted by the parties be contrary to the laws of the flag state of the
ship in matters relating to wages and conditions of employment of a seafarer and master on board
a ship.
Section 115—Seafarer's certificate of discharge
(1) Subject to section 171 a master shall sign and give to a seafarer discharged from the master's
ship, either on the seafarer's discharge or on payment of the seafarer's wages, a certificate of the
seafarer's discharge in an approved form specifying the period of the seafarer's service and the time
and place of discharge.
(2) A certificate of discharge under subsection (1) shall not contain any statement as to the wages
or the quality of work of the discharged seafarer.
(3) A master shall upon the discharge of every certificated officer whose certificate of competency
had been delivered to and retained by the master, return the certificate to the officer.
Section 116—Character report
(1) When a seafarer is discharged from a Ghanaian ship, the master of the ship shall make a report
in a prescribed form, in this section referred to as "character report", in which the master
(a) shall report on the conduct, character and qualifications of the seafarer being discharged; or
(b) may state that the master declines to give any report on the conduct, character and qualifications
of the seafarer being discharged.
(2) The master who discharges a seafarer shall subject to section 172 and if the seafarer so desires,
give the seafarer a copy of the character report on that seafarer.
(3) A person who
(a) knowingly makes a false report on a seafarer's character;
(b) forges or fraudulently alters a certificate of discharge or a character report or copy of a character
report; or
(c) uses any certificate of discharge or character report that is forged or fraudulently altered or that
does not belong to the person
commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 200 penalty units
or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 117—Discharge on change of ship registry
(1) Where a Ghanaian ship ceases to be registered as a Ghanaian ship, a seafarer employed in the
ship shall be discharged from the ship, unless the seafarer consents in writing to continue
employment in the ship.
(2) In a situation under subsection (1) the provisions of this Part relating to the payment of a
seafarer's wages and the power of the Registrar of Seafarers or other proper officer to decide
disputes about wages shall apply in relation to the seafarer's wages as if the ship had remained
registered in Ghana.
Section 118—Employment of children, persons under eighteen years
(1) No person under the age of eighteen years shall be employed in any Ghanaian ship except
(a) for work approved by the Authority on board a "school-ship" or "training ship"; or
(b) where the Authority having due regard to health and physical condition of the person and to
the prospective and immediate benefit to that person of the employment, certifies that the
employment will be beneficial to that person.
(2) A person under the age of eighteen years shall not be employed in any capacity on a ship unless
there has been delivered to the master of the ship a certificate granted by a duly qualified medical
practitioner certifying that that person is fit to be employed in that capacity.
(3) A medical certificate issued under subsection (2)
(a) shall be valid for one year from the date of issue, unless earlier revoked, and
(b) may at any time be revoked by a duly qualified medical practitioner if the medical practitioner
is satisfied that the person is no longer fit for work.
(4) A person under the age of eighteen years shall not be employed to work in the engine room of
any ship, unless that person is an apprentice working under supervision.
Section 119—Changes in crew of certain ships
(1) The master of a Ghanaian ship trading outside Ghanaian waters shall before leaving Ghana,
sign and send in the prescribed form to the Board a full and accurate statement of every change
which takes place in that master's crew before finally leaving.
(2) A master who without reasonable cause fails to comply with sub-section (1) commits an
offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or a term of
imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 120—Change of master
(1) Where, during the voyage of a Ghanaian ship, the master is removed, superseded by some other
person or for any other reason ceases to have command of the ship, the master shall deliver to the
master's successor the certificate of registry and the various documents relating to the crew and
the navigation of the ship which are in the master's custody.
(2) A master who fails to deliver the relevant documents to the master's successor without
reasonable cause commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding
250 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
(3) The successor to every master shall immediately on assumption of the command of a ship enter
in the official log book a list of the documents delivered to that successor.
Section 121—Regulations for conditions of service
(1) The Minister may make Regulations as the Minister considers necessary to provide for
(a) the conditions of service of persons serving on Ghanaian ships and Ghanaian nationals serving
in foreign ships; and
(b) matters connected with the service referred to in paragraph (a) and, in particular, relating to
(i) apprenticeship to sea service;
(ii) the implementation of any international convention relating to the employment, welfare,
security, certification or status of seafarers;
(iii) the avoidance of agreements made contrary to Regulations as may be prescribed;
(iv) wages in general, and the rights related to persons employed in Ghanaian ships, securing safe
working conditions, health and welfare of seafarers and apprentices employed in ships,
(v) the accommodation to be provided for seafarers and apprentices on board ships, the location
and standard of accommodation and all questions relating to the accommodation of seafarers and
apprentices on board, and
(vi) engagement by foreign ships of Ghanaian nationals;
(2) In making Regulations under subsection (1), the Minister shall have regard to the following
International Maritime Conventions:
(a) Convention Concerning Minimum Standards in Merchant Ships (1976);
(b) Convention Concerning Wages, Hours of Work on Board Ship and Manning (Revised 1958);
(c) Convention Concerning the Medical Examination of Seafarers (1946);
(d) Convention Concerning Crew Accommodation on Board Ship (Revised), 1949;
(e) Convention Concerning Crew Accommodation on Board Ship (Supplementary Provisions),
1970; and
(f) International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for
Seafarers, 1978 as amended (STCW).
Section 122—Use of English Language
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, all correspondence, documents, forms or other
writings for the purposes of this Act shall be in the English language, and in the case of crew
agreement, official log book and muster lists, in a prescribed form except that another language
version of any document may be appended to the English language version.
(2) All written signs displayed on board a Ghanaian ship shall be in the English language with,
another language version appended if the master considers it necessary.
Section 123—Crew's knowledge of English
(1) Where in the opinion of the Board the crew of a Ghanaian ship consists of, or includes persons
who may not understand orders given to them in the course of their duty because of
(a) their insufficient knowledge of English, and
(b) absence of adequate arrangements for transmitting orders in a language of which they have
sufficient knowledge,
the Board shall serve notice on the master and the ship shall not proceed to sea until the Board is
satisfied that the situation has been rectified.
(2) If a ship goes to sea or attempts to proceed to sea in contravention of this section both the owner
and the master commit an offence and are liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding
250 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Wages and Emoluments
Section 124—Time and manner of payment of wages
The master or owner of a Ghanaian ship trading outside Ghanaian waters shall pay to each seafarer
belonging to that ship the seafarer's wages, if demanded, within two days after the arrival of the
ship at the port where the crew is to be discharged or upon the seafarer's discharge, whichever first
happens.
Section 125—Delivery of account of wages
(1) The master of a Ghanaian ship shall before paying off or discharging a seafarer, deliver at the
time and in the manner provided for by this Act a full and true account of the seafarer's wages and
deductions to be made from them.
(2) The account shall be delivered to the seafarer not less than twenty-four hours before the
seafarer's discharge or paying off.
Section 126—Deductions from wages
(1) Except in respect of a matter that happens after the delivery, a deduction from the wages of a
seafarer shall not be allowed unless it is included in the account delivered under section 125.
(2) The master shall during the voyage record the various issues in respect of which the deductions
are made in a book kept for that purpose, and shall if required produce the book at the time of the
payment of wages and also upon the hearing before a competent authority of any complaint or
question relating to that payment.
Section 127—Settlement of wages
(1) When a seafarer is discharged, and the settlement of the seafarer's wages is completed, the
seafarer shall sign a release, in an approved form of all claims in respect of the past voyage or
engagement; and the release shall be signed by the master or owner of the ship.
(2) The signed and attested release, shall operate as a discharge and settlement of all demands
between the parties to it in respect of the past voyage or engagement.
(3) The release shall be delivered to and retained by the owner for a period of seven years after the
expiration of the agreement and shall be produced on demand by the Registrar of Seafarers or other
proper officer.
Section 128—Registrar's Decision on Wages
(1) Whenever the nature and the amount involved in a dispute, between a master or owner and any
of the master's crew is raised before the Registrar of Seafarers and both parties agree in writing to
submit the same to the Registrar, the Registrar shall hear and decide the question submitted.
(2) An award made by the Registrar on the submission shall be conclusive as to the rights of the
parties; and the submission of the award shall be admissible in evidence.
Section 129—Registrar shall require ship's documents
(1) In any proceedings under this Act before the Registrar of Seafarers relating to the wages, claims
or discharge of a seafarer, the Registrar shall have power to
(a) require the owner or the owner's agent or the master or any mate or other member of the crew
to produce any log books or other documents in that person's possession;
(b) deal with any matter in question in the proceedings; and
(c) require the attendance and examination of any person who has information on the matter.
(2) A person who fails without reasonable cause to comply with the requirement of the Registrar
under subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not
exceeding 250 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
(3) In any proceedings under this Act before the Registrar of Seafarers relating to the wages, claims
or disputes or discharge of a seafarer, all travelling and other expenses incurred by the Registrar
shall be met by the owner or master of the ship in dispute.
Section 130—Rate of exchange
Where a seafarer has agreed with the master of a Ghanaian ship for payment of the seafarer's wages
or any part of it in a specific currency, any payment of or on account of the seafarer's wages if
made in any currency other than that stated in the agreement shall notwithstanding anything in the
agreement be made at the current official rate of exchange for the amount stated in the agreement
and the rate of exchange shall be endorsed on the agreement by a proper officer at that place.
Section 131—Limited power of Registrar to settle wage disputes
Where, before the Registrar of Seafarers or a proper officer, a question as to wages is raised
between the master or owner of a ship and a seafarer, and the amount does not exceed the cedi
equivalent of US $1000, the Registrar or the officer may on the application of either party decide
the question, except that if the Registrar or the officer is of the opinion that the question is one
which ought to be decided by a court, the Registrar may refuse to decide it.
Section 132—Court may award interest on wages due where there is no crew agreement
A court may in an action for the recovery of any wages order the master of a ship or a person
employed in a ship otherwise than under a crew agreement to pay in addition to the sum due,
interest on it at the rate of 20% per annum or at a lower rate as the court may specify starting from
seven days after the sum became due and ending when the sum is paid; except that where it appears
to the Court that the delay in paying the sum due was by mistake not attributable to any default of
the master or other agent of the owner, it may refuse to allow payment of interest on the wages.
Section 133—Allotment notes
(1) A seafarer may, by means of an allotment note issued in accordance with Regulations made
under this section, allot a part of the wages to which the seafarer will become entitled in the course
of the seafarer's employment in a Ghanaian ship.
(2) The Minister may make Regulations
(a) relating to the limitations to which a seafarer's right to make an allotment are subject;
(b) prescribing the form of allotment notes; and
(c) relating to the right of a person named in an allotment note to sue in that person's own name.
Section 134—Wages where service is terminated
(1) Where the service of a seafarer terminates before the date contemplated in the agreement, by
reason of the seafarer being left on shore outside Ghana because of the seafarer's unfitness or
inability to proceed on the voyage, the seafarer shall be entitled to wages for the time served but
not for any further period.
(2) Where the service of a seafarer terminates before the date contemplated in the seafarer's
agreement, by reason of the loss or foundering of the seafarer's ship, the seafarer shall be entitled
to receive wages in respect of each day on which the seafarer is in fact unemployed during a period
of two months from the date of termination of the service at the rate to which the seafarer was
entitled at that date, unless the seafarer obtains other suitable employment.
Section 135—Protection of Seafarer's rights and remedies
(1) A seafarer's lien on a ship, remedies for the recovery of wages, right to wages in case of wreck
or loss of the seafarer's ship, and any right the seafarer may have or obtain in the nature of salvage
shall not be renounced by any agreement.
(2) A stipulation in any agreement inconsistent with sub-section (1) or any other provision of this
Act is void.
(3) Subsection (1) does not affect any term of an agreement that relates to the remuneration to be
paid made with a seafarer belonging to a ship which is to be employed on salvage service
Section 136—Claims against seafarer's wages for maintenance
(1) Where, during a seafarer's employment in a ship, expenses are incurred by any public officer
for the benefit of a dependant of the seafarer and the expenses are of a kind specified in Regulations
made under this Act and such further conditions, as may be so specified, are satisfied, the public
officer may by notice in writing require the person employing the seafarer
(a) to retain for a period specified in the notice a proportion of the seafarer's net wages as may be
specified; and
(b) to give to the public officer notice in writing of the seafarer's discharge from the ship;
and the person employing the seafarer shall comply with the notice and give notice in writing of
its contents to the seafarer;
(2) For the purposes of this section,
(a) a seafarer's dependants shall be the seafarer's spouse and any person under the age of eighteen
years whom the seafarer is liable to maintain or to whom the seafarer is liable to make contributions
under any enactment; and
(b) the Minister may by Regulations prescribe for payment
(i) of expenses incurred in providing a dependant with accommodation, care and exercising
supervision over the dependant;
(ii) of any other expenses incurred for the benefit of the dependant; and
(iii) to be made to the dependant,
except that the Regulations may not prescribe for the payment of expenses unless they are such as
a court may order.
(3) Not more than the following proportion of a seafarer's net wages shall be retained under sub-
section (1),
(a) one-half, if the notice or notices relate to one dependant only; or
(b) two-thirds, if the notice or notices relate to two or more dependants.
(4) Where a public officer has served a notice under this section on a person employing a seafarer,
a competent court may, on the application of the officer, make an order for the payment to the
officer of a sum, not exceeding the proportion of the seafarer's wages which that person is required
by virtue of this section to retain, as the court having regard to the expenses incurred by the officer
and the seafarer's means, considers fit.
(5) Any sum paid out of a seafarer's wages in pursuance of an order under this section shall be
considered to be paid to the seafarer in respect of the seafarer's wages; and the service, on the
person who employed the seafarer of the order or of an order dismissing the application, shall
terminate the period for which that person is required to retain the wages.
(6) An application for an order under this section for the payment of any sum by the person who
employs a seafarer shall be considered, for the purposes of any proceedings, to be an application
for an order against the seafarer; but the order, when served on that person, shall have effect as an
order against that person and may be enforced accordingly.
(7) Any notice or order under this section may be served by registered post.
(8) The Minister may make Regulations specifying
(a) the expenses in respect of which a notice may be served by a public officer under sub-section
(1);
(b) any conditions that must be satisfied if a notice is to be served;
(c) that the duration of a notice begins with the service of that notice and ends after a specified
number of days after the seafarer's discharge from the seafarer's ship;
(d) the form of such a notice and the information to be contained in it; and
(e) the amounts to be deducted from a seafarer's wages in computing the seafarer's net wages for
the purposes of this section, includes amounts stipulated in allotment notes issued under section
133.
Section 137—Master's remedies, remuneration and disbursements
(1) The master of a Ghanaian ship, has the same rights, liens and remedies for the recovery of the
master's wages as a seafarer has for the seafarer's wages under this Act or any other law.
(2) The master of a Ghanaian ship, and every person lawfully acting as master of such a ship by
reason of the death or incapacity from illness of the master of the ship, has the same rights, liens
and remedies for the recovery of disbursements or liabilities properly made or incurred by that
person on account of the ship as a master has for the recovery of the master's wages.
(3) Where, in any proceedings regarding the claim of a master in respect of wages or disbursements
or liabilities mentioned in sub-section (2), any rights of set-off or counter-claim is made, the Court
may enter into and adjudicate upon all questions including the counter-claim and settle all accounts
arising or outstanding and unsettled between the parties to the proceeding and may direct payment
of any balance found to be due.
Section 138—Wages not to ddepend on freight
(1) The right to wages shall not depend on the earning from freight, and every seafarer and
apprentice who would be entitled to demand and recover any wages if the ship in which the seafarer
serves has earned freight, shall, subject to all other rules of law and conditions applicable to the
case, be entitled to demand and recover wages notwithstanding that freight has not been earned;
but in the event of wreck, or loss of the ship, proof that the seafarer has not made the utmost effort
to save the ship, cargo and stores, shall bar the seafarer's claim for wages.
(2) Where a seafarer or an apprentice who is entitled by virtue of this section to demand and recover
any wages, dies before the wages are paid, the wages shall be paid and applied in the same way as
the wages of a seafarer who dies during a voyage.
Section 139—Refusal to work
A seafarer is not entitled to wages at anytime during which the seafarer unlawfully refuses or
neglects to work when required, whether before or after the time fixed by the agreement for the
seafarer to begin work, or for any period during which the seafarer is lawfully imprisoned for any
offence committed by the seafarer, unless the court hearing the case otherwise directs.
Section 140—Illness caused by own default
(1) Where a seafarer is, by reason of illness incapable of performing the seafarer's duty, and it is
proved that the illness has been caused by the seafarer's own wilful act or default, or is a sickness
or infirmity wilfully concealed at the time of engagement, the seafarer shall not be entitled to wages
for the period during which the seafarer is, by reason of the illness, incapable of performing the
seafarer's duty.
(2) Subsection (1) does not affect the rights of any seafarer to any payment or other benefits to
which the seafarer may be entitled under any law providing for compensation to an injured or sick
worker.
Section 141—Costs of procuring conviction
When in any proceeding relating to a seafarer's wages it is shown that the seafarer has, in the course
of the voyage, been convicted of an offence and punished by imprisonment or a fine, the court
hearing the case may direct any part of the wages due to the seafarer, not exceeding one month's
wages, to be applied in reimbursing any costs properly incurred by the master in procuring the
conviction and punishment.
Section 142—Improper discharge
Where a seafarer who has signed an agreement is discharged otherwise than in accordance with
the terms of the agreement
(a) before the commencement of the voyage; or
(b) before one month's wages are earned;
without the seafarer's fault or consent, the seafarer is entitled to receive from the master or owner,
in addition to any wages the seafarer might have earned, due compensation for the damage caused
to the seafarer by the discharged, not exceeding one month's wages; and the seafarer may recover
that compensation as if it were wages duly earned.
Section 143—Protection of wages
(1) The following provisions apply to wages due or accruing to a seafarer,
(a) subject to section 136, wages are not subject to attachment by any court;
(b) an assignment or sale of wages before they are due does not bind the person making it;
(c) a power of attorney or authority for the receipt of wages may be revoked; and
(d) a payment of wages to a seafarer is valid in law notwithstanding that the wages have been sold,
assigned, attached or encumbered.
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) affects the provisions of this Act with respect to allotment notes.
(3) Nothing in this section applies to any disposition relating to the application of wages
(a) in the payment of contributions to a fund declared by Regulations to be a fund to which this
section applies, or
(b) in the payment of contributions in respect of the membership of a body declared by Regulations
to be a body to which this section applies
Section 144—Leave and holidays
(1) A seafarer is entitled after twelve months of continuous service on a Ghanaian ship, or for the
same employer, to an annual leave with pay, the duration of which shall be not less than 30 working
days for each year of service.
(2) For the purpose of calculating the time for which annual leave is due
(a) periods between consecutive crew agreements shall be included in the reckoning of continuous
service referred to in subsection (1);
(b) short interruptions of service not due to the act or default of the employee and not exceeding a
total of six weeks in any twelve months so not break the continuity of the periods of service that
precede and follow them; and
(c) continuity of service is not interrupted by any change in the management or ownership of the
ships in which the person concerned has served.
(3) The following are not included in computing the period of leave
(a) interruptions of service due to sickness or injury; and
(b) public holidays.
(4) In addition to the entitlement under subsection (1), every member of the crew of a Ghanaian
ship is entitled to twelve days annual leave with pay and to payment in lieu of public holidays as
the Government may decide, and if the length of continuous service is less than twelve months,
then the annual leave with pay shall be pro-rata.
Section 145—Seafarer may sue for wages
(1) Subject to section 136, a seafarer or a person duly authorized on the seafarer's behalf, may, as
soon as any wages due to the seafarer become payable, sue for them in a court having jurisdiction
in the place at which the seafarer's service is terminated or at which the seafarer is discharged, or
at which any master or owner or other person upon whom the claim is made, resides.
(2) A court upon a complaint on oath made to it for the purposes of proceedings under this section
may summon the master or owner or other person to appear before the court to answer the
complaint.
(3) Upon the appearance of the master or owner or other person, the court may examine the parties
and their respective witnesses on oath regarding the complaint and the amount of wages due, and
may make such order for the payment of any wages found due as appears reasonable and just.
(4) Where a master or owner or other person does not appear, the court, on proof that the master
or owner or other person was duly summoned, may examine the complainant and the complainant's
witnesses on oath regarding the complaint and the amount of wages due, and may make such order
for the payment of any wages found due as appears reasonable and just.
(5) Where an order under this section for the payment of wages is not obeyed within twenty-four
hours of its being made the Court may issue a warrant to levy the amount of the wages awarded
together with all the charges and expenses incurred in connection with the distress, levy and the
enforcement of the order by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of the person on whom the
order is made.
(6) Where sufficient distress cannot be found the court may cause the amount of the wages, charges
and expenses to be levied on the ship in respect of which the wages were earned or on the tackle
and apparel except that if the ship is not within the jurisdiction of the court, no levy may be made
on the ship but the court may cause the person upon whom the order for payment is made to be
arrested and committed to prison for a term not exceeding 12 months unless the payment is made
earlier.
Section 146—Jurisdiction of Court in the Recovery of Wages
A court of competent jurisdiction may hear and determine any action by or on behalf of any
seafarer or apprentice for the recovery of wages, where
(a) the owner of the ship is bankrupt, or
(b) the ship is under arrest or is sold by the authority of the court.
Section 147—Power to rescind contracts
(1) Where proceedings are instituted in a court in relation to a dispute between an owner or master
of a ship and a seafarer, arising out of or incidental to their relationship the court may having regard
to all the circumstances rescind any contract between the owner or master and the seafarer, or any
contract or articles of apprenticeship, upon terms as the court considers just.
(2) The jurisdiction of a court under subsection (1) is in addition to any other jurisdiction that the
court can exercise.
Property of Deceased Seafarers
Section 148—Property of deceased seafarer
(1) Where a seafarer belonging to a Ghanaian ship dies during a voyage, the master of the ship
shall take charge of any money or personal effects of the deceased seafarer that are on board the
ship.
(2) The master shall enter in the official log book,
(a) a statement of the amount of the money and a description of the effect; and
(b) a statement of the wages due to the deceased, the amount of deductions, if any, to be made
from the wages and the balance of the wages due.
(3) The entry shall be signed by the master and attested by a mate or some other member of the
crew.
(4) The master may cause any of the effects of a deceased seafarer to be sold.
(5) The master of the ship shall without delay furnish the Registrar of Seafarers with a statement
of the property of the deceased seafarer.
(6) The money, effects and balance of wages mentioned in subsections (1) and (2) and the proceeds
of the sale mentioned in subsection (4) are in this Act referred to as the "property of the seafarer".
Section 149—Delivery of deceased seafarer's property
(1) Subject to subsection (2), the property of the seafarer shall be delivered, by the master of the
ship by the most practicable means to the personal representative of the deceased or if there is no
personal representative, the master shall deliver the property of the seafarer to the Registrar of
Seafarers or to the proper officer for disposal
(a) in accordance with the law for determining the distribution or succession of personal property
of deceased persons of the place in which the deceased was last resident; or
(b) in accordance with the order of a court that has jurisdiction to determine the distribution of the
property of the deceased.
(2) A master may deduct from the property of the seafarer any expenses properly incurred in
complying with subsection (1).
(3) The master shall then deliver a statement of account to the Registrar of Seafarers in respect of
the property of the deceased seafarer.
Section 150—Forgery of documents
(1) A person commits an offence, who for the purpose of obtaining, either for that person or for
any other person, any property of a deceased seafarer
(a) forges or fraudulently alters any document purporting to show or assist in showing any right to
that property;
(b) makes use of any document that has been forged or fraudulently altered as described in
paragraph (a);
(c) knowingly gives or assists in giving or procures to be given any false evidence;
(d) knowingly makes any false representation; or
(e) knowingly assists in procuring any false evidence or representation to be given or made.
(2) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) shall upon summary conviction be
liable to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years.
Occupational Safety
Section 151—Occupational Safety Regulations
(1) The Minister may make Regulations for securing as far as is practicable, safe working
conditions and safe means of access for masters and seafarers employed in Ghanaian ships, and
requiring the reporting of injuries sustained by them.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) Regulations under this section may
(a) require the maintenance, inspection and testing of any equipment and impose conditions on its
use;
(b) require, prohibit, or regulate the use of any protective clothing or equipment;
(c) limit the hours of employment of seafarers in any specified operation or in any specified
circumstances; and
(d) make provision for the performance, by persons appointed from among the persons employed
in a ship, of functions to be prescribed under the Regulations.
(3) In making Regulations under this section, the Minister shall have due regard to the Convention
concerning the Prevention of Occupational Accidents to Seafarers, (1970) of the International
Labour Organization.
Required Provisions and Water for Ships
Section 152—Provisions and water
(1) The Minister may make Regulations requiring provisions and water to be provided for seafarers
employed in Ghanaian ships or any class of ships as may be specified in the Regulations.
(2) The Minister may exempt any ship from any requirement of Regulations made under this
section, either generally or in respect of a particular voyage.
(3) Where a person authorised to inspect provisions and water to be supplied to seafarers employed
in a Ghanaian ship is not satisfied that they are in accordance with Regulations made under this
section, the ship, if in Ghana, may be detained.
Section 153—Complaints as to provisions and water
(1) Where three or more members of the crew of a Ghanaian ship consider that the provisions and
water provided for the use of the crew are at any time of poor quality or insufficient they may
complain to the Registrar of Seafarers or the proper officer, who may either examine the provisions
and water complained of, or cause them to be examined.
(2) Where the person making an examination under this section finds that the items are of poor
quality or insufficient, the person shall communicate that fact in writing to the master of the ship,
and if the master fails to provide provisions or water fit for human consumption, the master
commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units
or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
(3) The person making the examination shall enter a statement of the result of the examination in
the official log book and send a report to the Registrar of Seafarers and that report shall be
admissible in evidence.
(4) Where the person making the examination certifies in the statement that there was no
reasonable ground for the complaint, each of the complainants shall be liable to forfeit to the owner
out of the complainant's wages as sum not exceeding one week's wages.
Section 154—Allowance for short or bad provisions
(1) If during the voyage of a Ghanaian ship the allowance of provisions provided for a seafarer is
less than that prescribed or any of those provisions are of poor quality, the seafarer shall receive
by way of compensation for the deficiency or poor quality, for so long as it lasts, such amounts as
may be prescribed to be paid to the seafarer in addition to the seafarer's wages, and is recoverable
as wages.
(2) Where the deficiency occurred because the provisions are supplied in improper quantities and
proper equivalent substitutes were supplied in lieu of those circumstances it shall be taken into
consideration for the purposes of subsection (1) and the compensation shall be reduced or denied
accordingly.
Section 155—Weights and measures
(1) The master of a Ghanaian ship in which provisions are supplied to the crew shall keep on board
proper weights and measures for determining the quantities of the several provisions; and the
master shall allow the weights and measures to be used in the presence of a witness at the time of
the distribution of the provisions whenever any dispute arises regarding the quantities.
(2) A master who fails to comply with subsection (1) without reasonable cause commits an offence
and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or a term of
imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
HEALTH AND WELFARE
Section 156—Medical fitness regulations
(1) The Minister may make Regulations as appear to the Minister to be necessary for conducting
medical examination of all persons seeking employment in any capacity on board Ghanaian ships
and for the issue of medical certificates in respect of such persons.
(2) In making Regulations under subsection (1), the Minister shall have regard to the Convention
concerning the Medical Examination of Seafarers, 1946; the International Convention on
Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978 (STCW) as amended.
Section 157—Crew accommodation regulations
(1) The Minister may make Regulations with respect to the crew accommodation to be provided
in Ghanaian ships.
(2) Regulations made under subsection (1) may in particular
(a) prescribe the minimum space per person which shall be provided as sleeping accommodation
for seafarers and the maximum number of persons who may use a specified part of such sleeping
accommodation;
(b) prescribe the equipment to be provided for the sleeping accommodation, mess rooms, sanitary
accommodation and galleys in a ship;
(c) regulate the spaces in the ship in which the crew accommodation or any part of it may be
located and the standards to be observed in the construction, equipment and furnishing of any such
accommodation;
(d) provide for the protection of the crew against injury, condensation, heat, cold and noise on a
ship;
(e) prescribe the water, heating, lighting, ventilation and sanitary facilities to be supplied on a ship;
(f) require the submission to a surveyor of ships of plans and specifications of any works proposed
to be carried out for the purpose of the provision or alteration of any accommodation and authorize
the surveyor to inspect the works;
(g) provide for the maintenance and repair of the accommodation and prohibit or restrict the use
of the accommodation for purposes other than those for which it is designed; and
(h) provide for the inspection, measuring and marking of crew accommodation on a ship and its
certification for the purpose of ascertaining tonnage.
(3) Regulations made under this section may
(a) exempt any particular ship or any class of ships from any requirements of the Regulations; and
(b) require the master of a ship or any officer authorised by the master for the purpose to carry out
such inspections of the crew accommodation as may be prescribed.
(4) In this section "crew accommodation" includes sleeping accommodation, mess rooms, sanitary
accommodation, store rooms and catering accommodation provided for the use of seafarers, but
does not include any accommodation which is also used by or provided for the use of passengers.
(5) In making Regulations under this section, the Minister shall have due regard to the requirements
of the Convention Concerning Crew Accommodation on Board Ship (Revised 1949) and
Supplementary Provisions, (1970) of the International Labour Organization.
Section 158—Certificated cook to be carried
(1) Every Ghanaian ship of one thousand gross tons or more trading from and beyond the waters
of Ghana shall carry a duly certificated ship's cook.
(2) Where in the opinion of the Authority there is an inadequate supply of certificated ships' cooks
it may exempt a particular ship from the requirements of this section for a specified period.
Section 159—Medical stores regulations
(1) The Minister may make Regulations requiring Ghanaian ships to carry such medicines, medical
stores, appliances and books containing instructions and advice, as may be specified in the
Regulations.
(2) The owner and master of every ship shall ensure that the ship carries medicines, medical stores,
appliances and books in accordance with the scales laid down in Regulations made under
subsection (1).
(3) Where a surveyor or other officer of the Authority is of the opinion that the medicines, medical
stores, appliances and books on a Ghanaian ship are deficient in quantity or quality or are placed
in improper receptacles, the surveyor shall give notice of this in writing to the master, owner or
agent of the ship, and the ship may be detained.
Section 160—Right to medical treatment
(1) Where the master of a Ghanaian ship or a seafarer belonging to a Ghanaian ship in the course
of duty gets injured or becomes ill and the illness is not as a result of the master's or seafarer's own
wilful act or default, the owner of the ship shall defray, without any deduction on that account
from wages the expense of
(a) providing the necessary surgical and medical advice;
(b) attendance to a health facility and medicines; and
(c) the maintenance of the master or seafarer
until the master or seafarer recovers from the injury or illness or dies or is returned to a proper port
in accordance with section 202.
(2) The owner of the ship shall defray
(a) the cost of conveyance; and
(b) in the case of death, the burial expenses, if any,
of a master or seafarer under subsection (1).
(3) The owner of a ship shall defray the expenses of
(a) the removal and of providing the necessary medical advice;
(b) medicine and attendance at a health facility and medicine; and
(c) maintenance
of a master or seafarer who on account of an illness or injury is temporary removed from the ship
for the purpose of preventing infection or otherwise for the convenience of the ship or the injured
or ill master or seafarer.
(4) In all other cases any reasonable expense duly incurred by the owner for any master or seafarer
in respect of illness, and also any reasonable expenses duly incurred by the owner in respect of the
burial of any master or seafarer who dies while on service, shall, if duly proved, be deducted from
the wages of the master or seafarer.
Section 161—Recovery of expenses from owner
(1) Where any of the expenses in respect of the illness or injury of a master or seafarer, which are
to be paid by the owner, are paid by any officer on behalf of the Government, or if any other
expenses in respect of the illness or injury of a master or seafarer whose wages are not accounted
for under this Act to that officer, are so paid, the expenses shall be repaid to that officer by the
owner of the ship.
(2) Where the expense are not repaid, the amount of the expenses shall be a charge upon the ship,
and shall be recoverable from
(a) the owner of the ship for the time being; or
(b) the person who was the owner of the ship at the time of the loss or transfer in any case where
the ship has been lost or has been transferred.
and the amount shall be regarded as a debt due to the Government recoverable by ordinary process
of law.
(3) In any proceedings for recovery, a certificate of the facts signed by the officer, together with
any vouchers, as the case requires, shall be sufficient proof that the expenses were duly paid by
that officer.
Section 162—Effect of workman's compensation
The eligibility of a seafarer to receive medical aid or periodical payments at the expense of the
seafarer's employer under the terms of any enactment providing for compensation to injured or
sick workers cancels the right of the seafarer to receive medical treatment under section 160
(a) if that seafarer receives that medical aid; and
(b) for so long as the seafarer receives the periodic payments.
Section 163—Medical practitioners to be carried
(1) Every Ghanaian ship trading outside Ghanaian waters that proceeds from a port with more than
one hundred persons on board shall carry on board as part of its complement a duly qualified
medical practitioner.
(2) The owner of a Ghanaian ship commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a
fine not exceeding 1000 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or to
both in respect of every voyage in which the ship is in contravention of subsection (1).
Section 164—Facilities for making complaints
(1) Where a seafarer while on board a Ghanaian ship informs the master that the seafarer wishes
to make a complaint to the Registrar of Seafarers or a judicial officer or to the proper officer against
the master or any of the crew, the master shall as far as the services of the ship will permit, allow
the seafarer to go ashore, so that the seafarer can make the complaint,
(a) if the ship is then at a place where there is a proper officer or the Registrar of Seafarers; or
(b) if the ship is not at a place where there is a proper officer or the Registrar of Seafarers then
upon her arrival at such a place.
(2) A master of a ship who fails to comply with this section without reasonable cause, commits an
offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units or to a term
of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to both.
Protection of Seafarers from Imposition
Section 165—Assignment and sale of salvage
Subject to this Act, an assignment or sale of any salvage payable to a seafarer that is made before
the salvage accrues does not bind the person making the assignment or sale, and a power of
attorney or authority for the receipt of any such salvage may be revoked regardless of its terms.
Section 166—Seafarer's debts
A debt exceeding a prescribed percentage of a seafarer's total earnings as indicated in the crew
agreement, if incurred by the seafarer after the seafarer is engaged to serve, is not recoverable until
the service agreed to is concluded.
Section 167—Misconduct endangering life of ship
A master or seafarer, belonging to a Ghanaian ship, who by wilful breach of duty or by neglect of
duty or while in a state of intoxication
(a) does any act which could cause the immediate loss, destruction of, or serious damage to the
ship, or to endanger immediately the life of a person belonging to or on board the ship, or
(b) refuses or omits to do any lawful act for preserving the ship from immediate loss, destruction,
or serious damage or for preserving any person belonging to or on board the ship from immediate
danger to life.
commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 2500 penalty units
or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.
Section 168—General offences against discipline
(1) Any seafarer or apprentice lawfully engaged on a Ghanaian ship who commits any of the
following offences is liable to be punished summarily in the following manner:
(a) if the seafarer or apprentice leaves the ship without leave after the ships arrival at a port, and
before the ship is placed in security, the seafarer or apprentice is liable to forfeit out of the seafarer's
or apprentice's wages a sum not exceeding one week's pay;
(b) if the seafarer or apprentice is summarily convicted of wilful disobedience to any lawful
command, the seafarer or apprentice is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 1 month
and in addition to forfeit, at the discretion of the court, out of the seafarer's or apprentices wages a
sum not exceeding 2 days' pay;
(c) if the seafarer or apprentice is summarily convicted of continued wilful disobedience to any
lawful command or continued wilful neglect of duty, the seafarer or apprentice is liable to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months, and at the discretion of the court, to forfeit a sum
not exceeding 2 days' pay for each day for which the offence continues or any expenses properly
incurred in hiring a substitute;
(d) if the seafarer or apprentice assaults the master or any mate or officer of the ship, the seafarer
or apprentice is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both;
(e) if the seafarer or apprentice conspires with any member of the crew to disobey any lawful
command, or to neglect duty, or to impede the navigation of the ship or the progress of the voyage,
the seafarer or apprentice is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 100 penalty units
or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both;
(f) if the seafarer or apprentice wilfully damages the ship, or dishonestly misappropriates or
converts to the seafarer's or apprentice's own use, or commits criminal breach of trust or wilfully
damages any of the ship's stores or cargo, the seafarer or apprentice commits an offence and is
liable on summary conviction to forfeit out of the seafarer's or apprentice's wages a sum equal to
the loss sustained, and in addition, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding 12 months; or
(g) if the seafarer or apprentice is summarily convicted of any act of smuggling, by which loss or
damage is occasioned to the master or owner of the ship, the seafarer or apprentice is liable to pay
to the master or owner a sum sufficient to reimburse the loss or damage and the whole or a
proportionate part of the seafarer's or apprentice's wages may be retained in satisfaction or on
account of that liability, notwithstanding any further penalty.
(2) A seafarer or an apprentice does not commit an offence under subsection (1) by reason only of
the seafarer or apprentice refusing duty during a lawful strike after the ship has arrived at a port in
Ghana and has been secured in good safety to the satisfaction of the master and port authority.
(3) A forfeiture or other payment imposed in respect of an offence under subsection (1) shall not
exceed one-half of one month's salary in any one month, and shall leave the seafarer a sum which
is sufficient for the maintenance of the seafarer and the seafarer's dependants.
(4) The master of a ship may in addition to any punishment imposed on a seafarer who contravenes
any provisions of subsection (1), discharge the seafarer.
Section 169—Desertion and absence without Leave
(1) Where a seafarer lawfully engaged on a Ghanaian ship or an apprentice belonging to a
Ghanaian ship deserts ship, the seafarer or apprentice commits the offence of desertion and is liable
on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 months and in addition
(a) the seafarer or apprentice is liable to forfeit all or part of any effect the seafarer or apprentice
leaves on board; and
(b) the wages which the seafarer or apprentice has then earned and if the master or owner of the
ship has engaged a substitute in the seafarer's or apprentice's place at a higher rate of wages than
the rate at which wages had been stated to be paid to the seafarer or apprentice, the seafarer or
apprentice shall be called upon to pay the excess.
(2) Where a seafarer lawfully engaged on a Ghanaian ship or an apprentice belonging to be a
Ghanaian ship neglects or refuses without reasonable cause to
(a) join the ship;
(b) proceed to sea on the ship;
(c) is absent without leave at
(i) anytime within the period of 24 hours immediately before the ship sails for a port either at the
commencement of or during the voyage; or
(ii) at any other time from the ship or duty without sufficient reason
and the act or omission does not constitute the offence of desertion, the seafarer or apprentice
commits the offence of absence without leave and is liable on summary conviction to
(d) a term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 months;
(e) forfeit a sum not exceeding 2 days' wages; or
(f) a fine not exceeding 6 days wages for each day that the offence continues, or any expenses
incurred in hiring a substitute.
Section 170—Improper negotiation of advance
(1) Where a seafarer lawfully engaged on a Ghanaian ship has receive under the seafarer's
agreement an advance note and after negotiating the advance note wilfully or through misconduct
fails to join the ship or deserts before the note becomes payable, the seafarer commits an offence
and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 25 penalty units or to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 2 months or to both.
(2) This section does not limit or otherwise prejudice any remedy, by action or otherwise
(a) of any person in respect of the negotiation of the advance note, or
(b) which an owner or master would otherwise have for breach of contract.
Section 171—Certificate of discharge may be withheld
(1) Where it is shown to the satisfaction of the Registrar of Seafarers that a seafarer lawfully
engaged in and belonging to a Ghanaian ship has wilfully or through misconduct failed to join the
ship, the Registrar may in writing direct that the seafarer's certificate of discharge should be
withheld for the period specified in the direction.
(2) While a seafarer's certificate of discharge is withheld, any person who has custody of the
document may, notwithstanding anything in any other enactment, refuse to furnish copies of the
certificate of discharge or certified extract of any particulars of service or character.
Section 172—Summary remedies not to affect other remedies
Nothing in sections 169 and 170 shall take away or limit any remedy by action before a court
which an owner or master would have had recourse to for breach of contract in respect of the
matters constituting an offence under those sections but for those provisions, but an owner or
master shall not be compensated more than once in respect of the same damage.
Section 173—False statement as to last ship
Where a seafarer on or before being engaged, wilfully and fraudulently makes a false statement of
the name of the seafarer's last ship or alleged last ship, or wilfully makes a false and fraudulent
statement of the seafarer's own name, the seafarer commits an offence and is liable on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding
12 months or to both.
Section 174—Deserters from foreign ships
(1) Where it appears to the Authority that reciprocal facilities will be given by the government of
a foreign country for apprehending and repatriating a seafarer who deserts in that country from a
Ghanaian ship, the Authority may, declare by publication in the Gazette that this section shall
apply in the case of that country subject to any limitations that the Authority may impose.
(2) Where a seafarer or apprentice deserts in Ghana from a ship registered in a country to which
this section applies, the master of the ship may apply to a court for assistance in apprehending the
deserter.
(3) The court shall give all assistance within its power, and for that purpose the court may on
information given on oath issue a warrant for the deserter to be conveyed on board the ship or
delivered to the master or mate of the ship or to the owner of the ship or the owner's agent in order
to be conveyed on the ship.
Section 175—Proof of desertion when wages are to be forfeited
(1) Whenever a question arises as to whether the wages of a seafarer or apprentice are forfeited
under this Part for desertion from a Ghanaian ship, it is sufficient for the person attempting to
enforce the forfeiture to show that
(a) the seafarer or apprentice was duly engaged in or belonged to the ship;
(b) the seafarer or apprentice left the ship before the completion of the voyage or engagement; or
(c) an entry of the seafarer's or apprentice's desertion was duly made in the official log book.
(2) The desertion shall be considered to be proved so far as it relates to any forfeiture of wages
under this Part, unless the seafarer or apprentice can produce a proper certificate of discharge or
can otherwise show to the satisfaction of the court that the seafarer or apprentice had satisfactory
reasons for leaving the ship.
Section 176—Application of proceeds from forfeiture
(1) Where any wages or effects are forfeited under this Part for desertion from a ship, the effects
may be sold, and the wage or the money arising from the sale of the effects shall be applied towards
reimbursing the expenses caused by the desertion to the master or owner of the ship, and any
balance remaining shall be paid to the Registrar of Seafarers.
(2) Where any wages are forfeited under this Part for any cause other than desertion, the forfeiture
shall in the absence of any specific provision to the contrary be in favour of the master or owner
by whom the wages are payable.
Section 177—Question of forfeiture decided in suit for wages
Any question concerning the forfeiture of our deductions from the wages of a seafarer or apprentice
under this Part may be determined in any proceedings instituted with respect to those wages
notwithstanding that the seafarer or apprentice has not been prosecuted for the offence that gives
rise to the question.
Section 178—Deduction of penalty from wages
(1) A penalty imposed on a seafarer for any act of misconduct for which the seafarer's agreement
imposes the penalty, shall be subject to the following:
(a) on the offender being discharged, where the offence and the entry in the official log book is
proved to the satisfaction of the Registrar of Seafarers or a proper officer, the master or owner
shall deduct the penalty from the wages of the offender, and
(b) the penalty deducted shall be paid to the Registrar of seafarers, and if the master or owner of
the ship fails without reasonable cause to pay the penalty, the master or owner commits an offence
and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 100 penalty units or to term of
imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or to both.
(2) An act of misconduct for which a penalty is imposed and paid by or deducted from the wages
of a seafarer shall not be otherwise punished under this Act.
Section 179—Penalty on stowaways
(1) A person who goes to sea in a ship without the consent of either the owner, master, or a mate
or of the person in charge of the ship or any other person entitled to give that consent, commits
and offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or both.
(2) A person who goes to sea in a ship without consent as specified under subsection (1) shall so
long as the person remains on the ship, be considered to belong to the ship and shall be subject to
the same penalties and punishments for offences constituting or encouraging a breach of discipline,
as if that person were a member of the crew and had signed the crew agreement.
Section 180—Trade dispute involving seafarers
(1) Any enactment concerning trade unions or labour shall so far as it relates to the immunity of
persons from legal proceedings for acts committed in contemplation or furtherance of a trade
dispute, apply to seafarers as it applies to other persons.
(2) Notwithstanding anything in any agreement, as seafarer employed on a Ghanaian ship may
terminate the employment on that ship by leaving the ship in contemplation or furtherance of a
trade dispute after giving to the master not less than forty-eight hours notice of the seafarer's
intention to do so.
(3) A seafarer shall not unless the notice is withdrawn, be compelled to go to sea within forty-eight
hours after giving notice under subsection (2) but such a notice shall be of no effect unless at the
time it is given the ship is in Ghana and securely moored in a safe berth.
(4) In this section "trade dispute" means any dispute between employers and seafarers, or between
seafarers and seafarers or involving any person and which is connected with the employment or
with the conditions of labour.
Section 181—Offences to be entered in official log book
Where in respect of a Ghanaian ship, an offence is committed under section 168 or 169, or an act
of misconduct is committed for which the agreement of the person committing the offence
provides for a fine, and it is intended to enforce the fine,
(a) an entry of the offence or act shall be made in the official log book and signed by the master
and an officer or the master and one of the crew;
(b) before the arrival of the ship at the next port; or if the ship is at the time in port, the offender
shall if still in the ship be given a copy of the entry or the entry shall be read over distinctly and
audibly to the offender, and the offender may reply as the offender thinks fit;
(c) a statement that a copy of the entry was furnished or that the entry was read over to the offender
and in either case the reply, if any, made by the offender, shall similarly be entered and signed in
the log book;
(d) in any subsequent legal proceedings the entries made under this section shall if practicable be
produced or proved; and
(e) if the entry is not recorded a court may refuse to receive evidence of the offence or act of
misconduct.
Relief and Repatriation of Seafarers
Section 182—Repatriation of seafarers
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, it is an implied term of every agreement entered into
for the employment of a seafarer in a Ghanaian ship that where the agreement terminates at a port
other than the port of engagement, the seafarer shall be returned to a proper return port at the
expense of the master or owner of the ship.
(2) The owner, master or agent of the ship shall make such arrangements as are necessary to defray
all expenses incurred for the return of a seafarer pursuant to subsection (1).
(3) Subsection (1) applies whether an agreement terminates by
(a) expiry of time;
(b) consent of the parties;
(c) shipwreck;
(d) sale of the ship;
(e) the inability of the seafarer to proceed in the ship by reason of sickness or injury; or
(f) by any other cause.
Section 183—Seafarer to bear expense of repatriation in certain cases
(1) A seafarer who has been left behind or discharged from a ship as a result of the seafarer's
(a) desertion,
(b) imprisonment, or
(c) inability to proceed to the ship because of an illness or infirmity that was wilfully concealed at
the time of the engagement of the seafarer,
is not entitled to be returned at the expense of the master or owner under section 182 of this Act.
(2) The owner, master or agent of the ship from which a seafarer mentioned in subsection (1) has
been left behind or discharged, shall make the necessary arrangements to defray all expenses
incurred for the return of the seafarer to a proper return port as if the seafarer were entitled to it.
(3) An owner, master or agent shall be reimbursed for any expenses incurred under subsection (2)
out of any wages owed to the seafarer at the time the seafarer left the ship or out of the proceeds
from the sale of any of the seafarer's effects left on board the ship.
(4) Where this is not sufficient, the owner, master or agent may take such legal action as the owner,
master or agent considers appropriate.
(5) Notwithstanding subsections (1), (3) or (4) the owner, the master or the agent shall ensure that
the seafarer does not become a charge upon the State.
Section 184—Duty of registrar of seafarers
(1) Where a seafarer is to be left behind or discharge from the seafarer's ship at a port other than
the seafarer's port of engagement, the Registrar of Seafarers or proper officer may demand from
the owner, master or agent, a guarantee for the proper discharge of any obligations imposed by
section 182 or 183.
(2) Where a guarantee required under this section is refused the Registrar of Seafarers or proper
officer may withhold consent to the discharge of the seafarer concerned.
Section 185—Application to foreign vessels
Sections 162 and 182 to 184 apply in respect of a vessel that engages a seafarer or apprentice in
Ghana, and "owner" in that context includes any person appointed or nominated by the owner, or
the charterer, if the vessel is on demise charter, to act as the owner's or charterer's agent and who
was acting as such at the time the seafarer or apprentice was engaged.
Section 186—Wages and effects of seafarer left behind
(1) Where a seafarer belonging to a Ghanaian ship is left at a place other than a proper return port,
the master of the ship shall subject to this section and as soon as practicable, enter in the official
log book a statement of the effects left on board by the seafarer and an account of wages due to
the seafarer at the time when the seafarer was left behind.
(2) On the termination of the voyage during which the seafarer was left behind, the master shall
furnish to the Registrar of Seafarers or the proper officer, within forty-eight hours after the arrival
of the ship at the port at which the voyage terminates, a delivery account and a retention account.
(3) The master shall if required by the Registrar of Seafarers furnish such vouchers as may be
reasonably required to verify the delivery and retention accounts.
(4) The master of a ship shall deliver to the Registrar of Seafarers, if the Registrar will receive
them, the effects of a seafarer as shown in a delivery account and subject to any reimbursement
allowed under subsection (5), the amount due on account of wages as shown in that account and
the Registrar of Seafarers or proper officer shall give to the master a receipt for any effects or
amount delivered.
(5) The master of a ship is entitled to retain out of the wages any sums shown in a retention account
that appear to the Registrar of Seafarers to be owing or payable to the master of the ship and for
that purpose the Registrar of Seafarers or proper officer shall allow those sums to be retained by
the master, out of the amount due on account of wages shown in the delivery account and where
that amount is not sufficient, for the remainder to be raised and paid to the master out of the effects.
(6) Before allowing any sum to be retained or to be raised and paid, the Registrar of Seafarers may
require that evidence be provided by statutory declaration or otherwise that the sums are owing or
payable to the master of the ship.
(7) The Registrar of Seafarers shall deliver the remainder of the wages and effects to such person
at such time and in such manner as may be prescribed, and shall render such accounts in respect
of them as the Director-General may direct.
(8) Any sums remitted under this section or arising from the sale of effects under this section, and
not disposed of in accordance with this section, shall be retained by the State.
(9) The master of a ship who, without reasonable cause, contravenes subsection (1) commits an
offence and without prejudice to any other liability to which the ship might be subject is on
summary conviction liable to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment
not exceeding 12 months or to both.
(10) In this section
(a) "delivery account" means an account of the effects and wages of a seafarer left behind or owing
at the time a seafarer leaves or is discharged from the seafarer's ship;
(b) "retention account" means an account of any expenses caused to the master or owner of a ship
by the absence of a seafarer from the ship due to the seafarer's desertion, neglect to join the ship,
or conduct constituting an offence under section 168 or 169, including, in the case of a seafarer
who is not entitled to be repatriated at the expense of the master or owner of the ship any provision
made for the return of the seafarer to a proper return port; and
(c) "effects" includes the proceeds of any sale of the personal property of a seafarer
Section 187—Liability of master
The master of a Ghanaian ship is not liable for any loss of effects or for any damage to the effects
of a seafarer left behind or discharged at a port other than the seafarer's proper return port, if the
master proves to the Registrar of Seafarers that the loss or damage occurred without the master's
neglect or consent after seafarer left the ship.
Section 188—Liability of Government
(1) The Government of Ghana is not liable for anything done under section 186, except that if after
the wages or effects of a seafarer have been dealt with under section 186 and legal proceedings are
taken by the seafarer against the owner, the master or the agent of the ship in respect of the wages
or the effects, the Director-General shall if notice is given to the Director-General of the
proceedings and a reasonable opportunity afforded the Director-General of appearing, comply with
any order of the court made as regards the wages or effects so far as the Director-General can do
so out of the wages and effects remitted to the Authority in respect of the voyage of the ship.
(2) The Board may appear and be heard in any proceedings referred to in subsection (1).
(3) The Board may as it thinks fit meet any claim by a seafarer against the owner, master or agent
of the ship in respect of any wages or effects dealt with under section 186 notwithstanding that
legal proceedings have not been taken in respect of them.
(4) Where the Authority has given notice to the master or owner of the ship and the master or
owner of the ship has not given written notice of the master's or owner's objection within ten days
of the notice being given, any expense incurred by the Authority under this subsection is
recoverable by the Government as a civil debt.
(5) For the purpose of this section, legal proceedings taken or any claim made by a person in whose
favour an allotment note has been made are to be treated as proceedings taken or claim made by
the seafarer.
Section 189—Non-application of section 186
Section 186 does not apply in the case of an absent seafarer where,
(a) the master of a ship satisfies the Registrar of Seafarers that none of the effects of the seafarer
has to the knowledge of the master been left on board the ship and that the master has paid all
wages due to the seafarer;
(b) the master of the ship satisfies the Registrar or proper officer that the net amount due to the
seafarer on account of wages, after taking into account any deductions lawfully made in respect of
allotments, and advances for which provision is made by the crew agreement is less than the cedi
equivalent of US$50; or
(c) the question of forfeiture of the wages and effects of the seafarer has been dealt with in
proceedings lawfully instituted before the termination of the voyage or within forty-eight hours of
the arrival of the ship at the port at which the voyage terminates.
Section 190—Sale of seafarer's effects
(1) The effects of a seafarer may after a reasonable time, be sold by the Registrar of Seafarers in
such manner as the Registrar thinks fit when they are delivered to the Registrar unless the Authority
directs otherwise.
(2) Where the effects are not sold under subsection (1), unless they are delivered to the seafarer,
they may be sold by the Authority as and when it considers fit.
Section 191—Maintenance and return of deafarer who involuntarily terminates service
(1) Where during the existence of the crew agreement, the service of a seafarer belonging to a
Ghanaian ship is terminated otherwise than by the consent of the Seafarer, the master of the ship
shall in addition to
(a) giving the seafarer a certificate of discharge required by this Act; and
(b) paying to the seafarer the wages to which the seafarer is entitled,
make adequate provision in accordance with this Act for maintenance and return of the seafarer to
a proper return port; and the master shall record the details of the steps taken as required by this
Act in the official log book.
(2) Where a master fails without reasonable cause to comply with subsection (1), the expenses of
maintenance and of the journey of the seafarer to the proper return port:
(a) if paid by the seafarer are recoverable as wages due to the seafarer; and
(b) if paid by the Registrar of Seafarers or proper officer or any other person, are a charge upon
the ship to which the seafarer belonged.
(3) A charge upon a ship under subsection (2)(b) may be recovered,
(a) from the person who is the owner of the ship for the time being;
(b) if the ship has been lost, from the person who was the owner of the ship at the time of the loss;
or
(c) if the ship has been transferred to another person
(i) from the new owner; or
(ii) from the person who was the owner of the ship at the time of the transfer,
at the suit of the Registrar of Seafarers or other person who paid the expenses, or, if the expenses,
have been paid out of public money, as a debt to the State,
Section 192—Discharge on change of ownership
(1) Where a Ghanaian ship is transferred or disposed of, any seafarer belonging to that ship shall
be discharged unless the seafarer agrees in writing to complete the voyage of the ship if it is
continued.
(2) Where a seafarer is discharged under this section the provisions of this Part relating to the
certificate of discharge and the return of the seafarer to a proper return port apply as if the seafarer's
service had terminated otherwise than by the seafarer's consent to be discharged during the
existence of the agreement.
Section 193—Certificate when seafarer is left behind
(1) Except where a seafarer is discharged under this Act, the master of a Ghanaian ship shall not
leave a seafarer behind at any foreign port or place unless,
(a) the master has had the certificate of the Registrar of Seafarers or proper officer endorsed on the
crew agreement certifying the cause of the seafarer being left behind; and
(b) the cause is unfitness or inability to proceed to sea, desertion or otherwise.
(2) The Registrar of Seafarers or proper officer to whom an application is made for a certificate
under this section may examine the grounds on which a seafarer is to be left behind and may for
that purpose, if the Registrar thinks fit, administer oaths and grant or refuse the certificate as the
Registrar thinks just, except that a certificate may not be unreasonably withheld.
Section 194—Non-compliance with provisions of this part
Unless otherwise provided in this Part, a master of a ship who fails to comply with any provision
of this Part commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250
penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 195—Account of wages of seafarer left behind
(1) Where the master of a Ghanaian ship leaves a seafarer behind at any foreign port or place on
the ground of the seafarer's unfitness or inability to proceed to sea, the master shall deliver to the
person signing the certificate required by section 193 a full and true account of the wages due to
the seafarer and, if that person is the proper officer, the master shall deliver the account in
duplicate.
(2) A master who fails without reasonable cause to deliver the account required under sub-section
(1) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 25 penalty
units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 months.
Section 196—Payment of seafarer's wages to proper officers
(1) The master shall pay to the proper officer the wages due to a seafarer left behind on the ground
of the seafarer's unfitness and inability to proceed to sea, if the officer will receive the wages.
(2) Where a payment is made under this section, the proper officer, if satisfied with the account,
shall give a receipt for the payment.
(3) A payment under this section shall be made, whenever practicable, in cash, and where not
practicable, by bank draft.
(4) A master who fails without reasonable cause to pay wages as provided by this section, commits
an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or to a
term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 197—Application of wages of seafarer left behind
Where the wages due to a seafarer left behind on the ground of the seafarer's unfitness or inability
to proceed to sea, are paid to and accepted by the Registrar of Seafarers or proper officer, that
officer shall deal with them in the following manner:
(a) where the seafarer subsequently obtains employment at or leaves the port at which the payment
was made, the officer shall retain out of the money any expenses as the owner or master is by this
Act required to defray, and pay the remainder to the seafarer and deliver to the seafarer an account
of the money received and expended on the seafarer's behalf;
(b) where the seafarer dies before the seafarer's ship leaves the port, the officer shall deal with the
money as part of the property of a deceased seafarer; or
(c) where the seafarer is sent to a proper return port at the public expense under this Act, the officer
shall account for the money to the Director-General, and after retaining any expenses duly incurred
in respect of the seafarer except such expenses as the owner, master or agent of the ship is required
by this Act to defray, the money shall be dealt with as wages of the seafarer.
Section 198—Relief of distressed seafarer
(1) Where a seafarer
(a) is found in any place outside Ghana after having been shipwrecked from a Ghanaian ship; or
(b) by reason of having been discharged or left behind in any place outside Ghana from a Ghanaian
ship which is in distress in that place;
the Registrar of Seafarers may provide relief to that seafarer in accordance with this Act.
(2) Relief is provided to the seafarer when provision is made
(a) for the return of the seafarer at the expense of the Government of Ghana to a proper return port
and also for the seafarer's necessary clothing and maintenance until the seafarer's departure from
a return port;
(b) in the case of death, for burial expenses; and
(c) in the case of a shipwrecked seafarer, for the repayment of any expenses incurred in the
seafarer's conveyance to port after the seafarer's shipwreck and the seafarer's maintenance while
being conveyed.
(3) A seafarer for whom relief is provided under subsection (1)(a) is included within the expression
"distressed seafarer in this Act.
Section 199—Repayment of relief and return expenses
(1) Where any expenses are incurred by a consular officer on behalf of the Government under
section 198 or are incurred by the government of a foreign country and are to be repaid to the
foreign country by the Government, the Authority may pay to the consular officer or foreign
government the amount of the expenses out of any moneys available for that purpose or out of any
money appropriated for that purpose by Parliament.
(2) Money paid by the Authority under subsection (1) together with the wages, if any, due to a
distressed seafarer, is a charge upon the ship to which the seafarer belonged, and is a debt due to
the Government
(a) from the owner, master or agent of the ship at the time of the loss;
(b) where the ship has been transferred, either from the owner for the time being or from the person
who was the owner of the ship at the time of the transfer; or
(c) where the ship is a foreign ship, from the person, who engaged the seafarer for service in the
ship,
(3) A debt under this section, in addition to any penalties and consular fees incurred, shall be
recovered by the Authority on behalf of the Government as a civil debt.
(4) In any proceedings for recovery of a debt under this section, the production of an official
account of the expenses incurred in accordance with this Act, and proof of payment of the expenses
by or on behalf of the Government is prima facie evidence that the expenses were incurred or
repaid under this Act by or on behalf of the Government.
Section 200—Forcing ashore
The master or crew of a Ghanaian ship who wrongfully forces a seafarer ashore and leaves the
seafarer behind, or otherwise causes a seafarer to be wrongfully left behind at any place commits
an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units or to a
term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to both.
Section 201—Proper return port
For the purpose of this Part, a "proper return port" is either
(a) the port at which a seafarer was shipped or engaged;
(b) a port in the country to which the seafarer is ordinarily resident; or
(c) in the case of a discharged seafarer, some other port agreed to by the seafarer at the time of the
seafarer's discharge as the place the seafarer desires to be discharged.
Section 202—Manner of return
(1) A seafarer may be sent to a proper return port by any reasonable route.
(2) Provision may be made for the return of a seafarer either by
(a) providing the seafarer with suitable employment on board a ship that is proceeding to a proper
return port that is in need of men to make up its complement, or
(b) providing the seafarer with a passage in any ship or aircraft or in other public transport and
providing for the seafarer's maintenance during the journey.
(3) Where the master of a ship is required under this Part to provide for the return of a discharged
seafarer to a proper return port, the master may, instead of providing the seafarer's passage or the
expenses of the seafarer's journey, deposit with a proper officer such sum as the proper officer
considers sufficient to defray the expenses of the return of the seafarer to a proper return port.
(4) Where a seafarer is repatriated as a member of a crew, the seafarer is entitled to the appropriate
remuneration for work done during the voyage.
Section 203—Return of seafarers to port
(1) When any question arises as to what return port a seafarer is to be sent or the route by which
the seafarer should be sent, the question shall be decided by the Registrar of Seafarers.
(2) In deciding the question of a seafarer's return port, the Registrar of Seafarers or proper officer
shall have regard
(a) to the convenience of the seafarer and to the expense involved, and
(b) to the fact that a ship is in need of men to make up its complement and is about to proceed to
a proper return port or to a port in the vicinity of the return port.
(3) Nothing in this section relieves the owner and master from the obligation and expense of
returning the seafarer to the seafarer's proper return port.
Section 204—Authority may provide temporary relief
(1) The Authority may, whenever it considers it necessary, spend money to provide relief in such
manner as it thinks appropriate for a shipwrecked, destitute or otherwise distressed seafarer
(a) not entitled to relief under this Act or under the laws of the country to which the seafarer's ship
belongs, or
(b) who is a citizen of Ghana employed on a foreign vessel and discharged or left behind in a
foreign country.
(2) Any expenses incurred for a shipwrecked, destitute or otherwise distressed seafarer under this
section, shall be repaid to the Authority by the owner, master or agent of the vessel to which the
distressed seafarer belonged.
(3) The expenses stated in subsection (1) may be recovered by the Authority on behalf of the
Government in the same manner, as expenses incurred outside Ghana for distressed seafarers of a
Ghanaian ship, are recoverable.
Section 205—Unauthorized presence on board ship
Where a ship registered in Ghana or any other country is in a port in Ghana and a person who is
not a public officer or authorized by law to act
(a) goes on board the ship without the consent of the master of the ship or of any other person
authorized to give consent; or
(b) remains on board the ship after being requested by the master, an officer of the Authority, a
police officer or an officer of Customs, Excise and Preventive Service to leave the ship,
that person commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 50
penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 months or to both.
PART V—OFFICIAL LOG BOOK AND ORDINARY SHIP'S LOG
Section 206—Official log book
(1) An official log book in a prescribed form shall be kept in a Ghanaian ship of one hundred gross
tons or above, and also on a Ghanaian ship trading from and beyond the waters of Ghana.
(2) The Minister may make Regulations prescribing
(a) the form of the official log book;
(b) the particulars to be entered in the official log book;
(c) the persons by whom such entries are to be made, signed or witnessed; and
(d) the procedure to be followed in the making of the entries and their amendment or cancellation.
(3) The official log book may at the discretion of the master be kept distinct from or combined
with the ordinary ship's log, but in all cases the spaces in the official log book shall be duly filled
with entries,
(4) An entry required to be made in an official log book
(a) shall be made as soon as possible after the occurrence to which it relates;
(b) if it is not made on the same day as the occurrence, it shall be made and dated to show the dates
of the occurrence and the entry respecting it; and
(c) if it is made in respect of an occurrence which happened before the arrival of the ship at its
final port of discharge, the entry shall be made within twenty-four hours after that arrival.
(5) An entry in the official log book shall be signed by the master and by an officer or some other
member of the crew, and if it is an entry of illness, injury or death, it shall also be signed by the
medical practitioner on board, if any.
(6) An entry made in an official log book in the manner provided by this Act is admissible in
evidence to prove the facts stated in it.
Section 207—Entries in official log book
The master of a ship for which an official log book is kept shall subject to any Regulations made
under section 206, enter or cause to be entered in the official log book particulars of
(a) every conviction by a court of a member of the crew and the punishment imposed;
(b) every offence committed by a member of the crew for which it is intended to prosecute or to
make a forfeiture or to impose a fine, together with the statement concerning the furnishing of a
copy, or reading over, of the entry and concerning the reply, if any, made to the charge, as required
by this Act;
(c) every offence for which punishment is imposed on board, and the nature of the punishment
imposed;
(d) every case of illness or injury that happens to a member of the crew, with the nature and the
medical treatment given, if any;
(e) every refusal of a member of the crew to take antiscorbutic or medicines;
(f) every birth and death which occurs and when it occurs;
(g) every marriage that takes place on board, with the names and ages of the parties;
(h) the name of every seafarer who ceases to be a member of the crew otherwise than by death,
with the place, time, manner and cause of it;
(i) the wages due to any seafarer who dies during the voyage, and the gross amount of all
deductions to be made from those wages;
(j) the sale of effects of a seafarer who dies during the voyage, with a statement of each article sold
and the sum received from the sale;
(k) every collision if any with any other ship and the circumstances in which it occurred;
(l) the date and the time of the display in the ship of a notice containing particulars of the ship's
draught and freeboard; and
(m) any matter directed by this Act and Regulations made under it to be entered
Section 208—Delivery of official log book to Director-General
(1) The master or owner of a Ghanaian ship which is required to carry an official log book under
section 206 shall subject to subsection (2), deliver or transmit the log book for the period covering
the previous crew agreement to the Director-General within seven days of the discharge of the
crew and the cessation of the crew agreement.
(2) Where the crew of a Ghanaian ship referred to in sub-section (1) is engaged under a running
agreement referred to in section 112, the master or owner shall deliver or transmit the official log
book to the Director-General within twenty-one days of the log book being completed.
(3) A master or owner of a ship who fails without reasonable cause to comply with a provision of
this section commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250
penalty units or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both and in a continuing
offence to a fine of 50 penalty units for each day the offence continues.
Section 209—Delivery of official log book on change of ownership or employment or loss or
abandonment of ship
(1) Where, by reason of transfer of ownership or change of employment of a ship, the official log
book ceases to be required in respect of the ship, the master or owner of the ship shall if the ship
is then in Ghana, within one month or if it is elsewhere, within six months, after such cessation,
deliver or transmit to the Director-General the official log book and the agreement with the crew
duly made out up to the time of the cessation.
(2) Where a ship is lost or abandoned, the master or owner shall if practicable and as soon as
possible, deliver or transmit to the Director-General the official log book duly made out up to the
time of the loss or abandonment.
(3) The owner or master of a ship who fails without reasonable cause to comply with this section,
commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units
or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 210—Offences in respect of official log book
(1) Where an official log book is not kept in the manner required by or under this Act or where
any entry directed by this Act to be made is not made at the time and in the manner directed by
this Act, the master of the ship commits an offence and except as otherwise expressly provided in
this Act in that respect is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units
or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
(2) A person who makes, procures to be made, or assists in making an entry in an official log book
in respect of any occurrence previous to the arrival of the ship at its final port of discharge of the
crew more than twenty-four hours after that arrival, commits an offence and is liable on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding 100 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6
months or to both.
(3) A person who wilfully destroys, mutilates or renders illegible an entry in an official log book,
or wilfully makes, procures to be made or assists in making false or fraudulent entry in, or omission
from, an official log book commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding
500 penalty units or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.
Section 211—Ordinary log book of a ship
(1) A Ghanaian ship shall carry on board an ordinary log book in which shall be recorded the daily
activities of the ship and other particulars as may be prescribed.
(2) The ordinary log book of a ship shall comprise a deck log book and an engine room log book
where appropriate.
(3) Where a ship is not required by this Act to carry an official log book, or where it is not
practicable for a ship to produce the official log book, the ordinary log book of the ship shall be
admissible in evidence.
Section 212—Returns of Crew Lists
(1) A master of a Ghanaian ship of not less than two hundred gross tons shall make and sign a list
of the crew of the ship in the prescribed form containing the following particulars:
(a) the number and date of the ship's register and its net tonnage;
(b) the length and general nature of the voyage or employment;
(c) the names, ages and places of birth of all the crew, their ratings on board, their last ships or
other employment and the dates and places of their last ships or other employment and the dates
and places of their joining the ship;
(d) the names of any of the crew who have ceased to belong to the ship, with the times, places,
causes and the circumstances;
(e) the names of any members of the crew who have been maimed or hurt, with the times, places,
causes and circumstances of the injury;
(f) the wages due at the time of death to any of the crew who is dead;
(g) particulars of the property belonging to any of the crew who is dead, with a statement of the
manner in which the property has been dealt with, and the money for which any part of it has been
sold where applicable; and
(h) details of any marriage that has taken place on board, with the date and the names and ages of
the parties.
(2) The list of the crew in the case of ships
(a) trading exclusively within the home-trade or inland waters shall be delivered or transmitted by
the master or owner to the Director-General not later than twenty-one days after the 30th day of
June and after the 31st day of December in each year;
(b) other than those referred to in paragraph (a) shall be delivered or transmitted by the master to
the owner of the ship who shall produce the list on demand by the Director-General or other proper
officer
(i) within forty-eight hours after the arrival of the ship at its final port of destination in Ghana; or
(ii) upon the discharge of the crew, whichever first happens and the Director-General or other
proper officer shall retain the list for a period of seven years after its receipt.
(3) Where a Ghanaian ship is lost or abandoned, the ship's master or owner shall, if practicable and
as soon as possible, deliver to the Director-General the list of the crew duly made up to the time
of loss or abandonment.
(4) In this section, "crew" includes the master and apprentices on the ship.
Section 213—Returns of Births and Deaths on Ghanaian ships
(1) The master of a Ghanaian ship shall upon arrival at a port or at such other time and place as
the Director-General may with respect to any ship or class of ships direct, deliver to the Director-
General or proper officer, in the prescribed form, a return of the facts relating to births and deaths
which the master is required by sections 207 and 212 to record.
(2) In respect of any death recorded the master shall notify the death to any person the deceased
may have named as next-of-kin.
(3) When the return is made elsewhere other than in Ghana the proper officer shall send a certified
copy of the return to the Director-General.
Section 214—Returns of Births and Deaths of Ghanaian Citizens on Foreign ships
The master of a ship not registered in Ghana which in the course of or at the end of a voyage calls
at a port in Ghana or such other place in Ghana as the Director-General may with respect to any
ship or class of ships direct, shall upon arrival at the port or other place make a return of births and
deaths of citizens of Ghana that occurred on the ship to the Director-General.
Section 215—Returns to be sent to Registrar of Births and Deaths
The Director-General shall cause the information contained in any return referred to in sections
212, 213 and 214 to be sent to the Registrar of Births and Deaths.
Section 216—Penalties Imposed on Master
The master of any ship who fails to comply with any requirement of sections 213, 214 or 215
commits an offence and upon summary conviction is liable to a fine of not less than 100 penalty
units or to term of imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or to both.
PART VI—PREVENTION OF COLLISIONS AND SAFETY OF NAVIGATION
Section 217—Collision Regulations
The Minister may make Regulations, referred to as "Collision Regulations"
(a) for the prevention of collisions at sea and in all navigable waters;
(b) in respect of the lights to be carried and exhibited; and
(c) in respect of the steering and sailing rules to be observed by ships.
(2) In making the Regulations the Minister shall have regard to any international convention for
the time being in force for the prevention of collisions at sea.
Section 218—Ghanaian ships to Observe Collision Regulations
(1) Owners and masters of Ghanaian ships shall comply with the Collision Regulations and shall
not carry or exhibit any other lights or use any other fog signals than are prescribed by those
Regulations.
(2) Where an infringement of any of the Collision Regulations is caused by the wilful default of
the master or owner of a ship, the master or owner commits an offence and on summary conviction
is liable to a fine not exceeding 2500 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3
years or to both.
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) apply to an owner and pilot of a seaplane on the surface of water as
they apply to an owner and master of a ship.
Section 219—Foreign Ships in Ghanaian Waters
Regulations made under section 217 together with the provisions of this Part relating to collisions
shall be observed by a ship and seaplane of foreign registry within Ghanaian waters; and in any
action before a court in Ghana concerning a breach of the Collision Regulations arising within
Ghanaian waters, a foreign ship or a seaplane shall be treated as if it were a ship and seaplane
registered in Ghana.
Section 220—Damage caused by Non-observance of Collision Regulations, Presumption of fault
Where damage to a person or property arises from the non-observance by any ship, seaplane or
craft of any of the Collision Regulations, the damage shall be deemed to have been occasioned by
the wilful default of the person in charge of the ship, sea plane or craft at the time of the collision,
unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the court that the circumstances of the case do not fall
within the Regulations.
Section 221—Inspection to Enforce Compliance with Collision Regulations
(1) A surveyor of ships may inspect a ship of any nationality in a port of Ghana to determine
whether the ship is properly provided with lights and shapes and the means of making sound
signals as required by the Collision Regulations.
(2) Where the surveyor finds that the ship is not so provided, the surveyor shall specify in writing
the action required to rectify the deficiency and shall detain the ship until the deficiency is rectified.
(3) For the purpose of an inspection under this section, a surveyor shall have the powers provided
under sections 466 and 468.
Section 222—Duty to Render Assistance following Collision
(1) After a collision between ships, the master of each ship shall if and so far as the master can do
so without damage to the master's own ship, crew and passengers, if any
(a) exert the best efforts to give to the other ship, the master, crew and passengers, if any, such
assistance as may be practicable and as may be necessary to save them from any danger caused by
the collision;
(b) stand by the other ship, until the master has ascertained that the ship has no need for further
assistance; and
(c) give the master of the other ship the name and port of registry of the first ship, and the name of
the port from which the first ship sailed and to which the first ship is bound.
(2) Where a master of a ship fails, without reasonable cause, to comply with subsection (1), the
master commits an offence and on summary conviction is liable to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty
units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.
Section 223—Obligation to notify Hazards of Navigation
(1) The master of a Ghanaian ship, upon encountering dangerous ice, a dangerous derelict, a
tropical storm or any other direct danger to navigation, shall send information accordingly by any
means of communication at the master's disposal and in accordance with the prescribed
Regulations to all ships in the vicinity or to such authorities ashore as may be prescribed.
(2) A person in charge of a radio station in Ghana or on board any Ghanaian ship shall on receiving
the signal prescribed in the Regulations for indicating that a message is about to be sent under this
section, refrain from sending messages for a time sufficient to allow other stations to receive the
message, and if so required by Regulations made under subsection (1) shall transmit the message
in the prescribed manner.
(3) For the purposes of this section, a "tropical storm" means a hurricane, typhoon, cyclone or
other storm of a similar nature, and a master of a ship shall be considered to have encountered a
tropical storm if the master has reason to believe that there is such a storm in the vicinity of the
master's ship.
(4) A transmission of messages in pursuance of this section shall be without charge.
Section 224—Master to Proceed Moderately in Dangerous Areas
When ice is reported on or near the course of a Ghanaian ship the master of the ship shall either
proceed at a safe speed adapted to the prevailing circumstances or alter course of the ship so as to
keep amply clear of the ice reported and of the area of danger.
Section 225—Offence and Penalty
The master of a ship who fails to comply with section 224 commits an offence and is liable on
summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not
exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 226—Obligation to assist ships in Distress
(1) The master of a Ghanaian ship shall on receiving at sea a signal from any source that a ship or
aircraft or survival craft is in distress, go with such speed as the master can muster to the assistance
of the persons in distress and inform those persons immediately if possible that the master is doing
so, and where
(a) the master is unable to do so; or
(b) in the special circumstances of the case the master considers it unreasonable or unnecessary to
proceed to their assistance,
the master shall enter in the log book of the ship the reason for failing to proceed to the assistance
of the persons in distress.
(2) A master of a ship shall be released from the obligation imposed by subsection (1) when the
master learns that one or more ships, other than the master's ship, have been requisitioned under
section 227 of this Act and are complying with the requisition.
(3) Where a master fails to comply with the provisions of this section the master commits an
offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units or
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.
Section 227—Right to Requisition ships when in Distress
(1) A master of a ship in distress, after consultation, so far as is possible with the masters of other
ships which answer the call for assistance, has the right to requisition one or more of those ships
as that master considers best able to render assistance.
(2) A master of a ship requisitioned shall comply with the requisition by going with all speed to
the assistance of persons in distress.
(3) A master of a ship shall be released from the obligation imposed by subsection (1), if that
master is informed by the persons in distress or by the master of another ship which has reached
such persons that assistance is no longer necessary.
Section 228—Obligation to Assist Persons in danger at Sea
(1) A master of a ship shall so far as he can assist without serious danger to that master's own ship,
render assistance to every person, including an enemy, who is found at sea in danger of being lost.
(2) Where the master of a ship fails to comply with subsection (1), the master commits an offence
and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units or to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both.
Section 229—Salvage rights not Affected
Compliance by a master with any of the provisions of this Part shall not affect the right of any
other person to salvage.
Section 230—Regulations for Signals of Distress
(1) The Minister may make Regulations relating to signals of distress and urgency and the signals
prescribed by the Regulations shall be considered to be signals of distress and urgency.
(2) Where a master of a ship uses or displays or causes or permits any person under the master's
authority to use or display
(a) any signal except in circumstances and for the purposes prescribed; or
(b) any signal that is liable to be mistaken for any prescribed signal, the master commits an offence
and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units and in addition, the
master is liable to pay compensation for any labour undertaken, risk incurred or loss sustained
because the signal was taken to be a signal of distress or urgency; and such compensation may be
recovered in the same manner in which salvage is recoverable.
(3) Where a master who contravenes subsection (2) is an officer certificated or licensed under this
Act, the master shall be subject to an enquiry into the master's conduct as provided in section 101
of this Act.
Section 231—Report of Accidents to ships
(1) When a ship
(a) has sustained or caused any accident which occasions loss of life or any serious injury to any
person, or
(b) has sustained any material damage affecting its seaworthiness or its efficiency, either in its hull
or in any part of its machinery,
the owner or master of the ship shall within twenty-four hours after the occurrence of the accident
or the damage or as soon as possible after that, transmit to the Director-General or an officer of the
Authority or to any other appropriate agency, a report of the accident or damage.
(2) Every report of accident or damage to a ship made under subsection (1) shall be signed by the
owner or master of the ship, and shall state
(a) the name of the ship, the port to which the ship belongs, the official number of the ship and the
place where the ship is located;
(b) the circumstances in which the accident or damage occurred; and
(c) the probable cause of the accident or damage.
(3) Where the managing owner, or in the event of there being no managing owner resident in
Ghana, the agent of any ship to which this section applies has reason to believe that the ship has
sustained damage or caused any accident, the managing owner or agent shall require proof that the
accident or damage has been reported to the Authority by the master.
(4) Where the managing owner or agent has any reason to believe that the accident or damage has
not been reported, the managing owner or agent shall as soon as possible, send to the Director-
General notice in writing stating the name of the ship, its official number, and its port of registry
or the port to which it belongs, and stating to the best of the managing owner's or agent's knowledge
and belief, the nature, the probable cause and extent of the accident or damage, and the location of
the ship.
(5) The master or managing owner or agent who fails without reasonable cause to comply with
this section commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250
penalty units or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
(6) This section applies to Ghanaian ships, irrespective of where they are, and foreign ships
navigating in Ghanaian waters.
Section 232—Loss of Ghanaian ship
(1) Where the managing owner or agent of a Ghanaian ship has reason to believe that the ship has
been lost because of the non-appearance of the ship or due to any other circumstance the managing
owner or agent shall cause a reasonable search to be made for the ship and shall as soon as it is
convenient send to the Director-General a notice in writing signed by the managing owner or agent
stating
(a) the name of the ship, the port to which the ship belongs and the official number of the ship; and
(b) a report of the loss of the ship and the circumstances and probable cause of the loss.
(2) A managing owner or agent of a ship who fails without reasonable cause to comply with this
section within a reasonable period from the time when he has reason to believe the ship has been
lost, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty
units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 233—Record of Boat Drill or Fire Drill to be kept in Official Log book
(1) The master of a Ghanaian ship shall cause a statement to be entered in the official log book or
ordinary ship's log, of every occasion
(a) on which boat drill is practised; or
(b) on which the appliances and equipment required by the rules for life-saving appliances to be
carried on board are examined to see whether they are fit and ready for use and the result of the
examination stated.
(2) Where in the case of
(a) a passenger ship, boat drill or fire drill is not practised on board the ship in any week;
(b) any other ship, boat drill or fire drill is not practised on board the ship in any two weeks; or
(c) any ship, the appliances and equipments are not examined in the period as is prescribed,
the master shall cause a statement to be entered or other record to be kept as of the reasons why
the drill was not practised or the appliances and equipments were not examined in the week.
(2) A master of a ship who fails to comply with the requirements of this section commits an offence
and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or a term of
imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both and in a continuing offence to a fine of 50
penalty units for each day the offence continues.
Section 234—Crew Sufficient and Efficient
A Ghanaian ship shall be manned in accordance with Regulations made under this Act, with a
crew sufficient and efficient enough front the point of view of safety of life for the purpose of the
intended voyage and shall during the voyage be kept so manned.
Section 235—Notices to Mariners and Navigational Warnings
(1) The Director-General shall take appropriate steps to advise the seafaring community and the
public of any developing or existing situations which may adversely affect maritime safety.
(2) Any information shall take the form of notices to mariners and navigational warnings which
may be issued and communicated by any means as the circumstances may warrant.
(3) The Director-General may require the assistance of any person in the communication of this
information.
(4) A person who without reasonable cause refuses to render assistance when so requested commits
an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 50 penalty units or term of
imprisonment not exceeding 3 months.
(5) In this Part "aids to navigation" and "navigational aids" mean lighthouses, buoys, beacons,
radio aids, or any other light, signal or mark established to aid marine navigation and includes
buildings, moorings, and other works associated with maritime activities.
Section 236—Establishment and Management of aids to Navigation
(1) There shall be established in Ghana such aids to navigation as are necessary to facilitate the
safe navigation of ships within the waters of Ghana.
(2) Privately owned aids to navigation shall be established and maintained in accordance with the
provisions of this Act.
Section 237—Authority's Permission to Establish Aids to Navigation
Aids to navigation shall not be established
(a) without the prior written consent of the Director-General, or any other person authorised by the
Director-General for that purpose; and
(b) unless they conform to such specifications as may be stipulated by the Authority.
Section 238—Changes to aids to Navigation
Established aids to navigation shall not be discontinued or have its lighting characteristics or any
other distinguishing feature altered, without the prior written consent of the Director-General or
any other person authorised by the Director-General for the purpose.
Section 239—Functions of the Authority in Respect of Aids to Navigation
(1) The Authority shall exercise general supervision over aids to navigation and in particular
(a) oversee the establishment and maintenance of aids to navigation by the Authority or any other
body, institution or person;
(b) ensure that all other aids to navigation are established in compliance with the stipulated
conditions and specifications and are maintained in proper working order; and
(c) bring to the attention of the public, information on changes to or deficiencies in any aid to
navigation.
(2) The Authority may delegate to the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority or the Volta River
Authority, as it considers appropriate any or all of the functions conferred on it under subsection
(1).
Section 240—Publication and Updating of Aids to Navigation
(1) The Director-General may cause the publication and updating of aids to navigation and declare
any other publication to be an approved nautical publication.
(2) In any legal proceedings, the production of an approved nautical publication authenticated by
the Director-General shall be prima facie evidence of the matters appearing in the publication.
Section 241—Prosecution of Offences
A person who
(a) contravenes section 237;
(b) wilfully or negligently damages, destroys or allows a ship to foul an aid;
(c) wilfully or negligently does anything which causes an aid to be obstructed from view in such a
manner as to lessen its efficiency;
(d) wilfully, negligently or without lawful authority does anything which interferes with an aid so
as to hinder the effective use of the aid;
(e) trespasses on or without lawful excuse is found in or on
(i) any navigational aids;
(ii) any land upon which navigational aids are situated, or
(f) fails to notify the Director-General as soon as practicable after any navigational aids damaged,
destroyed or fouled,
commits an offence and, in addition to the expenses of making good any damage caused, is liable
on conviction to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding
2 years or to both.
Section 242—Detention
Where a ship damages, destroys or fouls any navigational aids, the ship may be detained until the
cost of repairing or replacing the navigational aids or rendering them effective again is paid.
Section 243—Fire and lights Detrimental to Navigation
(1) When a fire or light is burned or exhibited in such a place or manner that in the opinion of the
Director-General, it is calculated or likely to mislead persons navigating in Ghanaian waters or in
the waters of any harbour or port or the approaches to the harbour or port, the Director-General
may by written notice require the person placing or using the fire or light to screen, alter, extinguish
or remove it within a reasonable time specified in the notice.
(2) Where a person to whom notice is given under subsection (1) fails to comply with the notice
within the time stated or after complying replaces the fire or light by another fire or light in respect
of which the Director-General would be entitled to give notice under this subsection (1), the person
commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units
or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to both; and in the case of a continuing
offence, to a further fine not exceeding 100 penalty units for each day or part of a day during which
the offence continues.
(3) The Director-General may cause to be extinguished any fire or light in respect of which notice
is given under this section where the person to whom the notice has been given fails to comply
with the notice within the time specified in the notice.
Section 244—Power of the Director-General on failure to Extinguish false or Unauthorised lights
For the purpose of extinguishing false or unauthorised lights, the Director-General or the Director-
General's representative may enter the place where the fire or light is and without causing
unnecessary damage, extinguish the fire or light and recover the expense incurred.
Section 245—Marking of Wrecks and Prohibited areas
(1) Where the Director-General is of the opinion that a vessel lying wrecked in Ghanaian waters
is because of its position or anything contained in it a potential danger to navigation, life or
property, the Director-General may cause the wreck to be marked and protected from interference
and may by notice published in the area of the wreck designate an area around it as a prohibited
area.
(2) A notice under subsection (1) shall identify the wreck and the place where it is lying and
(a) the prohibited area shall be within such distance of the wreck as is specified in the notice; and
(b) the distance specified for the purposes of paragraph (a) shall be whatever the Director-General
considers appropriate to ensure that unauthorised persons are kept away from the wreck.
(3) Subject to subsection (4) a person who without authority in writing granted by the Director-
General, enters a prohibited area, whether on the surface of or under water, commits an offence
and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or a term of
imprisonment not exceeding 12 months, or to both.
(4) Nothing shall be regarded as constituting an offence under this section where it is done by a
person
(a) in the course of any action taken by the person for the sole purpose of dealing with an
emergency of any description;
(b) in exercising functions conferred by or under any enactment on the person or a body for which
the person acts; or
(c) out of necessity due to stress of weather or navigational hazards.
Section 246—Removal of Obstructions other than Wrecks
(1) The Director-General may cause to be removed anything other than a vessel which is causing
or is likely to become an obstruction or impediment to navigation in or the use of the approaches
to a harbour or port.
(2) Where an object removed under subsection (1) is marked in such a manner as to be readily
identifiable as the property of any person, the Director-General shall, subject to subsection (3),
within one month of the property coming into the Director-General's custody, give notice to that
person to take possession of the object at a place named in the notice.
(3) Where possession is not re-taken within fourteen days of the service of the notice, the property
shall at the end of that period vest in the Director-General.
(4) Where property removed under subsection (1) is
(a) not so marked as to be readily identifiable as the property of any person, or
(b) so marked but the place of business of the owner is not known to the Director-General or is
outside Ghana,
and within three months of it coming into the custody of the Director-General has not been claimed
by any person who proves to the reasonable satisfaction of the Director-General that it belongs to
that person, the property shall vest in the Authority.
(5) The Director-General may dispose of any property referred to in subsection (3) which is of a
perishable nature or the custody of which involves unreasonable expense or inconvenience, at a
time and in a manner that the Director-General thinks fit, notwithstanding that it has not been
vested in the Authority; and if it is sold the proceeds shall be applied in payment of expenses
incurred by the Director-General under this section in relation to the property.
(6) Where any balance, is not claimed within three months from the time when the property came
into the custody of the Director-General by a person who proves to the reasonable satisfaction of
the Director-General that the person was the owner at the time, the balance shall at the expiration
of the period vest in the Authority;
(7) If any property removed under this section
(a) is sold by the Director-General and the proceeds of sale are insufficient to reimburse the
Director-General of the expenses incurred by the Director-General in the exercise of the Director-
General's powers of removal; or
(b) is unsaleable,
the Director-General may recover the difference or the whole of the expenses as a debt, from the
person who was the owner
(c) at the time the property removed came into the custody of the Director-General, or
(d) at the time of its abandonment or loss.
(8) The Director-General shall not under the powers conferred by this section cause to be removed
any object placed or constructed by any person or authority by virtue of the provisions of this Act
or any other law.
Section 247—Failure to pay Navigational Aid Dues
Where without reasonable cause, the owner or master of a ship fails to pay navigational aids dues,
the owner or the master commits an offence and is liable to a penalty as may be prescribed.
Section 248—Regulations on lighting, marks and other Features of aid to Navigation
(1) The Minister may make Regulations
(a) stipulating the system of lighting marks and features and other characteristics of aids to
navigation,
(b) for the imposition, collection and disbursement of navigational aids dues and penalties for the
non-payment of navigational aids dues; and
(c) for the exemption of particular ships or classes of ships from the requirements relating to the
payment of dues for aids to navigation.
(2) In making Regulations with respect to subsection (1) (a) the Minister shall have due regard to
the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) Harmonized Buoyage "System
A", or any other international system of buoyage applicable for the time being in force.
PART VII—SAFETY OF LIFE AT SEA
Section 249—Words and Expressions relating to Safety of Life at Sea
In this Part
"certificate" means a certificate issued in accordance with the Safety Convention as defined in this
section;
"fishing vessel" means a vessel used for catching fish, whales, seals, walrus or other living
resources of the sea;
"short international voyage" means an international voyage;
(a) in the course of which a ship is not more than 200 nautical miles from a port or place in which
the passengers and crew could be placed in safety, or
(b) which does not exceed 600 nautical miles between the last port of call in the country where the
voyage begins and the final destination, with no account being taken of any deviation by the ship
from its intended voyage due solely to stress of weather or any other circumstances that neither
the master nor the owner nor the charterer, if any, of the ship could reasonably have prevented or
forestalled;
"Safety Convention" means the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974, and
its Protocol of 1978, Torremolinos International Convention on Safety of Fishing Vessels, 1977
and its Protocol of 1993, together with such amendments or replacement as may be in effect in
respect of Ghana;
"Safety Convention Certificate" means a certificate that is required to be issued to a Safety
Convention ship that complies with the relevant provisions of the Safety Convention and includes
a safety certificate, safety construction certificate, safety equipment certificate, safety radio
certificate and any such certificate that is required to be issued to ships;
"Safety Convention Country" means a country the government of which has accepted the Safety
Convention and which has not denounced that Convention or a territory of such country to which
the Convention extends and remains extended;
"Safety Convention Ship" means a ship to which the Safety Convention applies;
"surveyor" includes any person or organization, duly appointed under section 254 to act as
surveyor for the purpose of surveying ships and issuing Safety Convention Certificates.
Section 250—List of Safety Convention Countries
The Director-General may by notice published in the Gazette provide a list of countries, including
territories that have ratified, acceded to or denounced the Safety Convention.
Section 251—Application of Safety Convention
The Safety Convention shall unless exempted by this Act, apply to all Safety Convention ships
while they are in Ghanaian waters.
Section 252—Regulations relating to Safety at Sea
(1) The Minister may make such Regulations as the Minister considers necessary for the attainment
of the objectives and purposes of this Part and also to provide generally for safety at sea and to
give effect to the Safety Convention.
(2) In making the Regulations, the Minister shall
(a) include all Regulations made under the Safety Convention including amendments made to it
concerning radio communications for the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS);
and
(b) have due regard to
(i) the Convention on the International Mobile Satellite Organisation (INMARSAT); and
(ii) the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue, 1979.
(3) An omission or neglect to comply with any provision of this Part or any Regulations made
under it without reasonable cause is an offence and the offender is liable on summary conviction
to a fine not exceeding 1000 penalty units or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or to
both.
Section 253—Ships in Port through stress of Weather
This Part does not apply to non-Ghanaian ships that would not have been in Ghanaian waters but
for stress of weather or other circumstances that neither the master nor the owner, nor the charterer
of the ship could have prevented or forestalled.
Section 254—Surveying of ships
(1) The Minister may make Regulations regarding
(a) the manner in which surveys of ships are to be made; and
(b) notice to be given to surveyors of ships when surveys are required.
(2) Surveyors of ships may be appointed in several capacities to perform different functions.
(3) A person appointed to be a surveyor of ships under this section may be appointed as a radio
surveyor if the person is so qualified.
(4) The survey and inspection of ships, with regards to the enforcement of the Regulations made
under this Part, shall be carried out by a surveyor or subject to such conditions as the Director-
General may impose, by a recognised Organisation or society for the survey and classification of
ships authorised by the Director-General.
Section 255—Surveyor's powers of Inspection
(1) A general surveyor of ships may at all reasonable times inspect any ship for the purpose of
ensuring that it is in compliance with the Safety Convention, the Load Line Convention, the
Collision Regulations and the relevant Regulations made under this Act.
(2) Where the surveyor finds that the Conventions or the Regulations have not been complied with,
the surveyor shall give written notice to the owner or master of the ship stating in what respect
there is deficiency and what action in the surveyor's opinion, is required to remedy the deficiency.
(3) Every notice given shall be communicated in a manner directed by the Director-General to the
customs officer of any port at which the ship may seek a clearance and clearance shall not be
granted and the ship shall be detained until the action required by the surveyor in the notice has
been complied with.
(4) Where the surveyor considers the ship unsafe, or, where a passenger ship is unfit to carry
passengers, or the machinery or equipment is defective in such a way as to expose persons on
board to serious danger, the surveyor shall detain that ship.
(5) A surveyor may also detain any ship in respect of which any of the provisions of this Act or
Regulations made under it have not been complied with, if in the surveyor's opinion the detention
is warranted in the circumstances.
(6) Where, under this section, a surveyor visits any ship, the surveyor may ask the owner or the
owner's agent, the master or chief engineer, or any other person on board and in charge or who
appears to be in charge of the ship, questions concerning the ship as the surveyor considers
appropriate and the person shall fully and truthfully answer those questions.
(7) A surveyor may reasonably require the owner or the owner's agent, the master or chief engineer
or any other person on board and in charge, or who appears to be in charge of the ship that the
machinery of the ship be activated or dismantled so that the surveyor may be satisfied as to its
condition and every person on whom such a request is made and who is capable of satisfying the
requirement shall comply with the requirement.
(8) A person who contravenes subsection (6) or (7) commits an offence and is liable on summary
conviction to a fine of not less than 250 penalty units and not exceeding 500 penalty units or to a
term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to both.
Section 256—Surveyor's report to Director-General
A surveyor, shall upon inspection forward a report to the Director-General which shall contain a
statement showing
(a) that the hull and machinery are sufficient for the service;
(b) that the hull and machinery are constructed, arranged and fitted in accordance with any
Regulations made under this Part;
(c) that the equipment required under any Regulations is on board and in good condition;
(d) that the ship's officers are persons duly certificated as required under this Act and that the crew
is sufficient and efficient;
(e) the class of voyage for which the ship is fit to ply and the time, if less than one year, for which
the hull, equipment and machinery provided will be sufficient;
(f) if the ship is a passenger ship, the number of passengers which it may carry; and
(g) the steam pressure that may be carried in the boilers.
Section 257—Surveyor's record of Inspections and Certificates
(1) A surveyor shall keep a record of the inspections the surveyor makes and certificates the
surveyor issues in such form and with such particulars as the Director-General may direct.
(2) The surveyor shall furnish the Director-General with copies of the records as well as any other
information pertaining to the duties of the surveyor's office which the Director-General may
require.
Section 258—Surveys of Passenger Ships
A Ghanaian passenger ship shall be subjected to the following surveys:
(a) a survey before the ship is put into service;
(b) a periodic survey at intervals of not more than twelve months; and
(c) such additional surveys as are required under this Act.
Section 259—Initial Survey of Passenger ships
(1) A survey made before a passenger ship is put into service shall include a complete inspection
of the hull, machinery and equipment.
(2) The survey shall be such as to ensure that the general arrangement, material and scantlings of
the hull, boilers and other pressure valves, the main and auxiliary machinery, electrical
installations, radio installations, radio installations in motor lifeboats, portable radio apparatus for
survival craft, life-saving appliances, fire detecting and extinguishing appliances, pilot ladders,
and other equipment fully comply with the requirements of the Safety Convention and with any
Regulations made under this Act.
(3) The survey shall also be such as to ensure that the workmanship of all parts of the hull,
machinery and equipment is satisfactory, and that the ship is provided with lights, sound signals
and distress signals as are required by the Safety Convention and the Collision Regulations.
Section 260—Periodic Surveys of Passenger ships
(1) The periodic survey shall ensure that the hull, boiler and other pressure valves, the main and
auxiliary machinery, electrical installations, radio installations, radio installations in motor
lifeboats, portable radio apparatus for survival craft, life-saving appliances, fire detecting and
extinguishing appliances, pilot ladders, and other equipment are in a satisfactory condition and fit
for the service for which they are intended and that they comply with the requirements of the Safety
Convention and any Regulations made under this Act.
(2) The lights, sound signals and the distress signals carried by the ship shall also be subject to
periodic survey.
Section 261—Additional Surveys of Passenger Ships
(1) A general or partial Survey as the circumstances require shall be made each time an accident
occurs or a defect which affects the safety of the ship or the efficiency or completeness of its life-
saving appliances or other equipment is discovered or whenever important repairs, renewals or
replacements are made.
(2) The survey shall ensure that the necessary repairs, renewals or replacements have been
effectively made, that the material and workmanship for the repairs, renewals or replacements are
in all respects satisfactory and that the ship complies in all respects with the provisions of the
Safety Convention and the Collision Regulations and any Regulations made under this Act.
Section 262—Passenger ship Certificate
(1) Where the Director-General on receipt of the surveyor's report referred to in section 256 is
satisfied that a Ghanaian passenger ship is in compliance with
(a) the requirements of the Safety Convention as regards construction, life-saving appliances, radio
and direction finders; and
(b) such of the rules relating to safety of life at sea as are applicable to the ship and to such
international voyages as it is to be engaged on, and that it is properly provided with the lights,
shapes and means of making signals required by the Collision Regulations, the Director-General
shall on the application of the owner, issue the appropriate Safety Certificate, referred to in this
Act as "a Passenger Ship Safety Certificate".
(2) A Passenger Ship Safety Certificate may together with any other Safety Certificate required
under this Act be contained in one document.
Section 263—Short Voyage Certificates for Passenger Ships
Where the voyages on which a passenger ship is to be engaged are short international voyages and
it complies only with such of the Regulations as are applicable to those voyages, the Director-
General shall issue a certificate, referred to in this Act as "a Short Voyage Certificate" showing
that the ship complies with the requirements of the Safety Convention applicable to such short
international voyages.
Section 264—Exemption and Qualified Certificate for Passenger Ships
Where the Director-General or such other person as the Director-General may authorize for the
purpose, on receipt of the surveyor's report in respect of any passenger ship is satisfied that
(a) the ship is eligible for exemption, under this Act from any of the requirements of the
Regulations or of the Safety Convention applicable to the ship and to such international voyages
on which it is to be engaged; and
(b) the ship complies with the remainder of those requirements and that she is properly provided
with the lights, shapes and means of making sound signals required by the Collision Regulations,
the Director-General Shall on the application of the owner, issue in respect of the ship
(c) an Exemption Certificate stating the requirements of the Safety Convention from which the
ship is exempt, and that the exemption is conditional on the ship plying on the voyages and being
engaged only in the trades and complying with the other conditions, if any, specified in the
certificates; and
(d) a certificate referred to in this Act as "a Qualified Safety Certificate" or a "Qualified Short
Voyage Certificate", as the case may be, showing, that the ship complies with those requirements
from which it is not exempted.
Section 265—Validity of Passenger Ship Short Voyage Certificates
The Director-General or such other person as the Director-General may authorise for the purpose,
may permit a passenger ship in respect of which there is in force a Short Voyage Certificate, or a
Qualified Short Voyage Certificate, to proceed to sea on an international voyage from a port which
is situated not further than twelve hundred nautical miles from the final port of destination.
Section 266—Passenger Ship Safety Certificate to be Carried on Board
(1) A passenger ship shall, before plying or proceeding to sea from any port in Ghana have on
board a valid Passenger Ship Safety Certificate which shall show
(a) the limits beyond which the ship is not fit to ply; and
(b) the number of passengers which the ship may carry, and if necessary, distinguish the number
to be carried in each part of the ship, and any conditions and variations to which the number is
subject.
(2) Where in the case of a foreign passenger ship, the Director-General or such other person as the
Director-General may authorize for the purpose, is satisfied upon the production of a Passenger
Ship Safety Certificate that the provisions of this Act have been substantially complied with, the
ship shall be considered to have satisfied the requirements of subsection (1).
(3) The master or owner of a ship which contravenes subsection(1) commits an offence and is
liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units or to a term of
imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to both.
Section 267—Penalty for Carrying Excess Passengers
Where a passenger ship has on board a number of passengers which having regard to the time,
occasion and circumstance of the case, is greater than the number allowed by the Passenger Ship
Safety Certificate, the owner or master of the ship is in addition to any other penalty under section
266(3), liable to a fine equivalent to four times the fare charged per passenger for every excess
passenger.
Section 268—Safety Equipment Survey on Cargo ships
(1) The life-saving appliances and fire-fighting appliances of a Ghanaian cargo ship shall be
subject to survey before the ship is put into service and after that at intervals of not more than two
years as specified by the Authority.
(2) The fire control plans in a Ghanaian ship and the pilot ladders, lights and sound signals and
distress signals in a new and an existing Ghanaian cargo ship shall be included in the surveys for
the purpose of ensuring that they comply fully with the requirements of the Safety Convention and
the Collision Regulations.
Section 269—Cargo Ship Safety Equipment Certificate
Where the Director-General or a person authorized by the Director-General for the purpose, is
satisfied on receipt of the surveyor's report in respect of a Ghanaian cargo ship that the ship
(a) complies with the requirements of the Safety Convention as regards life-saving appliances;
(b) complies with such of the Regulations relating to safety of life at sea as are applicable to the
ship in regard to life-saving appliances and to such voyages as she is to be engaged on; and
(c) is properly provided with the lights, shapes and means of making sound signals required by the
Collision Regulations,
the Director-General or the authorized person shall on the application of the owner issue in respect
of the ship a Safety Equipment Certificate,
(d) where the ship is not less than five hundred gross tons and is to be engaged on international
voyages, which shall be in the form prescribed by the Safety Convention; and
(e) in any other case, which shall show that it complies with the said requirements.
Section 270—Cargo ship Exemption and Qualified safety Equipment Certificates
(1) Where the Director-General or a person authorized by the Director-General for the purpose, on
receipt of the surveyor's report in respect of a cargo ship is satisfied that the ship
(a) is exempt by this Act or by any Regulations made under it from any of the requirements of the
Regulations or of the Safety Convention, applicable to the ship and to such voyages that she is to
be engaged on; and
(b) complies with the lights, shapes and means of making sound signals required by the Collision
Regulations,
the Director-General or the authorised person shall on the application of the owner issue in respect
of the ship
(c) where it is not less than five hundred gross tons and is to be engaged on international voyages
(i) an exemption certificate stating from which of the requirements of the Safety Convention the
ship is exempted
and that the exemption is conditional on the ship plying only on the voyages and being engaged
only in the trade and complying with any other conditions; and
(ii) a certificate showing that the ship complies with the requirements of the Safety Convention
from which it is not exempted on the voyages on which she is to be engaged; and
(d) in any other case, a certificate showing that the ship complies with such of the requirements of
the Safety Convention from which she is not exempt and the voyages on which it is to be engaged.
(2) Any certificate issued under subsection (1) is in this Act referred to as a "Qualified Safety
Equipment Certificate",
Section 271—Cargo ship Radar and Radio Installation Surveys
The radio and radar installations of a Ghanaian cargo ship and any radio installations in a motor
lifeboat or portable radio apparatus for survival craft which is carried in compliance with any
Regulations made under this Act, shall be subject to survey before the ship is put into service and
after that at intervals as specified by the Authority.
Section 272—Issue of Cargo Ship Radio Certificate
(1) Where the Director-General or a person authorized by the Director-General for that purpose is
satisfied on receipt of a surveyor's report in respect of a cargo ship that the ship complies with the
requirements
(a) of the Safety Convention; and
(b) of the Regulations relating to safety of life at sea applicable to the ship as regards radio
installations and direction finders and to the international voyages to be engaged on,
the Director-General or the authorized person shall on the application of the owner issue in respect
of the ship,
(c) a certificate in the form prescribed by the Convention where the ship is of not less than three
hundred gross tons and is to be engaged on international voyages; and
(d) a certificate showing that the ship complies with the requirements in this subsection.
(2) A Certificate issued under this section is in this Act referred to as a "Cargo Ship Radio
Certificate".
Section 273—Cargo Ship Exemption and Qualified Radio Certificates
Where the Director-General or a person authorized by the Director-General for the purpose is
satisfied on receipt of the surveyor's report in respect of a cargo ship that the ship
(a) is eligible for exemption under this Act from any of the requirements of
(i) the Regulations relating to safety of life at sea, or
(ii) the Safety Convention
applicable to the ship as regards radio installations and direction finders and to the voyages to be
engaged on;
(b) complies with the remainder of the requirements; and
(c) is properly provided with the lights, shapes and means of making sound signals required by the
collision Regulations,
the Director-General or the authorised person shall on the application of the owner issue in respect
of the ship,
(d) where it is not less than three hundred gross tons and is to be engaged on international voyages
(i) an exemption certificate stating which of the requirements of the Safety Convention the ship is
exempt from and that the exemption is conditional on the ship plying only on the voyages and
being engaged only in the trade and complying with the other conditions, specified in the
certificate, and
(ii) a certificate showing that the ship complies with the requirements from which it is not exempt,
and
(e) in any other case, a certificate showing
(i) that the ship complies with such of the requirements of the Safety Convention from which it is
not exempt, and
(ii) the voyages on which it is to be engaged.
(2) Any certificate issued under subsection (1) is in this Act referred to as a "Qualified Radio
Certificate".
Section 274—Radio Exemption Certificates
Where a Ghanaian ship is granted partial or conditional exemption by the Director-General or such
other person authorized by the Director-General for the purpose from the requirements of
Regulations relating to the Safety Convention as regards radio installations and direction finders
there shall be issued upon application by the owner, an exemption certificate, referred to as a
"Radio Exemption Certificate" specifying the voyages and trades for and the conditions on which,
the ship is exempt.
Section 275—Cargo Ship Safety Construction Surveys
(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), the hull, machinery and equipment other than items in
respect of which Cargo Ship Radio Certificates are issued on a Ghanaian cargo ship shall be
surveyed before being put into service and after that they shall be surveyed in the manner and at
the intervals provided under this Part.
(2) A general or partial survey, as the circumstances require shall be made each time an accident
occurs or a defect is discovered which affects the safety of the ship or the efficiency or
completeness of her life-saving appliances or equipment or whenever important repairs, renewals
or replacements are made.
(3) The survey shall be such as to ensure that the necessary repairs, renewals or replacements have
been effectively made, that the material and workmanship of the repairs, renewals or replacements
are in all respects satisfactory and that the ship complies in all respects with the provisions of the
Safety Convention and of the Collision Regulationis and any regulations made under this Act.
Section 276—Regulations for Cargo Ship Safety Construction Requirements and Surveys
(1) This section applies to
(a) a Ghanaian ship of not less than five hundred gross tons;
(b) a Ghanaian ship of such lower tonnage and description as the Minister may specify; and
(c) a foreign ship within Ghanaian waters and while it is not exempted under this Act,
but does not apply to a passenger ship, a troop ship, pleasure craft, a fishing vessel and a ship
which is not mechanically propelled.
(2) The Minister may make Regulations, in this Act referred to as "Cargo Ship Construction and
Survey Regulations", prescribing requirements for Ghanaian ships referred to in subsection (1) to
be surveyed to an extent and in a manner and at intervals as may be prescribed.
(3) The Regulations shall include such requirements as appear to the Authority to implement the
provisions of the Safety Convention in relation to the hull, equipment and machinery of the ship.
Section 277—Issue of Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificates
(1) Where the Director-General or a person authorized by the Director-General is satisfied on
receipt of the surveyor's report in respect of a Ghanaian cargo ship to which section 279 applies,
that the ship complies with the Cargo Ship Construction and Survey Regulations applicable to the
ship and the voyage it is to be engaged in, the Director-General or the authorized person shall on
the application of the owner issue in respect of the ship
(a) a certificate in the form prescribed by the Convention where it is not less than five hundred
gross tons and is to be engaged on an international voyage; and
(b) in any other case a certificate showing that the ship complies with the Regulations.
(2) A certificate issued under subsection (1) is referred to as a "Cargo Ship Safety Construction
Certificate".
Section 278—Cargo Ship Exemption and qualified Safety Construction Certificates
(1) Where the Director-General or a person authorized by the Director-General for the purpose is
satisfied on receipt of the surveyor's report in respect of cargo ship, that the ship is eligible for
exemption under this Act from any of the requirements of the Regulations applicable to the ship
and to the voyages it is to be engaged in, and that the ship complies with the remainder of these
requirements, the Director-General shall on the application of the owner issue in respect of the
ship
(a) where it is of not less than five hundred gross tons and is to be engaged on international
voyages,
(i) an exemption certificate stating from which of the requirements of the Safety Convention the
ship is exempt and that the exemption is conditional on the ship plying only on the voyages and
being engaged only in the trades and complying with the other conditions specified in the
certificate, and
(ii) a certificate showing that the ship complies with those requirements of the Safety Convention
from which it is not exempt; and
(c) in any other case, a certificate showing
(i) that the ship complies with the requirements of Cargo Ship Construction and Survey
Regulations from which the ship is not exempt, and
(ii) the voyages on which it is to be engaged.
(2) certificate issued under paragraph (a) or (b), is in this Act referred to as a "Qualified Cargo
Ship Safety Construction Certificate".
Section 279—Validity period of Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificate
(1) A Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificate issued under section 277 shall remain in force
for five years or such shorter period as may be specified in it, subject to the power of the Director-
General to cancel the certificate and an exemption certificate issued under this Part shall remain in
force for the same period as the corresponding qualifying certificate.
(2) The Director-General may extend the period for which a certificate under subsection (1) is
issued for a period not exceeding three months.
(3) Notwithstanding the power of extension conferred under subsection (1), where a certificate
under this section is in force in respect of a ship and the certificate was issued for a shorter period
than is allowed under this section, the Director-General or any person authorized by the Director-
General for the purpose may, if satisfied on receipt of declarations of survey in respect of the ship
that it is proper to do so, grant an extension of the certificate for a period not exceeding one year
and in any event not exceeding in total the period of five years specified in subsection (1).
Section 280—Appeals against withholding of ship's Certificates or Detention
Where following the survey of a ship, the owner is aggrieved by the withholding of any certificate
required to be carried on board the ship under this Act, or by the ship being detained in accordance
with section 255, the owner may appeal to the Court of Survey provided for under section 429 of
this Act.
Section 281—Periods of Validity of Certificates
(1) A Passenger Ship Safety Certificate and a Cargo Ship Safety Radio Certificate shall be in force
for one year and a Safety Equipment Certificate, shall be in force for two years from the date of its
issue or for a shorter period as may be specified in the certificate; except that no such certificate
shall remain in force after notice is given by the Director-General to the owner, master or agent of
the ship in respect of which it has been issued that the Director-General has cancelled the
certificate.
(2) An exemption certificate, relating, to GMDSS, satellites and direction finders shall be in force
for the same period as the corresponding qualified certificate.
Section 282—Extension of period of Validity of Certificates
(1) Where a Ghanaian ship is not in a port of Ghana on the date of expiry of any certificate issued
to that ship under this Act, the Director-General or a person authorized by the Director-General,
may extend the validity of that certificate in the first instance by a period not exceeding one month
from its initial date of expiry up to a maximum of three months in the aggregate.
(2) The extension referred to in subsection (1) shall be granted only for the purpose of enabling
the ship to proceed to a Ghanaian port or a port where it appears proper and reasonable to grant
the extension.
Section 283—Validity of Qualified Certificates
A qualified certificate shall not be considered to be in force in respect of a ship unless there is in
force in respect of the ship corresponding exemption certificate, and an exemption certificate shall
be of no effect unless it is, by its terms, applicable to the voyage on which the ship is about to
proceed.
Section 284—Penalty for Non-compliance with Conditions of Exemption Certificate
Where an exemption certificate, issued in respect of any Ghanaian ship specifies conditions on
which the certificate is issued and any of those conditions is not complied with, the owner or the
master of the ship commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding
250 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 285—Posting up of Certificates on Board ships
(1) All certificates or certified copies of certificates except exemption certificates or certified
copies of exemption certificates issued under this Act shall be posted in a prominent and accessible
place in the ship for the information of persons on board; and the certificates or copies of the
certificates shall be kept thus posted while they are in force and the ship is in use.
(2) The owner or master of a ship who fails without reasonable cause to comply with subsection
(1) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty
units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 286—Survey to verify Safety Certificates and Compliance with Conditions of Issue
A surveyor of ships may board any ship for the purpose of verifying whether
(a) there is in force, in respect of a foreign Safety Convention ship, a valid Safety Convention
Certificate;
(b) the condition of the hull, equipment and machinery of any Safety Convention ship corresponds
substantially with the particulars shown in the certificate;
(c) the number, grades and qualifications of radio officers or operators on board correspond with
those shown in that certificate, except where the certificate states that the ship is partially exempt
from the provisions of the Safety Convention relating to INMASART; and
(d) any conditions subject to which an exemption certificate is issued, are being complied with.
Section 287—Production of Safety Convention Certificate
(1) The master of a foreign Safety Convention Ship, shall produce to the authorities from whom a
clearance for the ship is sought in respect of an international voyage from a Ghanaian port, valid
Safety Convention Certificates that are the equivalent of the Safety Convention Certificates issued
by the Director-General and required to be in force in respect of a Ghanaian ship.
(2) Clearance shall not be granted, and the ship may be detained until those certificates are
produced.
(3) The production of a valid Safety Convention Certificate which is the equivalent of
(a) a qualified certificate; or
(b) an exemption certificate, other than a certificate stating that the ship is wholly exempt from the
provisions of the Safety Convention,
is not acceptable for the purpose of section 315 unless there is also produced the corresponding
qualified certificate or exemption certificate as the case may be.
Section 288—Miscellaneous Privileges for holding Safety Convention Certificate
(1) Where a valid Safety Convention Certificate is produced in respect of a foreign Safety
Convention ship, it shall be accepted and the ship shall be exempted from surveys or inspection
under section 296, unless there are clear grounds for believing that the condition of the ship or its
equipment does not correspond substantially with the particulars of the certificate or that the ship
or its equipment are not in compliance with Regulations made under this Act respecting the
maintenance of conditions of ships and their equipment after survey.
(2) Where a certificate is not accepted due to the circumstances referred to in subsection (1), or
where a certificate has expired or ceased to be valid, the ship shall not be granted clearance and
the ship shall be detained until she can proceed to sea or to the appropriate repair yard without
causing danger to the ship or persons on board, and the following persons shall be notified in
writing of the circumstances
(a) the local consul of the ship's flag state or, in the consul's absence, the nearest diplomatic
representative of the ship's flag state; and
(b) nominated surveyors or recognized organizations responsible for the issue of the certificates
referred to in subsection (1).
Section 289—Ship not to Proceed to Sea without Appropriate Certificates and documents.
[As substituted by Ghana Maritime Security Act, 2004 (Act 675) s.73(a)].
(1) A Ghanaian Safety Convention Ship shall not proceed to sea on an international voyage from
a port in Ghana unless there is in force in respect of the ship a ship security plan and an
International Ship Security Certificate and; [As amended by Ghana Maritime Security Act, 2004
(Act 675) s.73 (b)].
(a) where it is a passenger ship,
(i) a Passenger Ship Safety Certificate;
(ii) a Short Voyage Safety Certificate; or
(iii) a Qualified Short Voyage Safety Certificate which, subject to the provisions of this section
relating to Short Voyage Certificate, is applicable to the voyage on which the ship is about to
proceed and to the trade in which the ship is for the time being engaged,
(b) where it is not a passenger ship
(i) a Cargo Ship Safety Construction Certificate or a Qualified Cargo Ship Safety Construction
Certificate;
(ii) a Safety Equipment Certificate or a Qualified Safety Equipment Certificate; and
(iii) a Radio Certificate, or a Qualified Radio Certificate, or an Exemption Radio Certificate.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) a Ghanaian ship that is not a passenger ship may proceed to
sea if there is in force in respect of the ship, the certificates referred to in paragraph (a) as if it were
a passenger ship.
Section 290—Detention of ship for Non-production of Certificates
(1) The master of a Ghanaian ship shall produce to the appropriate authorities from whom
clearance for the ship is demanded for an international voyage, the certificates required by this Part
to be in force when the ship proceeds to sea.
(2) A clearance shall not be granted, and the ship may be detained until the certificates are
produced.
Section 291—Ships to carry Stability Information
(1) A Ghanaian passenger ship, regardless of its size and a cargo ship of a length of twenty four
metres or more or of a weight of fifteen tons or more shall carry on board such information about
the ship's stability as may be prescribed.
(2) A copy of the information shall be sent to the Director-General, and the determination of the
ship's stability shall be based on an inclining test of the ship but the Director-General may allow
the information to be based on a similar determination of the stability of a sister ship.
(3) Where a ship proceeds or attempts to proceed to sea without having on board the information
as required by sub-sections (1) and (2), the owner or master commits an offence and is liable on
summary conviction to a fine of 250 penalty units or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12
months or both.
Section 292—Penalty for Forgery of Survey Report or Certificates
Any person who
(a) knowingly and wilfully makes or assists in making or procures to be made a false or fraudulent
survey report under this Part; or
(b) forges, assists in forging, procures to be forged, fraudulently alters, assists in fraudulently
altering a survey report or certificate, or anything contained in or any signature to such a report or
certificate,
commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than 500 penalty units
or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to both.
Section 293—Maintaining Condition of ship and notice on change in Condition
(1) The condition of a ship in respect of which a Safety Convention Certificate issued under this
Act is in force, including the equipment of such ship, shall be maintained at all times to comply in
all respects with the provisions of the Safety Convention and of the Collision Regulations and any
other Regulations made under this Act.
(2) Whenever an accident occurs to a ship or a defect is discovered, or any alteration is made to
the ship's hull, equipment, appliances or machinery which affects the safety of the ship or its
efficiency, completeness or seaworthiness, the owner or master shall as soon as practicable
following such an accident, discovery of a defect, or an alteration, give written notice to the
Director-General describing full particulars of the accident, the defect or the alteration, as the case
may be.
(3) Where notice is not given as required by this section, the owner or master of the ship commits
an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or to a
term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 294—Re-survey of a Ship following Alterations or Damages
(1) Where the Director-General has reason to believe that since the making of the last survey report
in respect of a ship
(a) any alteration has been made as referred to in section 293(2); or
(b) the hull, equipment, appliances or machinery of the ship have sustained any damage or are
otherwise defective or insufficient;
the Director-General may require the ship to be surveyed again to such extent as the Director-
General considers fit, and if the requirement is not complied with, the Director-General may cancel
any certificate issued in respect of the ship under this Act.
(2) For the purpose of this section "alteration" in relation to anything includes the renewal or
replacement of any part.
Section 295—Application of this Part to Foreign ships within Ghanaian waters
(1) The Director-General may direct that any of the provisions of this Part shall apply to any
foreign ship while within Ghanaian waters.
(2) Notwithstanding anything in this Part, the Director-General may relieve any foreign ship or the
owner of a foreign ship from compliance with any of the provisions of this Part or Regulations
made under this Part relating to inspection, in any specific case of emergency, where the Director-
General considers it necessary or advisable in the public interest.
(3) The Director-General shall not relieve any ship or its owner from compliance with any
provision as would permit a ship to proceed to sea or to make any voyage in an unseaworthy
condition.
Section 296—Survey of Foreign Ship and Issue of Safety Convention Certificate
(1) The Director-General may at the request of the government of a country to which the Safety
Convention applies, cause a ship to be surveyed and if the Director-General is satisfied that the
requirements of the Safety Convention have been complied with, the Director-General shall issue
certificates to the ship in accordance with the Safety Convention.
(2) A certificate issued under subsection (1) shall contain a statement to the effect that it has been
issued at the request of the government of the country in which the ship is or will be registered,
and the certificate shall have the same force and receive the same recognition as any other
certificate issued under this Part.
Section 297—Survey of Ghanaian Ships by other Safety Convention Countries
(1) The Director-General may request the government of a country to which the Safety Convention
applies or any organization authorized to act in that behalf to issue a certificate in respect of a
Ghanaian ship as is required under this Act.
(2) A certificate issued in pursuance of the request and containing a statement that it has been so
issued shall have effect for the purposes of this Act as if it has been issued by the Director-General.
Section 298—Exceptions
Nothing in this Part or in any Regulations made under this Part unless it is expressly provided
otherwise shall apply to
(a) ships of war and troop ships;
(b) cargo ships of less than five hundred gross tonnage;
(c) ships not mechanically propelled;
(d) canoes; and
(e) pleasure yachts not engaged in trade.
Section 299—Regulations for Safety Requirements and Issue of Ghanaian Certificate
The Minister may make Regulations prescribing safety requirements and providing for the
inspection, survey and issue of Ghanaian safety certificates in respect of any ship or class of ship
to which the Safety Convention does not apply.
PART VIII—LOAD LINES
Section 300—Interpretation of Part VIII
For the purpose of this Part
"Convention Country" means a country, the Government of which is a party to the Load Line
Convention or a territory of such country to which the Convention extends;
"existing ship" means a ship which at the commencement of this Act is not a new ship;
"fishing vessel" means a ship used for catching fish, or other living resources of the sea including
whales, walrus and seals;
"international voyage" means a voyage between
(a) a port or place in Ghana and a port or place outside Ghana; or
(b) a port in a Convention Country, other than Ghana and a port in any other country or territory
(whether or not a Convention Country) which is outside Ghana;
except, that in determining the ports between which a voyage is made, no account shall be taken
of any deviation by a ship from her intended voyage which is due solely to stress of weather or
other circumstances that neither the master nor the charterer, if any, of the ship could have
prevented or forestalled;
"Load Line Convention" means the International Convention on Load Line of 1966 and any
amendments to it which the Minister may by legislative instrument prescribe to be in force in
Ghana;
"Load Line Convention Ship" means an international Load Line ship that belongs to a country to
which the Load Line Convention applies;
"Load Line Regulations" means the Regulations made by the Minister to give effect to the Load
Line Convention;
"Load Line Ship" means
(a) an international Load Line Ship, which is an existing ship of not less than one hundred and
fifty tons or a new ship of twenty-four metres or more in length or of fifteen tons or more in weight
which carries cargo or passengers on international voyages; or
(b) a Ghanaian Load Line ship, other than an international Load Line ship, which carries cargo or
passengers; and
"new ship" means a ship whose keel is laid or which is at a similar stage of construction
(a) in the case of a ship registered in or flying the flag of a country other than Ghana which is a
Convention country or a country to which the Convention applies, on the date from which it is
declared that the Government of the country has ratified or acceded to the Load Line Convention;
(b) in the case of any other ship, on the date of the coming into force of this Act.
Section 301—Exemptions
This Part does not apply to
(a) ships of war;
(b) pleasure craft not engaged in trade; and
(c) fishing vessels.
Section 302—Countries to which Load Line Convention applies
The Minister may from time to time publish in the Gazette the list of countries that have ratified,
acceded to or denounced the Load Line Convention.
Section 303—Load Line Regulations
The Minister may make Regulations referred to as the "Load Line Regulations" for the purpose of
giving effect to the Load Line Convention, and such Regulations may also prescribe Load Line
requirements and provide for the issue of Ghanaian Load Line Certificates in respect of ships to
which the Load Line Convention does not apply.
Section 304—Certificates issued under the Load Line Convention
(1) An International Load Line Certificate may be issued to every ship which has been surveyed
and marked in accordance with the Load Line Convention.
(2) An International Load Line Exemption Certificate may be issued to any ship to which an
exemption has been granted in accordance with the Load Line Convention.
Section 305—International and Local Load Line Certificate
(1) Where a Ghanaian ship has been surveyed and marked in accordance with the Load Line
Regulations, the appropriate certificate shall be issued to the owner of the ship by the Director
General on the owner's application.
(2) For the purpose of this section the appropriate certificate in the case of
(a) an existing ship of not less than one hundred and fifty gross tonnage and a new ship of twenty-
four metres or more in length of fifteen tons or more in weight is to be called an "International
Load Line Certificate (1966)"; and
(b) any other ship, is to be called a "Ghanaian Load Line Certificate".
Section 306—Certificates issued by other Governments
(1) The Director-General may request the government of a country which is a party to the Load
Line Convention to issue an International Load Line Certificate in respect of a Ghanaian ship and
a Certificate so issued shall have effect for the purposes of this Part as if it has been issued by the
Director-General under this Part.
(2) Where a valid Load Line Certificate issued in pursuance of sub-section (1) is produced in
respect of a ship, that ship shall for the purposes of this Part be considered to have been surveyed
under the Load Line Regulations.
(3) Where the deck line and Load Line correspond with the marks specified in the certificate, the
ship shall be considered to be marked as required by this Part.
Section 307—Certificates issued at the Request of other Governments
The Director-General may at the request of the government 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 the Director-General is satisfied that as in the case of a Ghanaian ship, the Director-General can
properly issue the certificate; and where a certificate is issued on such a request, it shall contain a
statement to the effect that it has been so issued.
Section 308—Regulations as to the Validity of Foreign Certificates
(1) With a view to determining the validity in Ghana of a certificate purporting to have been issued
in accordance with the Load Line Convention in respect of a foreign ship, the Minister may make
such Regulations as may appear necessary.
(2) For the purposes of the provisions of this Part relating to foreign ships the expression "a valid
Load Line Certificate" means a certificate complying with such of the Regulations made under
subsection (1) as are applicable in the circumstance.
Section 309—Exemption from Application of this Part
The Director-General may by a certificate grant an exemption from the application of this Part to
ships under twenty-four metres in length or under fifteen tons in weight engaged solely in the local
trade or any class of such ships.
Section 310—Extent of Exemption
In this Part, any reference to an exemption is a reference to an exemption from
(a) all the provisions of this Part and the Load Line Regulations; or
(b) such of the provisions of this Part and the Load Line Regulations as are specified in the
certificate granting the exemption.
Section 311—Issue of Exemption Certificates
(1) Where the Director-General exempts a ship under section 309, the Director-General shall issue
the appropriate certificate to the owner of the ship.
(2) Where the exemption is granted
(a) under paragraph (a) of section 310 the certificate shall be called an "International Load Line
Exemption Certificate"; and
(b) where the exemption is granted under paragraph (b) of section 310 the certificate shall be called
a "Ghanaian Load Line Exemption Certificate".
(3) A certificate issued under this section shall be such as is prescribed by the Load Line
Regulations.
Section 312—Duration and Extension of Exemption
(1) The Load Line Regulations shall specify the period within which an exemption granted under
section 309 or any certificate issued under section 305 is to remain in force including provisions
(a) enabling the period for which any such exemption or certificate is originally granted or issued
to be extended within the limits and in circumstances as may be prescribed by the Regulations;
and
(b) for terminating any exemption and for cancelling any certificate in circumstances that may be
prescribed.
(2) While a certificate is in force in respect of a ship, there shall be endorsed on the certificate
information relating to
(a) periodic inspection of the ship in accordance with the Load Line Regulations; and
(b) any extension of the period for the certificate.
Section 313—Effect of Load Line Certificate
Where a valid Load Line Certificate issued under this Part is produced in respect of the ship to
which the certificate relates
(a) the ship shall be considered to have been surveyed in accordance with the Load Line
Regulations; and
(b) where lines are marked on the ship according to number and description to the deck line and
the load lines respectively as required by the Load Line Regulations, and the positions of those
lines so marked correspond to the positions of the deck line and load lines as specified in the
certificate, the ship shall be considered to be marked as required by those Regulations.
Section 314—Duration, Renewal, Extension and Cancellation of Load Line Certificate
(1) A Load Line Certificate issued by the Authority shall unless it is renewed in accordance with
subsection (2), expire at the end of the period specified in the certificate and in any event shall not
be renewed for a period exceeding five years from the date of issue.
(2) A Load Line Certificate issued for a lesser period than the required period under the Load Line
Regulations may be renewed by the Authority for a period not exceeding five years on any
occasion.
(3) The owner of a ship in respect of which a certificate has been issued shall, so long as the
certificate remains in force, cause the ship to be surveyed in the prescribed manner at least once in
every twelve months after the issue of the certificate.
(4) Where the ship is not surveyed, the Authority shall extend the period of survey by a maximum
of three months or cancel the certificate.
Section 315—Ships not to Proceed to Sea without Load Line Certificate
(1) Subject to any exemption granted by or under this Part, a Ghanaian ship which is an
international load line ship shall not proceed to sea on an international voyage unless there is in
force in respect of that ship an International Load Line Certificate.
(2) A Ghanaian Load Line Ship shall not proceed to sea unless there is in force in respect of the
ship a Ghanaian Load Line Certificate.
(3) The master of a Ghanaian Load Line Ship shall produce to the customs officer from whom
clearance for the ship is sought the certificate required by this section which shall be valid when
the ship proceeds to sea, and where the certificate is not produced, clearance shall not be granted
and the ship shall be detained until the certificate is produced.
Section 316—Deck Cargo Regulations
(1) The Minister may make Regulations, in this section referred to as the "Deck Cargo
Regulations", prescribing requirements to be complied with where cargo is carried in any
uncovered space on the deck of a load line ship.
(2) Where the Load Line Regulations provide for assigning special freeboards to a ship when
carrying only timber deck cargo, the Deck Cargo Regulations shall prescribe special requirements
to be complied with in the circumstances.
(3) In prescribing any special requirements for the purposes of sub-section (2), the Minister shall
have regard in particular to the provisions of Chapter IV of Annex 1 to the Load Line Convention.
(4) Where any provision of the Deck Cargo Regulations are contravened in the case of
(a) a Ghanaian ship, or
(b) any other ship while the ship is within Ghanaian waters,
the master of the ship commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not
exceeding the cedi equivalent of US$ 100,000 or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 5 years
or to both.
(5) Where a person is charged with an offence under sub-section (4) it shall be a valid defence to
prove to the satisfaction of the court that the contravention was due solely to deviation or delay
caused by stress of weather or force majeure which neither the master nor the owner nor the
charterer, if any, could have prevented or forestalled.
(6) For the purpose of securing compliance with the Deck Cargo Regulations, a person authorized
in that behalf by the Director-General may inspect a ship to which this Part applies which is
carrying cargo in an uncovered space on its deck; and for the purpose of the inspection that person
shall have all the powers of a surveyor under this Act.
Section 317—Inspection of Ghanaian Load Line Ship
A surveyor of ships may inspect a Ghanaian Load Line Ship for the purpose of ensuring that the
provisions of this Part and Regulations made for the purpose are complied with.
Section 318—Notice to be given of Alterations Affecting Structural Position of Ship's Load Lines
(1) The owner or master of a ship in respect of which a Load Line Certificate issued under this
Part is in force shall as soon as practicable, after any structural alteration which affects the load
line marks is made in the hull or superstructure of the ship, give notice in writing to the Director-
General containing full particulars of the alterations.
(2) Where notice of any alteration is not given as required by subsection (1), the owner and the
master commit an offence and each is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 500
penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or both.
(3) In any such case, the Director-General may
(a) cancel the Load Line Certificate; or
(b) require the owner to have the ship surveyed again to the extent that the Director-General
considers appropriate; and if that requirement is not complied with the Director-General may
cancel the Load Line Certificate.
(4) The Director-General may exercise the powers specified in sub-section (4) with respect to any
ship where the Director-General has reason to believe that
(a) material alterations have taken place in the hull or super-structure of the ship which affect the
load line marks; or
(b) fittings and appliances for the protection of openings, guard rails, the freeing port or the means
of access to the crews' quarters have not been maintained on the ship in as effective a condition as
they were prior to the issue of the certificate.
(5) Where a Load Line Certificate has expired or has been cancelled, the Director-General may
require the owner or master of the ship to which the certificate relates to surrender the certificate.
(6) The ship in respect of which the owner or master is required to surrender a Load Line Certificate
under subsection (5) may be detained and if the owner or master fails without reasonable cause to
comply with the requirement the owner or master commits an offence and is liable on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding
12 months or to both.
Section 319—Submersion of Load Lines
(1) A ship which has no list shall not be overloaded to submerge the ship below the appropriate
load line on each side of the ship.
(2) Where a ship which has a list is overloaded to submerge the ship below the appropriate load
line, the extent of the overloading and submergence shall not exceed the extent required by the list.
(3) Where any ship is loaded in contravention of this section, the owner or master of the ship
commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units
or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to both and in addition a fine not exceeding
150 penalty units for every centimetre or part of it by which the appropriate load line on each side
of the ship is submerged.
(4) In addition to any proceedings under this section, any ship which is loaded in contravention of
this section may be detained until it ceases to be so loaded.
Section 320—Alteration or Defacement of Load Line Marks
(1) The owner or master of an international load line ship or a Ghanaian load line ship who fails
without reasonable cause to keep the ship marked in accordance with this Part commits an offence
and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the cedi equivalent of US$1 million
or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or to both.
(2) Any person who conceals, removes, alters, defaces or obliterates or permits any person under
his or her control to conceal, remove, alter, deface or obliterate any mark placed on a ship in
accordance with this Part, except with the authority of a person entitled under the Load Line
Regulations to authorize the alteration of the mark commits an offence and is liable on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding 1000 penalty units or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding
3 years or to both.
Section 321—Ships not to Proceed to sea unless Complying with Load Line Regulations
(1) A Load Line Ship shall not proceed to sea unless
(a) the ship has been surveyed in accordance with the Load Line Regulations either by a surveyor
of ships or by any organization authorized to act in that behalf by the Director-General or at the
Director-General's request by the Government of any Load Line Convention Country;
(b) the ship complies with the conditions for the assignment of load lines prescribed in the Load
Line Regulations;
(c) the ship is marked on each side with a mark referred to in this Act as "deckline" indicating the
position of the uppermost deck and with marks referred to in this Act as "load lines", indicating
the several maximum depths to which the ship is permitted to load in various circumstances
prescribed by the Load Line Regulations; and
(d) the decline and load lines are of the descriptions and in the positions required by the Load Line
Regulations.
(2) Where a ship proceeds or attempts to proceed to sea in contravention of this section the master
or owner of the ship commits an offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding
1000 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or to both; and in addition
the ship may be detained until it has been so surveyed and marked.
Section 322—Production of Load Line Certificate of Ghanaian ship
The master of every Load Line Convention ship shall upon request produce a valid Load Line
Certificate to the Customs Officer who gives clearance certificate for the ship from the port in
Ghana and where a valid Load Line Certificate is not produced upon request a clearance shall not
be granted and the ship may be detained until the Load Line Certificate is produced.
Section 323—Production of Load Line Certificates of Foreign Ships
Unless a valid Load Line Certificate is produced in respect of a foreign ship, the provisions of
section 318 shall apply to that ship proceeding or attempting to proceed to sea from a port in Ghana
as they apply to a Ghanaian ship.
Section 324—Submersion of Load Lines of Foreign ships
Section 319 applies to foreign ships while in Ghanaian waters subject to the following:
(a) no Load Line Convention ship shall be detained, and no proceedings shall be taken against the
ship by virtue of that section, except after an inspection by a surveyor as provided for in this Part;
(b) the expression "the appropriate load line" means
(i) in the case where a valid Load Line Certificate in respect of the ship is produced on an inspection
as mentioned above, the load line appearing on the Certificate indicating the maximum depth to
which the ship is for the time being permitted under the Load Line Convention to be loaded; and
(ii) in the case where a valid Load Line Certificate is not produced, the load line which corresponds
with the load line indicating the maximum depth to which the ship is for the time being permitted
in accordance with the Load Line Regulations to be loaded.
Section 325—Posting of Load Line Certificate and entry of Load Line details in Ship’s Log Book
(1) Where a Load Line Certificate has been issued under this Part in respect of a load line ship
(a) the owner of the ship shall upon receipt of the certificate cause it to be framed and displayed in
a conspicuous place on board the ship, and the certificate shall be kept so framed and displayed
and shall be legible so long as the certificate remains in force and the ship is in use; and
(b) the master of the ship shall before making any other entry in any official log book, enter in the
log book the particulars of the marking of the deckline and load line specified in the certificate.
(2) Before any load line ship proceeds to sea, the master shall
(a) enter in the official log book the draught and freeboard relating to the depth to which the ship
is for the time being loaded, the density of the water in which the ship is floating and all other
particulars in the form set out in the official log book; and
(b) cause a notice in the prescribed form to be displayed in a conspicuous place on board the ship
and the notice shall remain displayed and shall be legible while the ship is at sea.
(3) The master or owner of a Ghanaian load line ship who fails to comply with a provision of this
section commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250
penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 326—Inspection of ships Regarding Load Lines
(1) A surveyor of ships may board any ship when the ship is within Ghanaian waters and demand
the production of the Load Line Certificate for the time being in force in respect of the ship.
(2) Where a valid Load Line Certificate is produced to the surveyor, the surveyor's powers of
inspecting the ship with respect to load lines shall be limited to ensuring that
(a) the ship is not loaded beyond the limits allowed by the Certificate;
(b) the markings of the load line on the ship correspond with those specified in the Certificate;
(c) no material alterations have taken place in the hull or super-structure of the ship which affect
the markings of the load lines; and
(d) the fittings and appliances for the protection of openings, guard rails, freeing ports and the
means of access to the crew's quarters have been maintained on the ship in as effective a condition
as they were when the Certificate was issued.
(3) Where a valid Load Line Certificate is not produced to the surveyor, the surveyor shall have
the same power of inspection as provided for in section 317 as if the ship were a Ghanaian load
line ship.
(4) Where the ship is detained under this Part, the Director-General shall order the ship to be
released as soon as he is satisfied that the ship is fit to proceed to sea without danger to human life.
Section 327—Contravention of Load Line Regulations and Detention of ships
(1) Where it is found upon an inspection referred to in section 326 that a ship is loaded in
contravention of section 319, the ship may be detained and proceedings may be taken against the
master or owner of the ship under section 319.
(2) Where the load lines on the ship are not marked as specified in the certificate, the ship may be
detained until the omission has been rectified to the satisfaction of the surveyor.
(3) Where on an inspection a ship is found to have been so materially altered in respect of the
matters referred to in section 326 (2) (c) or (d) or so undermanned that it is manifestly unfit to
proceed to sea without danger to human life, the ship shall be detained.
(4) Where a ship has been detained under subsection (3), the Director-General shall order the ship
to be released as soon as the Director-General is satisfied that the ship is fit to proceed to sea
without danger to human life.
PART X—CARRIAGE OF BULK CARGO
Section 328—Bulk Cargo Regulations
The Minister may make Regulations relating to
(a) the safe carriage and stowage of bulk cargoes having due regard to the Code of Safe Practice
for Solid Bulk Cargoes and the International Grain Code adopted by the International Maritime
Organization; and
(b) the safe carriage and stowage of grain in accordance with the International Convention for the
Safety of Life at Sea, of 1974 as amended.
Section 329—Precautions Regarding Grain Cargo
(1) Where grain is loaded on board any ship, or is loaded at any port in Ghana on any ship, all
necessary and reasonable precautions shall be taken to prevent the grain from shifting and if the
precautions are not taken, the owner or the master or any agent of the owner who is responsible
for the loading or with sending the ship to sea laden with the grain, commits an offence and the
ship shall be considered for the purposes of this Act to be unsafe by reason of improper loading.
(2) Where any ship, loaded with grain outside Ghana without necessary and reasonable precautions
having been taken to prevent the grain from shifting, enters any port in Ghana so laden, the owner
or master commits an offence and the ship shall be considered for the purposes of this Act to be
unsafe by reason of improper loading.
(3) No offence is committed under subsection (2) where the ship would not have entered the port
but for stress of weather or force majeure, which neither the master, the owner nor the charterer,
if any, could have prevented or forestalled.
(4) Any person authorized by the Director-General to ensure the observance of the provisions of
this section may inspect the grain and the mode in which it is stowed and shall have all the powers
of a surveyor of ships under this Act.
Section 330—Offence and Penalty
Any person who contravenes section 329 commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction
to a fine net exceeding 500 penalty units or to term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to
both.
Dangerous Goods
Section 331—Regulations as to Dangerous goods
(1) The Minister may by Regulations specify which goods, articles or materials carried on a ship
are dangerous goods in accordance with the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea,
1974 as amended or with any other Convention which may be ratified by Ghana, and the
Regulations shall have regard to the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code (IMDG) of
the International Maritime Organization.
(2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the Minister may by Regulations prescribe
(a) the method of packing and stowing goods;
(b) the quantity of goods which may be carried in any ship;
(c) the place or places within a ship in which goods may be carried;
(d) the marking that is to be placed on any package or container in which goods may be placed for
shipment; and
(e) the precautions that shall be taken with respect to the carriage of the goods and the powers of
inspection to determine compliance with the provisions of the Regulations.
Section 332—Carriage and Marking of Dangerous Goods
(1) A person shall not send by or carry in a Ghanaian ship, except in accordance with Regulations
made under this Act, any dangerous goods, except that this section shall not apply to ships in
distress or to the carriage of military stores under conditions authorized by the Minister in writing.
(2) A person shall not send by or carry in a Ghanaian ship dangerous goods without first
(a) distinctly marking their nature on the outside of the outermost package containing the goods in
a prescribed manner; and
(b) giving a written notice of the nature of the goods and of the name and address of the sender to
the master or owner of the ship.
(3) This section applies to all foreign ships while loading at any place in Ghana as they apply to
Ghanaian ships.
(4) A person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) commits an offence and is liable on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2
years or to both.
Section 333—Rejection and Disposal of Dangerous Goods by Ship
(1) The master or owner of any ship may refuse to take on board any package or parcel that the
master or owner suspects might contain dangerous goods and may require the package to be
opened to ascertain its nature.
(2) When any dangerous goods, or any goods that in the opinion of the master or owner of the ship
are dangerous goods, have been sent on board a ship without the marking or the written notice
described in section 332 the master or owner of the ship may dispose of the goods, together with
any package or container in a manner that will not cause damage to the environment.
(3) Neither the master nor the owner of the ship shall be subject to civil or criminal liability in any
court in respect of an action taken under sub-section (2).
Section 334—Forfeiture of Dangerous Goods
(1) Where any dangerous goods have been sent by or carried in any ship in a manner that would
constitute an offence under this Part, a court may order the goods and any packaging or container
to be forfeited to the State.
(2) The court may exercise the powers conferred by subsection (1) notwithstanding that
(a) the owner of the goods concerned has not committed any offence in respect of the goods, or is
not before the court, or has had no notice of the proceedings; and
(b) there is no evidence to show to whom the goods belong, but the court may direct notice to be
given to the owner or shipper of the goods before they are forfeited.
PART X—SEAWORTHINESS OF SHIPS
Section 335—Unseaworthy ship
In this Part "unseaworthy ship" means a ship which by reason of the defective condition of its hull,
equipment or machinery, or by reason of undermanning, overloading or improper loading, is unfit
to proceed to sea without serious danger to human life and the marine environment, having regard
to the nature of the service for which the ship is intended.
Section 336—Sending Unseaworthy ship to Sea—an Offence
(1) Any person who sends or attempts to send any Ghanaian or foreign ship to sea from any port
in Ghana in such an unseaworthy state that the life of any person is likely to be endangered commits
an offence, unless that person proves
(a) that that person used all reasonable means to ensure that the ship was sent to sea in a seaworthy
state; or
(b) that sending the ship to sea in such an unseaworthy state was in the circumstances reasonable
and justifiable.
(2) A prosecution under this section shall not be instituted except with the consent of the Director-
General.
(3) A person who commits an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine
not exceeding 2500 penalty units or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.
Section 337—Owner's Obligation for Seaworthiness
(1) The owner and the master of a ship or an agent charged with the loading of a ship or preparing
the ship for or sending the ship to sea shall ensure that the ship is seaworthy before it commences
the voyage and that the ship maintains its seaworthiness during the voyage.
(2) In a contract of service between the owner of a ship and the master, and a seafarer or apprentice,
there is an express or implied obligation on the owner of the ship and the master that
notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary the ship is seaworthy for all purposes.
Section 338—Detention of Unseaworthy ship
(1) Where the Director-General or a surveyor has reason to believe that a ship at a port in Ghana
is an unseaworthy ship, whether on a complaint, representation or otherwise made to the Director-
General in sufficient time before the sailing of the ship, the Director-General shall ascertain
whether the ship ought to be detained or not.
(2) Where the Director-General or surveyor is satisfied that the ship is an unseaworthy ship, the
Director-General may in the case of
(a) a foreign ship, cause the ship to be detained; and
(b) a Ghanaian ship, cause its Safety Certificates to be suspended, until the Director-General is
satisfied that the ship is fit to proceed to sea.
(3) Where the ship is detained under subsection (2), the Director-General may take any measures
the Director-General considers necessary to prevent the ship from sailing while it is an
unseaworthy ship.
Section 339—Temporary Detention of Unseaworthy ships
(1) The Director-General may order a ship in a port in Ghana to be temporarily detained for the
purpose of being surveyed if the Director-General has reason to believe whether on a complaint or
otherwise, that the ship is unseaworthy.
(2) Where a ship is detained under sub-section (1),
(a) a written statement of the grounds of the detention shall immediately be served on the master
or owner of the ship;
(b) in the case of a foreign ship a copy of the order shall immediately be served on the consular
officer for the country to which the ship belongs and where there is no such consular officer in this
country on the consular officer in the country nearest to the port in which the ship is detained;
(c) the Director-General may appoint a competent person to survey the ship and submit a report
on the survey to the Director-General;
(d) the owner or master of the ship may before a person appointed under paragraph (c) to survey
the ship undertakes the survey, require that person to be accompanied by a person selected by the
owner or master from among the assessors of the Court of Survey for the port referred to in section
429 of this Act;
(e) where the persons appointed to survey a ship agree that the ship is unseaworthy, the Director-
General shall cause the ship to be detained or released as the circumstances may require but without
prejudice to any appeal under subsection (4) or where they do not agree, the Director-General shall
act on the report submitted by the surveyor appointed under subsection (2) (c); and
(f) in the case of a foreign ship, the consular officer referred to in paragraph (b) may, on the request
of the owner or master of the ship, require that any person appointed under paragraph (c) to survey
the ship undertakes the survey.
(3) The Director-General may on receipt of the report, on a ship referred to in subsection (2)
(a) order the ship to be released, or
(b) where in his opinion the ship is unseaworthy, subject to subsection (4), order her to be detained
either absolutely or until compliance with such conditions with respect to the execution of repairs
and alterations, or the unloading or reloading of cargo, or the manning of the ship as the Director-
General thinks necessary for the protection of human life, and may vary or add to any such order.
(4) Before an order for the final detention of a ship under subsection (3) is made, a copy of the
survey report on the ship shall be served on the master or owner of the ship who may appeal in the
prescribed manner to a Court of Survey constituted under Part XV of this Act.
(5) Where a ship has been temporarily detained under subsection (1), the Director-General may at
any time, if the Director-General considers it necessary, refer the matter to the Court of Survey.
(6) The Director-General may at any time, if satisfied that a ship detained under this section is
seaworthy, order it to be released either upon conditions or without any condition.
Section 340—Supplementary Provisions Relating to Detention of Unseaworthy ship
(1) An order varying a temporary or final order for the detention of an unseaworthy ship shall be
served as soon as possible on the master or the owner of the ship.
(2) A ship detained under this Act shall not be released because of the Ghanaian registry of the
ship being closed.
Section 341—Powers of Surveyors Regarding Detention
(1) A surveyor shall have the same power as the Director-General under section 339 to order the
temporary detention of a ship for the purpose of survey or for ascertaining the sufficiency of the
ships crew and of appointing a person to survey the ship.
(2) Where a surveyor is satisfied that a ship detained by the surveyor is seaworthy the surveyor
may order the release of that ship.
(3) A surveyor detaining a ship under subsection (1) shall immediately report to the Director-
General any order made by the surveyor for the detention or release of the ship.
(4) A person who surveys a ship under paragraph (2) (c) of section 339 and any surveyor who
detains a ship under subsection (1), shall for the purpose of the survey and detention, have the
same power as a person appointed by a Court of Survey to survey a ship, which shall include the
power to muster the crew of the ship.
Section 342—Liability for Costs and Damages
(1) Where it appears that there was no reasonable or probable cause, by reason of the condition of
a ship or the act or default of the owner, for the temporary detention of the ship under this Part, as
an unseaworthy ship, the Director-General is liable to pay to the owner of the ship
(a) the costs incidental to the detention and survey of the ship; and
(b) compensation for any loss or damage sustained by the owner because of the detention or survey.
(2) Where a ship detained temporarily or otherwise under this Act, was at the time of the detention
unseaworthy, the owner of the ship is liable to pay to the Director-General the costs incidental to
the detention and survey of the ship.
(3) These costs shall without prejudice to any other remedy, be recoverable in the same manner as
salvage is recoverable.
(4) For the purposes of this Act, the costs and incidental expenses to any proceedings before a
Court of Survey, and a reasonable amount in respect of the remuneration of the person appointed
as surveyor under paragraph (2)(c) of section 339 or any person appointed to represent the
Director-General, shall be part of the costs of the detention and survey of the ship.
(5) A dispute as to the amount of the costs of the detention and survey of a ship may under this
Part be referred to a court which shall on the request of the Director-General, ascertain and certify
the proper amount of the costs.
Section 343—Power to Require Complainant to give Security for Costs
(1) Where a complaint is made to the Director-General or a surveyor that a ship is unseaworthy,
the complainant may be required to give security to the satisfaction of the Director-General or
surveyor, as the case may be, for any costs and compensation which the complainant may become
liable to pay under subsection (3).
(2) The security referred to in subsection (1) shall not be required where the complaint relating to
a ship
(a) is made by at least three of the seafarers belonging to the ship; and
(b) is not in the opinion of the Director-General or surveyor frivolous or vexatious, as the case may
be,
but in such a case the Director-General or surveyor shall if the complaint is made in sufficient time
before the sailing of the ship, take proper steps for ascertaining whether the ship ought to be
detained.
(3) Where a ship is detained in consequence of any complaint under subsection (1), and the
circumstances are such that the Director-General is liable under section 342 to pay to the owner of
the ship any costs or compensation, the complainant is liable to pay to the Authority all the costs
and compensation the Authority incurs or is liable to pay in respect of the detention and survey of
the ship.
Section 344—Survey of ship Alleged by Seafarers to be Unseaworthy
(1) Where in any proceedings against a seafarer of any ship for the offence of desertion or absence
without leave it is alleged by one-fourth, or if their number exceeds twenty by at least five of the
seafarers belonging to the ship
(a) that the ship is by reason of unseaworthiness, overloading, improper loading, defective
equipment, undermanning or any other reason, not in a fit condition to proceed to sea; or
(b) that the crew accommodation in the ship is insufficient or does not comply with the
requirements imposed by any Regulations made under this Act,
the seafarer may apply to a court for a survey of the ship and the court having cognisance of the
case shall take measures to satisfy itself about the truth of the allegation, and for that purpose
(c) shall receive the evidence of the person making the allegation,
(d) may summon any other witness whose evidence it considers desirable to hear,
(e) shall before adjudication cause the ship to be surveyed.
(2) A seafarer charged with desertion or with absence from the seafarer's ship without leave does
not have a right to apply for a survey under this section unless the seafarer has before leaving the
ship complained to the master of the circumstances alleged by the seafarer to justify a survey of
the ship.
Section 345—Court's Discretion to Appoint Surveyors
(1) For the purposes of section 344 the court may appoint
(a) a surveyor qualified under this Act; or
(b) if a surveyor qualified under this Act cannot be found without unreasonable expense or delay,
or is in the opinion of the court not competent to deal with the special circumstances of the case,
any other impartial surveyor who has no interest in the ship, her freight or cargo,
to survey the ship the subject of the allegation and to answer any question concerning the ship
which the court considers fit to ask.
(2) A surveyor appointed under subsection (1) to survey a ship shall survey the ship and make a
written report on it to the court.
(3) On receipt of the report under subsection (2), the court shall
(a) communicate the report to the parties; and
(b) unless the opinion expressed in the report is proved to the satisfaction of the court to be
erroneous, determine the question before it in accordance with the report.
(4) Any person who carries out a survey of a ship under this section shall have for that purpose all
the powers of a surveyor under this Act.
Section 346—Cost of Survey
(1) The cost, if any, of a survey of a ship conducted under section 345 shall be determined by the
Authority according to a prescribed scale of fees.
(2) Where it is proved that a ship surveyed under section 344 is in a fit condition to proceed to sea,
or that the accommodation in the ship is sufficient or complies with the prescribed requirements
of the ship, the cost of the survey shall be paid by the person upon whose demand or in consequence
of whose allegation the survey was made.
(3) The cost may be deducted by the master or owner of the ship from the wages payable or that
may become due to that person, and shall be paid to the Authority.
(4) Where it is proved that the ship is not in a fit condition to proceed to sea, or that the
accommodation in the ship is not sufficient or does not comply with any prescribed requirements,
the master or owner of the ship shall pay the costs of the survey to the Authority, and in addition,
be liable to pay to the seafarer who has been charged in any proceedings referred to in section 344
such compensation as the court may award.
PART XI—WRECKS AND SALVAGE
WRECKS
Section 347—Powers of Principal Receiver and Receivers of Wreck
(1) The Principal Receiver of Wreck shall exercise general direction and supervision over all
matters relating to a receiver of wreck, wreck and salvage.
(2) The Director-General may designate any person to be a receiver of wreck in any specified area
and to perform the duties of a receiver of wreck under this Part.
(3) When a receiver is absent, the following officers or persons each in succession in the absence
of the other, may do anything authorised to be done by the receiver under this Part
(a) any officer of Customs, Excise and Preventive Service; or
(b) any police officer.
(4) An officer acting under subsection (3) shall
(a) with respect to any goods or articles that belong to a ship, which are required under this Part to
be delivered to a receiver, be considered the agent of the receiver;
(b) place the goods and articles in the custody of the receiver;
(c) not be entitled to any fees payable to a receiver; and
(d) not be deprived of any right to salvage to which the officer would otherwise be entitled.
Section 348—Fees of Receiver
(1) A receiver shall be paid the expenses properly incurred by the receiver in the performance of
the receiver's duties and such fees in respect of other matters as may be prescribed.
(2) A receiver shall in addition to all other rights and remedies for the recovery of the expenses
and fees referred to in subsection (1), have the same rights and remedies as a salvor has in respect
of salvage.
(3) Whenever a dispute arises as to the amount payable to any receiver in respect of expenses or
fees, the dispute shall be determined by the Director-General.
(4) Fees received by a receiver in respect of any services performed by the receiver, shall be
accounted for to the Director-General, and shall be applied in defraying any expenses duty
incurred.
Section 349—Duty of Receiver where ship is in Distress
(1) Where a vessel is wrecked, stranded or in distress in Ghanaian waters or on the shores of Ghana,
the receiver for the area shall upon being made aware of the circumstances, immediately go to the
place, and upon arrival take command of all persons present, and assign such duties and give
directions to each person present as the receiver thinks fit for the preservation of the vessel and of
the lives of persons the vessel, the cargo and apparel on the ship.
(2) A person who, without reasonable excuse, wilfully disobeys the directions of the receiver
commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units
or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the receiver to interfere in any matter
arising between the master and crew of the vessel concerning the management of the vessel, unless
the receiver is requested to do so by the master.
Section 350—Power of Receiver in Case of ship in Distress
(1) The receiver may with a view to saving shipwrecked persons or preserving a vessel, and its
cargo or apparel require
(a) any person the receiver considers appropriate to assist the receiver;
(b) the master or person in charge of any vessel near at hand to give such aid to the other master
or men or vessel as is in that master's or person's power to do; and
(c) the use of any available machinery, vehicle or equipment.
(2) A person who refuses, without reasonable excuse, to comply with a request or demand made
under subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not
exceeding 250 penalty units or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 351—Power to pass over Adjoining Lands
(1) Where a vessel is wrecked, stranded or in distress, any person may for the purpose of rendering
assistance to the vessel and its cargo or apparel or of saving the life of any person
(a) pass and repass, with or without vehicles, machinery or equipment over any adjoining lands
unless there is a public road equally convenient; and
(b) deposit on those lands any cargo or other articles recovered from the vessel,
without being hindered or being subject to liability for trespass by the owner or occupier, but the
person may not cause any more damage to the adjoining lands than is reasonably necessary for the
purpose of rendering the assistance.
(2) Any damage sustained by the owner or occupier of a land as a result of the exercise of the
rights conferred by sub-section (1) shall be a charge on the vessel and its cargo or articles in respect
of which the damage is caused, and the amount payable in respect of the damage shall in case of
dispute be determined and be recoverable in the same manner as the amount of salvage is
determined and recovered under this Part.
(3) An owner or occupier of land who
(a) impedes or hinders any person in the exercise of the rights conferred under subsection (1),
whether by locking gates or refusing upon request to open gates; or
(b) impedes or hinders the deposit of any cargo or other articles recovered from a vessel as
mentioned above on the land; or
(c) prevents or endeavours to prevent any cargo or other article from remaining deposited on the
land for a reasonable time until it can be removed to a safe place of public deposit,
commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units
or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 352—Power of Receiver to Prevent Plunder of and Disorder on Wrecked ship
(1) Whenever a vessel is wrecked, stranded or in distress in Ghanaian waters or on the shores of
Ghana, and any person plunders, creates disorder or obstructs the preservation of the ship or of the
shipwrecked persons or the cargo or apparel of the ship, the receiver of wreck shall cause the
person to be apprehended.
(2) The receiver may use such force as may be reasonably necessary for the suppression of any
plundering, disorder or obstruction referred to in subsection (1), and may order any person to assist
the receiver in doing so.
(3) Where a person dies or sustains an injury by reason of resisting the receiver or any person
acting under the orders of the receiver in the execution of the duties entrusted to the receiver under
this Part, neither the receiver nor the person acting under the receiver's orders shall be liable to any
punishment or to pay damages by reason of the person dying or sustaining the injury.
Section 353—Examination on Oath Regarding ships in Distress
(1) Where a vessel is or has been in distress in Ghanaian waters, the receiver or, in the receiver's
absence, a magistrate shall as soon as it is convenient examine on oath any person belonging to
the ship, or any other person who is able to give any account of the cargo or stores on the following
matters:
(a) the name and description of the vessel;
(b) the name of the master and of the owner;
(c) the names of the owners of the cargo;
(d) the ports, from and to which the vessel was bound;
(e) the occasion of the distress of the vessel;
(f) the services rendered; and
(g) such other matters or circumstances relating to the vessel or to the cargo on board the vessel as
the person holding the examination thinks necessary.
(2) The person holding the examination under subsection (1) in relation to a ship shall make a
record in writing, and shall send a copy to the Director-General.
(3) The Director-General shall where necessary, cause a copy of the record to be placed in a
conspicuous place in the office of the Authority in the area in which the ship was in distress.
(4) The person holding an examination under subsection (1) shall for the purpose have all the
powers of a surveyor.
Section 354—Rules to be Observed by Person finding Wreck
(1) Where a person finds or takes possession of a wreck within Ghana, or where a wreck found or
taken possession of outside Ghana is brought within Ghana, the person who finds the wreck or
takes possession shall
(a) if the person is the owner, give notice to the receiver for the area in which the wreck is, stating
that the person has found or taken possession of the wreck and describing the marks by which the
wreck may be recognized, or
(b) if the person is not the owner, as soon as possible deliver the wreck to the receiver of the area.
(2) The Director-General may dispense with a delivery required under subsection (1)(b) in respect
of any wreck upon such condition as the Director-General thinks fit.
(3) A person who fails, without reasonable cause, to comply with subsection (1) relating to any
wreck commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty
units and in addition shall, if the person is not the owner,
(a) forfeit any claim to salvage; or
(b) pay to the owner of the wreck, if it is claimed, or if it is unclaimed, to the person entitled to it,
twice the value of the wreck, which may be recovered in the same way as a judgment by the Court.
Section 355—Penalty for taking Wreck at the time of Casualty
(1) Where a vessel is wrecked, stranded or in distress in Ghanaian waters or on the shores of Ghana,
any cargo or other articles belonging to or separated from the vessel which are washed ashore or
otherwise lost or taken from the vessel shall be delivered to a receiver.
(2) Any person whether the owner or not of any cargo or article referred to in subsection (1) who
conceals or keeps possession of any cargo or article or refuses to deliver any such cargo or article
to the receiver or any person authorized by the receiver to demand the cargo or article, commits
an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
(3) A receiver or a person authorized by the receiver to demand the delivery to the receiver or
authorised person of any cargo or article referred to in subsection (1) may take the cargo or article
by force from the person refusing to deliver it to the receiver or authorised person.
Section 356—Notice of Wreck to be given by Receiver
Where the receiver takes possession of any wreck, the receiver shall within forty-eight hours
(a) cause to be posted at the nearest police station to the wreck or otherwise publish in such manner
as the receiver considers fit, a description of the wreck and of any marks by which it is
distinguished; and
(b) if in the receiver's opinion the value of the wreck exceeds the cedi equivalent of US$5000, send
a copy of the description to the Director-General.
Section 357—Delivery of Wreck to Owner
(1) The owner of a wreck in the possession of the receiver, upon establishing the owner’s claim to
the satisfaction of the receiver within six months from the time when the wreck came into the
possession of the receiver and on paying the salvage fees and other expenses due, is entitled to
have the wreck or the proceeds of it delivered to the owner.
(2) Where a wreck or other article which belongs to or forms part of a foreign vessel which has
been wrecked in Ghanaian waters or on the shores of Ghana, is found on or near the shores of
Ghana, the consular officer of the country to which the vessel belongs, or in the case of cargo, the
consular officer of the country of which the owner of the cargo is a citizen shall in the absence of
the owner and of the master or other agent of the owner, be considered to be the agent of the owner,
so far as relates to the custody and disposal of the wreck or other article.
Section 358—Immediate sale of Wreck by Receiver
(1) The receiver may at any time sell any wreck in the receiver’s custody, if in the receiver’s
opinion it
(a) is under the value of the cedi equivalent of US$2,500,
(b) is so damaged or of such perishable nature that it cannot be kept without it losing its value;
(c) is not of sufficient value to pay for storage; or
(d) has not been removed within a time specified by the owner.
(2) The proceeds of any sale made under subsection (1) shall, after defraying the expenses be held
by the receiver for the same purposes, and be subject to the same claim, rights and liabilities as if
the wreck had remained unsold.
Section 359—Wrecked goods Subject to Duties
(1) Wrecks that constitute foreign goods being brought into Ghana shall be subject to the same
duties as those to which such goods would be subject if they were imported into Ghana.
(2) Where any question arises as to the origin of any goods referred to in subsection (1), they shall
be considered to be the produce of such country as the Commissioner of Customs, Excise and
Preventive Service may on investigation determine.
(3) The Commissioner of Customs, Excise and Preventive Service shall permit
(a) all goods, wares and merchandise save from any ship stranded or wrecked on its southbound
voyage to be forwarded to the port of its original destination; and
(b) all goods, wares and merchandise saved from any ship stranded or wrecked on its northbound
voyage to be returned to the port at which they were shipped,
but the Commissioner of Customs, Excise and Preventive Service shall take security for the due
protection of those goods.
Section 360—Right to Unclaimed Wreck
The Government shall be entitled to all unclaimed wreck found within any part of Ghana or found
or taken possession of outside Ghana and brought within Ghana, except where the Government
has granted to any person the right to the wreck.
Section 361—Disposal of Unclaimed Wreck
Where no owner establishes a claim to a wreck which
(a) has been found in Ghana or found or taken possession of outside Ghana and brought into
Ghana; or
(b) has been in the possession of a receiver of wrecks for six months,
the receiver shall sell the wreck and pay to the State the proceeds of sale after deducting the
expenses of the sale, the fees payable to the receiver and such amount of salvage payable to salvors
as the Director-General may in each case determine.
Section 362—Delivery of Unclaimed Wreck by Receiver not to Prejudice Title
Upon delivery of any wreck or payment of the proceeds of sale of any wreck by the receiver of the
wreck under this Part, the receiver shall be discharged from all liability but the delivery shall not
prejudice or affect any question which may be raised by third parties concerning the right or title
to the wreck.
Section 363—Removal of Wreck by port, Harbour or other Authority
(1) Where any vessel is sunk, stranded, wrecked or abandoned in any port, harbour, lake, river,
waterway or water course in the country under the control of any public authority in such manner
as in the opinion of the authority, is likely to be an obstruction or danger to navigation or to life
boats engaged in life boat service in that port, harbour, lake, river, waterway or watercourse, the
relevant authority shall serve notice on the owner of the vessel to remove the vessel within 30 days
of receipt of the notice and if the owner fails to remove the vessel within the specified period, the
relevant authority may
(a) take possession of, and raise, remove or destroy the whole or any part of the vessel;
(b) light or buoy the vessel or part of the vessel until it is raised, removed or destroyed;
(c) subject to subsections (2) and (3), sell in a manner that it thinks fit the vessel or the part raised
or removed, and also any other property recovered in the exercise of its powers under this section,
and out of the proceeds of the sale reimburse itself for the expenses incurred, and hold the
remainder, if any, in trust for the persons entitled to it, except that the remainder shall be paid to
the relevant authority unless it is claimed by a person entitled to it within one year of the sale.
(2) Except in the case of property which is of a perishable nature, or which would deteriorate in
value by delay, a sale shall not be made under this section, until at least seven clear days notice of
the intended sale has been given, either by advertisement in a local newspaper circulating in or
near the district in which the relevant authority is located, or in such other manner as the relevant
authority thinks fit.
(3) If before a property is sold under this section, the owner pays to the relevant authority the
expenses of the removal and the storage and the cost of any notice issued by the authority, the
property shall be delivered to the owner.
(4) The valued of the property if it is to be sold shall be ascertained by agreement between the
authority and the owner or, failing such agreement, by a person named for the purpose by the
Director-General.
(5) Any sum received by the authority referred to in subsection (1) in respect of any property,
under subsection (3) shall for the purposes of subsection (1), be considered to be the proceeds of
sale of the property.
(6) Where the proceeds of sale of any property sold under this section are less than the cost incurred
by the relevant authority, that authority may recover the difference from the owner of the vessel
concerned by civil action.
(7) In the event that the wreck has no value, the authority may, acting under this section claim the
expenses of removal from the owner of the wreck.
Section 364—Breaking up and Removal of Wrecks
(1) Where a person, who is the owner of a vessel or a wrecked, submerged, sunken or stranded
vessel or who is the agent or servant of the owner, wishes to break up the vessel prior to its removal
from Ghana, the person shall before commencing salvage or breaking up operations, obtain the
written permission of a receiver.
(2) On receipt of an application for permission to break up a vessel, the receiver may before
granting the permission
(a) stipulate conditions the receiver considers necessary to minimise the risks or effects of any
pollution; and
(b) require security of a reasonable amount as the receiver considers necessary to ensure the safe
and effective removal of the vessel or any portion of it.
(3) A person who, without the prior written permission of a receiver, does or causes to be done
any salvage or breaking up operations of any vessel or any wrecked, submerged, sunken or
stranded vessel lying within Ghana commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a
fine not exceeding 1000 penalty units or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to
both.
Section 365—Extent of Power of Removal of Wreck
The provisions of this Part relating to the removal of wrecks shall apply to every article or thing
that is or forms part of the tackle, cargo, stores, bunkers or ballast of a vessel.
Section 366—Taking Wreck to a Foreign Port
A person who takes any vessel whether stranded, derelict or otherwise in distress, found in Ghana
into any foreign port and sells and vessel or any part of the cargo or apparel or anything that
belongs to that vessel or the wreck commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a
fine not exceeding 2500 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or to
both.
Section 367—Boarding of Wrecked Vessels
(1) A person shall not without the leave of the master, board or endeavour to board a vessel which
is wrecked, stranded or in distress, unless the person acts under the authority of the receiver or a
person lawfully acting as a receiver.
(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1)
(a) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty
units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both; and
(b) may be removed by the master of the vessel, if necessary, by force.
(3) A person who refuses to allow any person duly authorized by a receiver to board any wreck
commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units
or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 368—Interfering with Wreck
(1) A person shall not
(a) impede or hinder or attempt in any manner to impede or hinder, the saving of
(i) any vessel stranded or in danger of being stranded or otherwise in distress; or
(ii) any part of the cargo or apparel of any wreck,
(b) conceal any wreck or deface or obliterate any marks on it; or
(c) without good cause carry away or remove any part of a vessel stranded or in danger of being
stranded or otherwise in distress, or any part of the cargo or apparel or any wreck.
(2) Any person who contravenes any provision in subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable
on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units or to imprisonment for a term
not exceeding 2 years or to both.
Section 369—Receiver to Apply for Search Warrant
A receiver may under this section apply to a Magistrate for a search warrant where the receiver
suspects or receives information that a wreck is secreted or is in the possession of some person
who is not the owner or that a wreck is otherwise being improperly dealt with.
PART XII—SALVAGE
Section 370—Definitions
For the purposes of this Part
“damage to the environment” means substantial physical damage to human health or resources in
coastal or inland waters or areas adjacent to these places, caused by pollution, contamination, fire,
explosion or similar major incidents;
“maritime casualty” means a collision of vessels, stranding or other incident of navigation or other
occurrence on board a vessel or external to it, resulting in material damage or imminent threat of
material damage to the vessel or cargo;
“salvor” means a person rendering salvage services;
“salvage operation” means any act or activity undertaken to assist a vessel or any other property
in danger in navigable waters or in any other waters;
“salvage services” means services rendered in direct connection with salvage operations;
“property” means any property not permanently and intentionally attached to the shoreline and
includes freight at risk;
“Salvage Convention” means the International Convention on Salvage of 1989.
Section 371—Non-application to Platforms and Drilling units
This Part does not apply to fixed or floating platforms or to mobile off-shore drilling units when
the platforms or units are on location engaged in the exploration, exploitation or production of sea-
bed mineral resources.
Section 372—Non-application to Foreign State-owned Vessels
(1) This Part does not apply to warships or other non-commercial vessels owned or operated by a
foreign State and entitled at the time of salvage operations to sovereign immunity under generally
recognized principles of public international law unless that state has decided to apply the Salvage
Convention to the ships or vessels.
(2) For the purposes of any proceedings under this Act, a certificate signed by the Secretary-
General of the International Maritime Organization, setting out a state’s decision to apply the
Salvage Convention to ships and vessels referred to in subsection (1) and the terms and conditions
of the application, is prima facie evidence.
Section 373—Salvage of life
(1) Where services are rendered
(a) wholly or in part in Ghanaian waters in saving life from any vessel or aircraft; or
(b) outside Ghanaian waters, in saving life on any Ghanaian vessel, the owner of the vessel,
aircraft, cargo or apparel in respect of which the life was saved shall pay to the salvor a reasonable
amount of salvage to be determined in the manner set out in this Part.
(2) Salvage in respect of the preservation of life, when payable by the owners of a vessel shall have
priority over all other claims for salvage.
(3) No salvage shall be due from a person who has been saved.
Section 374—Salvage of Cargo
(1) Where any vessel or aircraft is wrecked, stranded or in distress in Ghanaian waters or on the
shores of Ghana and services are rendered by any person
(a) in assisting the vessel or aircraft or saving the cargo or apparel of the vessel or any part of it;
or
(b) other than the receiver of wrecks,
the owner of the vessel, aircraft, cargo, apparel or wreck shall pay to the salvor, a reasonable
amount of salvage, which shall be determined in the manner set out in this Part.
(2) A salvor of human life, who has participated in services in the event of a maritime casualty
salvage shall be entitled to an appropriate share of the remuneration awarded to the salvor for
salvaging the vessel or other property or preventing or minimizing damage to the environment.
Section 375—Services Excluded from Salvage Remuneration
Nothing in this Part entitles any person to salvage remuneration,
(a) in respect of salvage services rendered contrary to any express and reasonable prohibition of
the services on the part of the vessel or aircraft or by the owner of property to which the services
are rendered; or
(b) in respect of services rendered by a tug
(i) to the vessel or aircraft which the tug is towing; or
(ii) in relation to the cargo of that vessel or aircraft
except where the services are of an exceptional character outside the scope of the contract of
towage;
(c) if that person caused the distress giving rise to the salvage, either intentionally or through
negligence; and
(d) if and to such extent as it appears that that person has concealed or unlawfully disposed of any
property salvaged.
Section 376—Conditions for Salvage Remuneration
(1) Except as otherwise provided in section 382, no remuneration is due under this Act if the
salvage operations had no useful result.
(2) A salvor is entitled to remuneration under this Part notwithstanding that the vessel, or aircraft
performing the salvage operation and the vessel, aircraft, cargo or other property salvaged belong
to the same owner.
Section 377—Salvage Contracts
(1) Sections 397 to 404 apply to any salvage operation unless a contract expressly or by implication
provides otherwise.
(2) The master of a Ghanaian vessel shall with the owner’s consent, have the authority to conclude
contracts for salvage operations on behalf of the owner of the vessel and the master and the owner
of a Ghanaian vessel shall have the authority to conclude contracts on behalf of the owner of the
property on board the vessel.
(3) Nothing in this section shall affect the application of section 376 or the duties to prevent or
minimize damage to the environment provided in paragraph (b) of section 379 and paragraph (b)
of section 380.
Section 378—Annulment or Modification of Contracts
Any contract relating to salvage or any of its terms may be annulled or modified by a court, where
it appears to the court that
(a) the contract had been entered into under undue influence or the threat of danger and the terms
of the contract and inequitable; or
(b) the payment under the contract is in an excessive degree, too large or too small for the services
actually rendered.
Section 379—Duties of Salvor
A salvor owes a duty to the owner of the vessel or other property in danger to
(a) carry out the salvage operation with due care;
(b) exercise due care to prevent or minimize damage to the environment in performing the duty
specified in paragraph (a) of this section;
(c) seek assistance from other salvors whenever the circumstances reasonably so require; and
(d) accept the intervention of other salvors when reasonably requested to do so by the owner or
master of the vessel or other property in danger, except that the amount of the salvor’s reward shall
not be prejudiced where the salvor proves that the request was unreasonable.
Section 380—Duties of owner and Master
The owner or master of a vessel or the owner of other property in danger owes a duty to the salvor
(a) to co-operate fully with the salvor during the course of the salvage operations;
(b) in performing the duty specified in paragraph (a) to exercise due care to prevent or minimize
damage to the environment; and
(c) when the vessel or other property has been brought to a place of safety to accept delivery when
reasonably requested to do so by the salvor.
Section 381—Powers of the Authority as Regards Protection of Maritime Environment
(1) The Director-General in consultation with the Minister and the Environmental Protection
Agency shall
(a) give directions in relation to any salvage operation, and
(b) take measures in accordance with generally recognized principles of public international law
to protect the environment from pollution following a maritime casualty or acts relating to such
casualty which may reasonably be expected to result in harmful consequences to the environment.
(2) The Director-General shall in pursuit of subsection (1) take into account the need for co-
operation among salvors, other interested parties and the Authority in order to ensure the efficient
and successful performance of salvage operations for the purpose of saving life and property in
danger as well as preventing damage to the environment.
(3) Any public officer or other person acting under the directions of the Director-General shall be
under a duty to exercise due care in preventing or minimizing damage to the environment.
(4) Any public authority or an officer who is reasonably within the vicinity of a vessel or person
in distress or danger of being lost at sea shall render assistance to salve the vessel and life by co-
operating in
(a) the procurement and provision of facilities to the salvors;
(b) the admission to the port of vessels in distress;
(c) ensuring the efficient and successful performance of the salvage operation for the purpose of
salvaging life and property; and
(d) preventing or minimising damage to the environment.
Section 382—Criteria for Fixing Salvage Reward
Salvage reward shall be fixed with a view to encouraging salvage operations, taking into account
the following criteria:
(a) the salved value of the vessel and other property;
(b) the skill and effort of the salvors in preventing or minimizing damage to the environment;
(c) the measure of success obtained by the salvor;
(d) the nature and degree of the danger;
(e) the skill and efforts of the salvors in salvaging the vessel, other property and life;
(f) the time used and the expenses and losses incurred by the salvors;
(g) the risk of liability and other risks run by the salvors or their equipment;
(h) the promptness of the services rendered;
(i) the availability and use of vessels or other equipment intended for salvage operations; and
(j) the state of readiness and efficiency of the salvors’ equipment and their value.
Section 383—Responsibility for Payment of Reward
(1) Payment of a reward determined in accordance with section 382 shall be made by all the owners
of the vessel and other property interests in proportion to their respective interest in the property
salvaged.
(2) For expediency, the ship owner shall pay the amount on behalf of all interests referred to in
subsection (1) subject to the right of the ship owner to be reimbursed by the other interests.
(3) A ship owner who makes the payment under subsection (2), may require the other parties with
interest to provide security not exceeding the values of their respective salvaged interests until the
ship owner has been fully reimbursed.
Section 384—Quantum of Reward
The salvage remuneration excluding any interest and recoverable legal costs that may be payable
shall not exceed the salvaged value of the vessel and other property salvaged.
Section 385—Special Compensation
(1) A salvor is entitled to special compensation equivalent to the expenses of the salvor from the
owner of a vessel where the salvor has carried out salvage operations in respect of the vessel itself
or its cargo which was a threat to the environment and has failed to earn a reward under this Part
which is equivalent to the special compensation assessable under subsections (2) and (3) or as
defined in subsection (4).
(2) Where in the circumstances stated in subsection (1), the salvor has by salvage operations
prevented or minimized damage to the environment, the special compensation payable by the
owner to the salvor under subsection (1) may be increased up to a maximum of thirty percent of
the expenses incurred by the salvor.
(3) A court or a person determining the award may where it is considered fair and just increase the
special compensation, bearing in mind the criteria set out in section 382; but in no event shall the
total increase be more than one hundred percent of the expenses incurred by the salvor.
(4) For the purposes of this section “salvor’s expenses” means the out of pocket expenses
reasonably incurred by the salvor in the salvage operation and a fair rate for equipment and
personnel actually and reasonably used in the salvage operation, taking into consideration the
criteria set out in paragraphs (h), (i) and (j) of section 382.
(5) The total special compensation assessable under this section shall be paid only if and to the
extent that the compensation is greater than any reward recoverable under section 382.
(6) Where the salvor, in carrying out the salvage operations, has acted negligently and failed to
prevent or minimize damage to the environment, the salvor may be deprived of the whole or a part
of any special compensation payable under this section.
(7) Nothing in this section shall affect any right of other recourse available to the owner of the
vessel.
Section 386—Services Rendered under Existing Contracts
No payment shall become due under this Part unless the services rendered exceed what can be
reasonably considered as due performance of a contract entered into before the danger giving rise
to the salvage operations arose.
Section 387—Apportionment between Salvors
(1) The apportionment of a reward, fixed under section 382 between salvors shall be made on the
basis of the criteria listed in that section.
(2) The apportionment between the owner, master and other persons in the service of each
salvaging vessel shall be determined by the law of the State in which the vessel is registered.
(3) Where the salvage referred to in subsection (1) has not been carried out from a vessel, the
apportionment shall be determined by the law governing the contract between the salvor and the
servant of the salvor and in the absence of formal contract the court or person determining the
apportionment and disbursement shall apply general principles of law to the cases in order to reach
a just and equitable decision.
Section 388—Salvor’s Misconduct
A salvor may be deprived of the whole or part of the payment due to that salvor under this Part to
the extent that the salvage operation has become unnecessary or more difficult because of a fault
or neglect on the salvor’s part or if the salvor has been guilty of fraud or other dishonest conduct.
Section 389—Maritime Lien
A salvor’s maritime lien shall not be affected under Part III of this Act except that the salvor may
not enforce the salvor’s lien when reasonable security for the salvor’s claim, including interest and
costs, has been duly tendered or provided.
Section 390—Duty to Provide Security
(1) A person liable to make a payment under this Act shall upon the request of the salvor give
security to the satisfaction of the salvor for the claim, including interest and costs of the salvor.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the owner of the salvaged vessel shall take all reasonable steps
to ensure that the owners of the cargo provide security to the satisfaction of the owner of the vessel
or of the salvor for the claims against the owners of the cargo, including interest and costs, before
the cargo is released.
(3) The salvaged vessel and its property shall not without the consent of the salvor be removed
from the port or place at which they first arrive after the completion of the salvage operation, until
security to the satisfaction of the salvor has been put up for the salvor’s claim against the relevant
vessel or its property.
(4) A court may upon application by the salvor in a dispute between the salvor and the person
liable to pay for the claim under this Part, or between the owner of the vessel and the owner of the
cargo, relating to security to be provided, decide the amount and the terms of the security.
Section 391—Interim Payment
(1) The court adjudicating the claim of the salvor may upon the application of the salvor, make an
interim order for payment to the salvor of such amount as the court may consider fair and just.
(2) In the event of any interim payment under subsection (1) the security provided under section
390 shall be reduced accordingly.
Section 392—State-owned Cargoes
Non-commercial cargoes owned by a state and entitled at the time of salvage operations, to
sovereign immunity under recognized principles of public international law, shall not be subject
to seizure, arrest or detention by any legal process, or to any action in rem without the express
consent of the state owner of the cargo.
Section 393—Humanitarian Cargoes
No humanitarian cargoes donated by a state shall be subject to seizure, arrest or detention, where
the state has agreed to pay for salvage services rendered in respect of the humanitarian cargoes.
Section 394—Determination of Salvage Dispute
(1) Disputes as to the amounts of salvage, whether of life or property and whether rendered within
or outside Ghana arising between the salvor and the owners of any vessel, aircraft, cargo, apparel
or wreck shall if not settled by agreement, arbitration or otherwise, be determined summarily by a
District Court where
(a) the parties to the dispute consent;
(b) the value of the property salvaged does not exceed the cedi equivalent of US $50,000; or
(c) the amount claimed does not exceed the cedi equivalent of US $50,000.
(2) A dispute relating to salvage may be determined on the application either of the salvor or of
the owner of the property salvaged or of their respective agents.
(3) The court or the arbitrators to whom a dispute on salvage is referred for determination may for
the purpose of determining the dispute invite as an assessor, any person knowledgeable in maritime
affairs who shall be paid as part of the costs of the proceedings, such sum as may be determined
by the court or the parties for the services of that person.
Section 395—Summary Determination of Salvage Disputes
(1) Disputes relating to salvage which are to be determined summarily as set out in section 394
shall
(a) where the dispute relates to the salvage of a wreck, be referred to the District Court that has
jurisdiction at or near the place where the wreck is found; or
(b) where the dispute relates to salvage in the case of services rendered to any ship, aircraft, or to
the cargo or apparel or in saving life be referred to a District Court at or near the port in Ghana
into which the ship is first brought after the occurrence which gave rise to the salvage claim.
(2) The District Court may for the purpose of determining the dispute seek the assistance of any
person conversant with maritime affairs as an assessor and the assessor shall be paid in respect of
the services of the assessor and as part of the cost of the proceedings such sum as the Authority
may provide.
Section 396—Valuation of Property Salvaged
(1) Where any dispute relating to salvage arises, the receiver of the area where the property is
situated in respect of which the salvage claim is made may, on the application of either party,
appoint a valuer to value the property, and where a valuation is made the receiver shall give copies
of the valuation to both parties.
(2) A copy of a valuation made under subsection (1) signed by the valuer as certified true copy
shall be admissible in evidence in any subsequent proceedings.
(3) The Authority may determine the fees which shall be paid in respect of any valuation made
under this section by the person applying for the valuation.
Section 397—Detention of Property liable to Salvage by Receiver
(1) Where salvage is due to any person under this Act, the receiver shall
(a) where the salvage is due in respect of services rendered in assisting any vessel or aircraft or in
saving life or in saving the cargo or apparel, detain the vessel or aircraft and cargo or apparel, and
(b) where the salvage is due in respect of the saving of any wreck and the wreck is not sold as
unclaimed under this Act, detain the wreck.
(2) Excepts as otherwise provided in this Act, the receiver shall detain the vessel or aircraft and
the cargo or apparel or the wreck, until payment is made for salvage or process is issued for the
arrest or detention of the person liable to pay for the salvage by a court.
(3) The receiver may release any vessel, aircraft, cargo, apparel or wreck detained under this
section, where security is given
(a) to the satisfaction of the receiver, or
(b) to the satisfaction of a court where the claim for salvage exceeds the cedi equivalent of US
$5000 and a question is raised as to the sufficiency of the security.
(4) Any security given for salvage under this section exceeding the cedi equivalent of US $5000
may be enforced by a court in the same manner as if bail had been granted by that court.
Section 398—Sale of Detained Property
(1) The receiver may sell any vessel, aircraft, cargo, apparel or wreck detained by the receiver
under section 397, where the person liable to pay for the salvage in respect of which the property
is detained is aware of the detention, in the following circumstances
(a) where the amount is not disputed and payment of the amount due is not made within thirty days
after it has become due,
(b) where the amount is disputed but no appeal lies from the decision of the court to which the
dispute was referred, and payment is not made within thirty days after the decision of the court, or
(c) where the amount is disputed after a decision has been given by a court and payment is not
made within thirty days or proceedings are not commenced for obtaining leave to appeal.
(2) The proceeds of sale of any vessel, aircraft, cargo, apparel or wreck shall, after deduction of
the costs of the sale, be applied by the receiver in payment of the costs of salvage.
(3) The balance of the proceeds shall be paid to the owners of the property, or any other person
entitled to the proceeds or in the absence of any such owners or person, to the Authority.
Section 399—Apportionment of Small Amounts of Salvage
(1) Where the aggregate amount of salvage payable in respect of salvage services rendered in
Ghana has been finally determined either by a District Court in the manner provided by this Part
or by agreement and does not exceed the cedi equivalent of US $5000 and a dispute arises as to
the apportionment among several claimants, the person liable to pay the amount may pay the
amount to the receiver.
(2) The receiver may, receive the amount referred to in subsection (1) and issue a receipt in respect
of the amount with a certificate stating the amount paid and the services in respect of which it is
paid.
(3) A receipt issued under subsection (2) in respect of any amount shall be a full discharge and
indemnity to the person by whom the amount is paid, against any claim.
(4) The receiver shall promptly distribute the amount received by the receiver under this section
among the persons entitled to it in such shares and proportions as the receiver considers fit, and
may retain any money which appears to the receiver to be payable to a person who is absent.
Section 400—Apportionment of Salvage by a Court
Whenever the aggregate amount of salvage payable in respect of salvage services rendered in
Ghana has been finally ascertained and the amount exceeds the cedi equivalent of US $1000 and
whenever the aggregate amount of salvage payable in respect of salvage services rendered outside
Ghana has been finally ascertained, if a delay or dispute arises as to its apportionment the court
may
(a) cause the amount to be apportioned among the persons entitled in a manner that it considers
just, and may for that purpose, appoint any person to carry that apportionment into effect; or
(b) compel any person in whose hands or under whose control the amount may be, to distribute
the amount or to bring it into court to be dealt with as the court directs.
Section 401—Salvor’s Right to Interest
A salvor is entitled to be paid interest on any payment due to the salvor under this Part, and the
amount of the interest shall be at the discretion of the court or person adjudicating the case.
Section 402—Application to the Government
(1) Where salvage services are rendered by or on behalf of the Government, or with the aid of
Government property; the Government shall subject to any Regulations made under this section
be entitled to claim salvage in respect of the services and shall have the same rights and remedies,
as any other salvor.
(2) Subject to the provisions of any law for the time being in force relating to proceedings against
the Government, this Part shall apply in relation to salvage services rendered in assisting any ship
or aircraft of the Government, or in saving life from it, or in saving any cargo or equipment
belonging to the Government, in the same manner as if the ship or aircraft or cargo or equipment
belonged to a private person.
(3) Nothing in this Part shall prejudice the right of a salvor carrying out salvage under section 379
to avail that salvor of the rights and remedies provided in this Part including remuneration where
the salvage operation is voluntary and beyond the normal official duties of the salvor.
Section 403—Limitation of Actions
(1) An action shall not be instituted in respect of any salvage services unless the proceedings are
commenced within two years after the date of completion of the salvage operations.
(2) The person against whom the claim is made may at any time during the period of two years
referred to in sub-section (1) extend the period by a declaration to the claimant and may in the
same manner further extend the period.
(3) An action for indemnity by a person liable under this Part may be instituted within two years
after the date of termination of the salvage operations, but the court may on justifiable grounds
extend the limitation period to such extent and on such conditions as it considers fit.
Section 404—Publication of Judicial and Arbitral Awards
Subject to the consent of the parties to a salvage action, a judicial or arbitral award resulting from
it may be published in the Gazette.
PART XIII—PASSENGER SHIPS
Section 405—Power of the Minister to make Regulations Respecting Passenger Ships
(1) The Minister may make Regulations
(a) in respect of accommodation facilities and provisions on board ships which carry passengers
to or from a port in Ghana;
(b) requiring the preparation and furnishing of particulars of all passengers to or from a port in
Ghana;
(c) regulating the number of passengers which a ship may carry from a port in Ghana whether or
not the ship is a passenger ship; and
(d) to prescribe the terms and conditions upon which a ship may carry passengers between ports
in Ghana.
(2) In making Regulations under subsection (1) the Minister shall have regard to the 1974
International Convention on the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage on Board Ships and any
amendments to it.
(3) The Minister may waive or vary the Regulations referred to in subsection (1) in respect of their
application to licensed Ghanaian ships which carry passengers and operate solely within Ghanaian
waters.
Section 406—Offences in Connection with Passenger ships
(1) A person commits an offence if that person
(a) on account of being drunk and disorderly is, either refused entry to a passenger ship or where
that person is already on board, is requested by the owner or any person in the employment of the
owner to leave the ship, and notwithstanding that any fare paid has been returned or tendered to
that person, that person persists in attempting to enter the ship, or where that person is already on
board, does not leave the ship;
(b) after a warning by the master or other officer of a ship, molests or continues to molest any
passenger on board the ship;
(c) on account of a ship being full, is either refused admission or requested to leave the ship by the
owner or any person in the owner’s employ after having the amount of any fare paid by that person
returned or tendered to that person, that person nevertheless persists in attempting to enter the ship,
or where that person is already on board, does not leave the ship;
(d) travels or attempts to travel on a ship without first paying the fare and with intent to avoid
payment of the fare;
(e) having paid the fare to travel on a ship for a certain distance, knowingly and willfully proceeds
in the ship beyond that distance without first paying the fare for the additional distance;
(f) on arriving on a ship at a point to which the fare has been paid, knowingly refuses or neglects
to leave the ship;
(g) while on board a ship fails, when requested by the master or other officer either to pay the fare
or exhibit a ticket or other receipts showing the payment of the fare as is usually given to persons
travelling by and paying their fare for the ship; or
(h) willfully does or causes to be done anything in a manner so as to obstruct or damage any part
of the machinery or tackle of the ship, or to obstruct, impede or molest the crew or any of them in
the navigation or management of the ship or otherwise in the execution of their duty on or about
the ship.
(2) A person who commits an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine
not exceeding 250 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months.
PART XIV—LIMITATION AND DIVISION OF LIABILITY
Section 407—Interpretation
For the purposes of this Part
“ship” includes every description of lighter, barge or similar vessel, however propelled and any
structure launched and intended for use in navigation as a ship or as a part of a ship;
“shipowner” includes charterer, manager or operator of ship;
“salvage services” means services rendered in direct connection with salvage operations;
“salvor” means any person rendering salvage services;
“salvage operation” includes the operations referred to in section 409(1) (d), (e) and (f);
“Unit of Account” means the special drawing right as defined in section 2 of Article XXI of the
Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund.
Section 408—Persons Entitled to Limit Liability
(1) Ship owners and salvors may limit their liabilities in accordance with this Part.
(2) An insurer of liability for claims subject to limitation under this Part is entitled to the benefit
of limitation to the same extent as the assured.
(3) A person for whose act, neglect or default, the shipowner or salvor is responsible, may limit
the person’s liability under this Part.
Section 409—Claims Subject to Limitation
(1) Subject to sections 410 and 411, the following claims are subject to limitation of liability
regardless of the bases of liability
(a) claims in respect of loss of life or personal injury or loss of or damage to property, including
damage to harbour works, basins and waterways and aids to navigation, that occur on board or in
direct connection with the operation of the ship or with salvage operations, and consequential loss
resulting from these;
(b) claims in respect of loss resulting from delay in the carriage by sea of cargo, passengers or their
luggage;
(c) claims in respect of other loss resulting from infringement of rights other than contractual
rights, that occur in direct connection with the operation of the ship or salvage operations;
(d) claims in respect of the raising, removal, destruction or the rendering harmless of a ship which
is sunk, wrecked, stranded or abandoned, including anything that is or has been on board the ship;
(e) claims in respect of the removal, destruction or the rendering harmless of the cargo of a ship;
and
(f) claims of a person other than the person liable in respect of measures taken in order to avert or
minimize loss for which the person liable may limit liability in accordance with this Part, and
further loss caused by such measures.
(2) The claims referred to in subsection (1) are subject to limitation of liability even if brought by
way of recourse or for indemnity under a contract or otherwise, except that the claims referred to
in paragraphs (d), (e) and (f) of subsection (1) are not subject to limitation of liability where the
claims relate to remuneration under a contract with the person liable.
Section 410—Liability Against ships and Invoking Limitation not an Admission of Liability
For the purposes of this Part, the liability of a shipowner includes liability in an action against the
ship of the shipowner, and the act of invoking limitation does not constitute an admission of
liability.
Section 411—Claims Exempted from Limitation
Limitation of liability under this Part does not apply to the following:
(a) claims for salvage or contribution in general average;
(b) claims by employees of the ship-owner or employees of the salvor whose duties are connected
with the ship or the salvage operations, including claims of their heirs, dependants or other persons
entitled to make the claims.
(i) if under the contract of service between the shipowner or salvor and the employees, the
shipowner or salvor is not entitled to limit the liability of the shipowner in respect of the claims,
or
(ii) if the shipowner is under a contract that provides for a limited liability of an amount greater
than that provided for in section 414 of this Act; and
(c) claims in respect of air-cushioned vehicles and floating platforms constructed for the purpose
of exploring or exploiting the natural resources of the sea-bed or the sub-soil of the sea-bed.
Section 412—Conduct Barring Limitation
A person liable is not entitled to limit liability if it is proved that the loss resulted from that person’s
personal act or omission with the intent to cause the loss, or from that person’s recklessness and
with knowledge that the loss would probably be the result.
Section 413—Set off of Claims
Where a person entitled to limitation of liability under this Part has a claim against the claimant
arising from the same issue, their respective claims shall be set off against each other and the
provisions of this Part shall only apply to the balance, if any.
Section 414—Limits of Liability Calculation
The limits of liability for claims other than those provided for in section 415, that arises on any
distinct occasion, shall be calculated as follows:
(a) in respect of claims for loss of life or personal injury, 333,000 Units of Account for a ship with
a tonnage not exceeding 500 tons; for a ship with a tonnage exceeding 500 tons, the following
amounts in addition to the 333,000 Units of Account.
(i) for each ton from 501 to 3,000 tons, 500 Units of Account;
(ii) for each ton from 3,001 tons, to 30,000 tons, 333 Units of Account;
(iii) for each ton from 30,001 to 70,000 tons, 250 Units of Account; and
(iv) for each ton in excess of 70,000 tons, 167 Units of Account,
(b) in respect of any other claim, 167,000 Units of Account for a ship with a tonnage not exceeding
500 tons; for a ship with a tonnage exceeding 500 tons the following amount in addition to the
167,000 Units of Account
(i) for each ton from 501 to 30,000 tons, 167 Units of Account;
(ii) for each ton from 30,001 to 70,000 tons, 125 Units of Account; and
(iii) for each ton in excess of 70,000 tons, 83 Units of Account.
Section 415—Priorities
(1) Where the amount calculated in accordance with paragraph (a) of section 414 is insufficient to
pay the claims mentioned in full, the amount calculated in accordance with paragraph (b) of section
414 shall be available for payment of the unpaid balance of claims under paragraph (a) and the
unpaid balance shall rank rateably with claims under paragraph (b).
(2) Notwithstanding the right of claim for loss of life or personal injury referred to in paragraph
(a) of section 414, claims referred to in section 418 shall have priority over the claims referred to
in paragraph (b) of section 414.
(3) The limitation of liability for a salvor not operating from a ship or for a salvor operating solely
on the ship to, or in respect of which the salvor is rendering salvage services, shall be calculated
according to a tonnage of 1,500 tons.
Section 416—Measurement of ship’s Tonnage
For the purposes of this Part, a ship’s tonnage shall be her gross tonnage as defined in the Tonnage
Regulations, made under this Act.
Section 417—Limitation of Liability of port and Owners of Docks
(1) The owners of a dock, canal, harbour or port shall not be liable for a loss or damage caused to
(a) a vessel, or
(b) goods, merchandise or other things whether on board a vessel or not
in excess of an aggregate amount equivalent to 70 Units of Account for each ton of the tonnage of
the largest ship which has visited that dock, canal, harbour or port within five years to the
occurrence of the loss or damage.
(2) For the purposes of this section a ship shall not be considered to have visited a dock canal,
harbour or port by reason of the fact that
(a) it has been built or fitted out within the area;
(b) it has taken shelter within the area; or
(c) it has passed through the area on a voyage between two places both situated outside that area.
(3) The limitation of liability under this section shall relate to the whole of any loss or damage
which may arise upon one distinct occasion, although the loss or damage may be sustained by
more than one person, and shall apply whether the liability arises at common law or under any
enactment notwithstanding anything contained in any enactment.
(4) For the purposes of this section, the owner of a dock, canal, harbour or port includes any person
or authority that has the control and management or any dock, canal, harbour or port and any ship
repairer using the dock, canal, harbour or port.
(5) Nothing in this section shall impose a liability in respect of a loss or damage on any owner or
authority in a case where no such liability would have existed if this Act had not been enacted.
Section 418—Limitation for Passenger Claims
(1) The limitation of liability of a shipowner in respect of claims on any distinct occasion for loss
of life or personal injury to passengers of a ship shall be an amount of 46,666 Units of Account
multiplied by the number of passengers which the ship is authorized to carry according to the
ship’s certificate, but not exceeding 25 million Units of Account.
(2) For the purposes of this section claim for loss of life or personal injury to passengers of a ship
means any claim brought by or on behalf of a person carried in that ship,
(a) under a contract of passenger carriage; or
(b) who, with the consent of the carrier, is accompanying a vehicle or live animals which are
covered by a contract for the carriage of goods.
Section 419—Conversion of Unit of Account to Ghanaian Currency
The amounts referred to in sections 414 and 418 shall be converted into cedi according to the value
of the cedi to a Unit of Account on the date the security or guarantee referred to in section 421 is
deposited.
Section 420—Aggregation of claims
(1) The limitation of liability determined in accordance with section 414 applies to the aggregate
of all claims which arise on any distinct occasion against.
(a) the shipowner and any person for whose act, neglect or default the shipowner may be
responsible;
(b) the shipowner of a ship rendering salvage services from that ship and the salvor operating from
that ship and any person responsible for the act, neglect or default; or
(c) the salvor who is not operating from a ship or who is operating solely on the ship to, or in
respect of which, the salvage services are rendered and any person responsible for the act, neglect
or default.
(2) The limitation of liability determined in accordance with section 418 applies to the aggregate
of all claims referred to in that section which may arise on any distinct occasion against the
shipowner and any person responsible for the act, neglect or default of the shipowner.
Section 421—Provision of Security and Release of ship
(1) Any person alleged to be liable and seeking to limit Liability under this Part shall deposit into
court an amount equivalent at least to the limit provided for in section 414 or section 418 as
appropriate, in the form of a security or guarantee, together with interest from the date of the
occurrence that gives rise to the liability until the date the security or guarantee is deposited, and
the amount shall be available only for the payment of claims in respect of which limitation of
liability can be invoked.
(2) A security or guarantee deposited by a person or the insurer of a person mentioned in
paragraphs (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (1), or subsection (2) of section 420, shall be deemed to
have been deposited by the person mentioned in that section.
Section 422—Distribution of the fund
(1) Subject to sections 414 and 418, the proceeds of any security or guarantee deposited with the
Court shall be distributed among the claimants in proportion to their established claims.
(2) The Court may stay proceedings pending in relation to the matter, and may proceed in any
manner, subject to the orders of the Court as to the exclusion of any claimants who do not come in
within a specified time and as to payment of costs, that the Court thinks just.
(3) No lien or other right in respect of any ship or property shall affect the proportions in which
any amount is distributed among several claimants.
(4) Sums paid for or on account of any loss or damage in respect of the liability of owners shall be
limited under the provisions of this Part and costs incurred in relation to them may be brought into
account among part owners of the same ship in the same manner as money disbursed for their use.
(5) Where the person liable or the insurer of that person has settled the claim, that person shall be
subrogated to the rights which the person so compensated would have enjoyed under this Part
before the proceeds of the security or guarantee are distributed.
(6) In making any distribution in accordance with this section, the Court may postpone the
disbursement of such part of the amount to be distributed as it considers appropriate having regard
to any claims subrogated or as may otherwise be established later.
Section 423—Bar to other Actions
(1) Where a security or guarantee has been deposited with the Court in accordance with section
421, any person who has made a claim against such security or guarantee shall be barred from
exercising any right in respect of the claim against any other assets of a person by or on behalf of
whom the security or guarantee has been deposited.
(2) Where a ship or other property is seized or arrested in connection with a claim which appears
to the Court to be founded on liability to which limitation is applicable under this Part, and in
respect of which a security or guarantee is deposited, the Court shall order the release of the ship
or property if the security or guarantee has been deposited in Ghana or
(a) at the port where the occurrence took place, or, if it took place out of port, at the first port of
call thereafter;
(b) at the port of disembarkation in respect of claims for loss of life or personal injury; or
(c) at the port of discharge in respect of damage to cargo,
but where the release is ordered the person on whose application it is ordered shall be considered
to have submitted to the jurisdiction of the Court to adjudicate on the claim.
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) shall apply only if the claimant brings a claim before the Court and the
security or guarantee deposited with the Court is actually available and freely transferable in
respect of that claim.
Section 424—Rules as to Division of loss
(1) Where, by the fault of two or more vessels, damage or loss is caused to one or more of those
vessels, to their cargoes or freight, or to any property on board, the liability to make good the
damage or loss shall be in proportion to the degree in which each vessel was at fault except that
where having regard to all the circumstances of the case, it is not possible to establish different
degrees of fault, the liability shall be apportioned equally.
(2) Nothing in this section shall
(a) operate to render a vessel liable for a loss or damage if the vessel has not by any default
contributed to the loss or damage;
(b) affect the liability of a person under a contract of carriage or any other contract; or
(c) be construed as imposing any liability upon a person from which liability that person is
exempted by a contract or by law.
Section 425—Damages for Personal Injury
(1) Where loss of life or personal injury is suffered by a person on board a vessel owing to the fault
of that vessel and another vessel, the liability of the owners of the vessels shall be joint and several.
(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed as depriving a person of a right of defence which that
person apart from this section might have in an action brought against that person by the person
injured or a person entitled to sue in respect of the loss of life, or shall affect the right of a person
to limit the person’s liability in cases to which this section relates in the manner provided by law.
Section 426—Definition of “freight”
In sections 424 and 428 “freight” includes passage money and hire; and references to damage or
loss caused by the fault of a ship includes references to any salvage or other expenses consequent
upon that fault recoverable at law as damages.
Section 427—Right of Contribution
(1) Where loss of life or personal injury is suffered by a person on board a vessel owing to the fault
of that vessel and another vessel and a proportion of the damages is recovered against the owners
of one of the vessels which exceeds the proportion in which the vessel was at fault, the owners
may recover by way of contribution the amount of the excess from the owners of the other vessel
to the extent to which that other vessel was at fault, but no amount shall be so recovered which
could not, by reason of any statutory or contractual limitation of, or exemption from liability, or
which could not, for any other reason, have been recovered in the first instance as damages by a
person entitled to sue.
(2) In addition to any other remedy provided by law the persons entitled to a contribution shall for
the purpose of recovering the contribution and subject to the provisions of this Act have the same
rights and powers as the person entitled to sue for damages in the first instance.
Section 428—Limitation of actions
(1) Subject to this section, no action shall be brought to enforce a claim or lien against a ship or
the owners of the ship in respect of a damage to or loss of another ship, her cargo or freight, or any
property on board, or in respect of loss of life or personal injury suffered by a person on board that
other ship, caused by the fault of the ship, whether that other ship is wholly or partly at fault unless
proceedings are commenced within two years from the date when the damage or loss or injury was
caused.
(2) An action shall not be brought under this Act to enforce a contribution in respect of an overpaid
proportion of damages for loss of life or personal injury unless proceedings are commenced within
one year from the date of payment.
(3) A court may in accordance with the rules of court extend any period on such conditions as it
thinks fit and shall do so, if satisfied that during the period there has not been a reasonable
opportunity to arrest the defendant ship within the jurisdiction of the court or within the territorial
seas of the country to which the plaintiff resides or has a principal place of business.
PART XV—COURT OF SURVEY
Section 429—Court of Survey
(1) The High Court is a Court of Survey for a port in Ghana and shall for that purpose consist of a
High Court Judge sitting with two assessors appointed for each case by the Chief Justice.
(2) The assessors shall be persons with nautical, engineering or other special skill and experience,
one of whom shall be nominated by the Authority or, in the case of a foreign ship, by the consular
officer of the country to which the ship belongs who is at or near the port, where the cause of action
has arisen.
Section 430—Jurisdiction of Court of Survey
The Court of Survey shall have the power and the duty to hear matters referred to it under this Act.
Section 431—Power and procedure of Court of Survey
(1) The following provisions apply in relation to the power and proceedings of a Court of Survey
concerning a ship the subject of an action before the Court.
(a) the case shall be heard in open court;
(b) the judge and each assessor may survey the ship and go on board the ship and inspect the
machinery equipment and cargo and may require the unloading or removal of any cargo, ballast or
tackle, and shall for the purposes have all the powers of a surveyor;
(c) the Court may order the ship to be surveyed and appoint any competent person to survey the
ship and report to the Court;
(d) the Judge shall have the same power as the Authority, to order the ship to be released or finally
detained but unless one of the assessors agrees with an order for the detention of the ship, the ship
shall be released wherever detained; and
(e) the owner or the master of the ship and any person appointed by the owner or master, may
attend at an inspection or survey made under of this section.
(2) The Court may make such order with respect to the costs of an inquiry or investigation under
this Act as it thinks fit, and the costs is recoverable in the same manner as a judgment debt.
PART XVI—INQUIRIES AND INVESTIGATIONS INTO MARINE CASUALTIES
Section 432—Investigations of Shipping Casualties
(1) Where any of the following casualties occurs;
(a) the loss or presumed loss, stranding, grounding, abandonment of, or damage to, a ship;
(b) a loss of life caused by fire on board, or by any accident to a ship or ship’s boat, or by any
accident occurring on board a ship or ship’s boat; or
(c) any damage caused to or by a ship,
and, at the time of its occurrence, the ship was a Ghanaian ship or the ship or ship’s boat was in
Ghanaian waters, the Authority may cause a preliminary inquiry into the casualty to be held by a
person appointed for the purpose by the Director-General.
(2) Whether or not a preliminary inquiry into the casualty has been held under subsection (1), the
Authority may cause a formal investigation to be conducted by a Wreck Commissioner.
Section 433—Preliminary Inquiry
For the purposes of a preliminary inquiry under section 432, the person holding the inquiry shall
have the powers of a surveyor under this Act.
Section 434—Formal Investigation
(1) The Authority may appoint a Wreck Commissioner to hold a formal investigation into a
shipping casualty under this Part.
(2) There shall be appointed not less than two assessors who shall have nautical, engineering or
other special skill or knowledge as the occasion demands to assist the Wreck Commissioner in a
formal investigation.
(3) Where a formal investigation involves or is likely to involve a question of cancellation or
suspension of the certificate of an officer, the Wreck Commissioner shall hold the investigation
with the assistance of not less than two assessors who have experience in merchant marine as
master or chief engineer of a foreign ship.
(4) The Director-General of the Authority shall render such assistance to the Wreck Commissioner
as lies in the power of the Director-General in any formal investigation.
(5) The Wreck Commissioner after hearing the case shall make a full report containing a statement
of the case and the recommendations of the Wreck Commissioner together with extracts from the
evidence and each assessor shall either sign the report or state in writing to the Authority the dissent
of the assessor and the reasons for the dissent.
(6) The Authority shall pay the costs of a formal investigation.
(7) For the purposes of this Part, the Wreck Commissioner holding a formal investigation shall
have the powers of a District Court and of a surveyor in the exercise of the function of a surveyor
under this Act.
(8) A formal investigation into a shipping casualty shall be conducted in the same manner as the
trial of a case by a District Court.
Section 435—Power of Authority as to Certificates
(1) The Director-General, on the recommendation of the Wreck Commissioner, shall cancel or
suspend the certificate of an officer issued in Ghana whether the holder is a Citizen of Ghana or
not if the Wreck Commissioner finds that
(a) the loss, abandonment or serious damage to a ship or loss of life has been caused by the
wrongful act or default of the officer; or
(b) the officer is unfit to discharge the duties of office by reason of incompetence or misconduct
or for any other reason has been seriously negligent in the discharge of the duties of office,
except that at least one of the assessors shall agree with the finding of the Wreck Commissioner.
(2) The Wreck Commissioner shall in all cases send a full report of the case together with the
evidence to the Director-General.
(3) Where a certificate referred to in subsection (1), of an officer has been issued by a foreign
Government or authority, the Director-General shall forward a copy of the report of the formal
investigation to the appropriate Government or authority of the state concerned with
recommendations, if any, to take such action against the officer as the Government or that authority
considers appropriate.
Section 436—Limitation on power of the Director-General as to Certificate
A certificate shall not be cancelled or suspended by the Director-General under this Part, unless
the holder of the certificate has before the commencement of formal investigation been furnished
with a statement of the case on which the formal investigation was ordered.
Section 437— Delivery of Certificate
An officer whose certificate is cancelled or suspended by the Director-General shall deliver the
certificate to the Director-General on demand and if the officer fails to comply, the officer commits
an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both.
Section 438—Right of appeal from the Director-General’s Decision
(1) An officer aggrieved by the decision of the Director-General to suspend or cancel the certificate
of the officer may appeal to a court of competent jurisdiction.
Section 439—Rehearing of Investigations
(1) The Director-General may order a case to be reheard whether generally or partially in any case
under this Part where a formal investigation into a shipping casualty has been held:
(a) if new evidence which could not be produced at the investigation is discovered; or
(b) if for any other reason there is in the opinion of the Director-General grounds for suspecting
that there has been a miscarriage of justice.
(2) The Director-General may order the case to be reheard by the Wreck Commissioner by whom
the case was heard in the first instance or by a different Wreck Commissioner as the Director-
General may appropriately determine.
(3) The owner of a ship, or any other person who has an interest in a formal investigation, and is
affected by the decision of the Wreck Commissioner, may appeal from that decision in the same
manner and subject to the same conditions as are applicable to a decision for the cancellation or
suspension of the certificate of an officer.
PART XVII—LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Jurisdiction
Section 440—Jurisdiction in case of Offences
(1) For the purpose of determining jurisdiction under this Act, an offence shall be considered to
have been committed and a cause of complaint to have arisen either at the place where the offence
was actually committed or cause of complaint arose, or at a place where the offender or person
complained against is found.
(2) Where, in any legal proceedings under this Act, a question arises whether any ship or person
is or is not within the provisions of this Act, that ship or that person shall be taken to be within
these provisions unless the contrary is proved.
Section 441—Provisions as to Mortgages of Ships sold to Foreigners
Where the registration of a ship is considered to be closed under section 10 of this Act on account
of a transfer to a person not qualified to be an owner of a Ghanaian ship, any unsatisfied mortgage
may if the ship comes within the jurisdiction of any court be enforced by the court notwithstanding
any transfer, except in cases where the ship has been sold under a judgment of a court.
Section 442—Jurisdiction over ships Lying off Coasts
Where a court has jurisdiction within a district which is situated on the coast of a sea, or abutting
on or projecting into a bay, channel, lake, river or other navigable water, the court shall have
jurisdiction over any vessel being on, or lying or passing off, that coast, or being in or near that
bay, channel, lake, river or navigable water and over persons on board that vessel as if the vessel
or persons were within the limits of the ordinary jurisdiction of the court.
Section 443—Jurisdiction in case of Offences on Board ship
Notwithstanding anything contained in the Criminal Code, 1960 (Act 29) as amended or in any
other enactment, where a person
(a) who is a citizen of Ghana has been charged with an offence committed on board
(i) a Ghanaian ship on the high seas; or in any foreign port, river or harbour; or
(ii) a foreign ship; or
(b) who is not a citizen of Ghana has been charged with an offence committed on board a Ghanaian
ship on the high seas is found within Ghana, a court that would have had jurisdiction to try the
offence, if the offence had been committed within the limits of its ordinary jurisdiction, shall have
jurisdiction to try the offence.
Section 444—Offences at Foreign ports
An offence against property or a person committed in or at a place either ashore, afloat or in a
foreign port by a master or seafarer who at the time when the offence was committed or within
three months before the offence was committed, was employed in a Ghanaian ship, shall be
considered to be an offence committed on a Ghanaian ship and the offender shall be liable to be
tried by a court having jurisdiction under section 443.
Section 445—Jurisdiction in Collision and other Cases
(1) A court in Ghana shall not entertain an action in personam to enforce a claim to which this
section applies unless
(a) the habitual residence or place of business of the defendant is within Ghana;
(b) the cause of action arose within the territorial waters of Ghana or within the limits of a harbour
or port of Ghana; or
(c) an action arising out of the same incident or series of incidents is proceeding in the court, or
has been heard and determined in court.
(2) A court in Ghana shall not entertain an action in personam to enforce a claim to which this
section applies until proceedings previously brought by the plaintiff in a court outside Ghana
against the same defendant in respect of the same incident or series of incidents have been
discontinued or otherwise come to an end.
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) apply to counterclaims, being counterclaims in proceedings arising out
of the same incident or series of incidents, as they apply to actions in personam, and a reference to
the plaintiff shall be a reference to either the plaintiff or the defendant in a counterclaim
(4) Subsections (1) to (3) shall not apply to any action or counterclaim if the defendant submits or
has agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of the court.
(5) Subject to subsection (4) where a court has jurisdiction for the purposes of this Act, to entertain
an action in personam to enforce a claim to which this section applies whenever any of the
conditions specified in subsection (1) of this section is satisfied, the rules of court relating to the
service of process outside the jurisdiction shall apply.
Section 446—Actions in rem
In any case in which an action may be brought against a ship other than actions arising from claims
to the possession or ownership of any share in it, or any claim in respect of a mortgage or charge
on a ship or any share, where the person who would be liable on the claim in any action in
personam, when the cause of action arose, was the owner or charterer of, or in possession or in
control of the ship, the admiralty jurisdiction of the High Court may, whether the claim gives rise
to a maritime lien on the ship or not, be invoked by an action in rem against
(a) that ship, if at the time when the action is brought, the ship is beneficially owned in respect of
all the shares by that person; or
(b) any other ship which, at the time when the action is brought, is beneficially owned as under
paragraph (a),
but in determining whether a person would be liable on a claim in an action in personam, it shall
be assumed that the habitual residence or a place of business of that person is within Ghana.
Detention of ships and Distress on Ships for Damage Caused
Section 447—Power to Detain Foreign ships
(1) Where—
(a) damage has been caused in any part of the world to any property belonging to the Government,
a citizen of Ghana or a body corporate resident in Ghana by any foreign ship; or
(b) a claim is made for damages by or on behalf of any citizen of Ghana; in respect of personal
injuries, including fatal injuries against the owners of a foreign ship,
and at any time after that period that ship or any other ship wholly and beneficially owned by the
same owner is found in Ghana, the High Court may, upon being satisfied that the damage or injury
was caused by the misconduct or want of skill of the master or crew of the ship, issue an order to
any officer of the Authority or an officer of Customs, Excise and Preventive Service requiring the
officer to detain the ship until such time as the owner, master or agent has satisfied any claim
arising out of the damage or injury.
(2) The owner or agent of the ship shall obey any decision, suit or other legal proceedings that may
be instituted in respect of the damage or injury and pay costs and damages that may be awarded
by the Court.
(3) Any officer to whom the order is given shall detain the ship accordingly.
(4) Where it appears that before an application can be made under this section the ship in respect
of which the application is to be made would have departed from Ghana, the ship may be detained
for such time as will allow the application to be made or adequate security to be provided in respect
of the application and the result shall be communicated to the officer detaining the ship.
(5) In any legal proceedings in relation to any damage or personal injury, the person giving security
shall be made defendant and shall be stated to be the owner of the ship that has occasioned the
damage or injury.
Section 448—Enforcing Detention of ships
(1) Where under this Act a ship is to be detained, any commissioned officer on full pay in the
Ghana Armed Forces, a proper officer of Customs, or any officer of the Authority designated by
the Board for the purpose may enforce the detention of the ship.
(2) Where a ship during detention, or after service on the master of the order or any notice of an
order for detention, proceeds to sea before it is released by a competent authority, the master of
the ship, as well as the owner, and any person who sends the ship to sea each commits an offence
and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 2500 penalty units or to a term of
imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or to both.
(3) Where a ship proceeds to sea taking on board an officer authorised to detain the ship or any
surveyor or other officer performing the functions of office under this Act or any other enactment,
the owner and master of the ship commit an offence and each is liable on summary conviction to
(a) a fine not exceeding 2500 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or
to both;
(b) a fine of 100 penalty units for each day or part of a day during which the offence continues;
and
(c) pay all the expenses of and incidental to the officer being taken to sea.
(4) An officer detaining a ship may place a police guard on that ship.
(5) A police guard placed on board a ship under subsection (4) shall take necessary steps to prevent
the ship from leaving the port.
(6) A person who obstructs an officer or a police guard or surveyor detaining a ship commits an
offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of 250 penalty units or to a term of
imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
(7) An officer detaining a ship shall notify the proper officer of Customs, Excise and Preventive
Service that the ship is being detained.
(8) Where a ship is liable to detention under this Act the proper officer of Customs, Excise and
Preventive Service may detain the ship and refuse to clear that ship outwards.
(9) For the purposes of this section the expression “proper officer of Customs, Excise and
Preventive Service” means the officer able to grant a clearance to the ship.
Section 449—Notice to Consular Officer on Detention of Foreign ship
(1) Whenever
(a) a foreign ship is detained under this Act; or
(b) proceedings are taken under this Act against the master or owner of the ship,
notice shall be served on the consular officer of the country to which the ship belongs, at or nearest
the port where the ship is detained.
(2) The notice under subsection (1) shall specify the grounds on which the ship has been detained
or on which the proceedings have been taken.
Section 450—Distress of ships
Where a Court, makes an order directing payment to be made of a seafarer’s wages, fines or other
sums of money, and the party directed to pay is the master or owner of a ship and the money is not
paid at the time and in the manner ordered, the Court, may direct the amount unpaid to be levied
in distress and sale of the ship, the tackle, furniture and apparel of ship.
Section 451—Inquiries into Deaths of Crew Members and Others
(1) Subject to sub-section (1) where
(a) any person dies in a Ghanaian ship; or
(b) the master or a seafarer employed in such a ship dies in a country outside Ghana,
an inquiry into the cause of death shall be held by an officer of the Authority designated by the
Director-General for the purpose.
(2) The officer holding an inquiry under subsection (1) shall for the purpose of the inquiry have
all the powers of a surveyor under the Act.
(3) Where in the course of the inquiry it appears to the officer holding the inquiry that the death
has been caused on board the ship by violence or other improper means, the officer shall either
report the matter to the Director-General, or if the emergency of the case so requires, shall take
immediate steps to bring the offender to justice.
(4) The officer holding the inquiry under subsection (1) shall make a report of the findings to the
Director-General and the Director-General shall, on request, make a copy of the report available
to the next of kin of the deceased person or to any other person who appears to the Director-General
to be interested.
(5) An inquiry shall not be held under subsection (1) in a case where an inquest or inquiry into
death is to be held or made under any law relating to inquest or criminal procedure for the time
being in force.
Section 452—Ship may be Seized and sold if Penalty not paid
(1) In every case in which a conviction has been secured, against the owner of a ship for a
contravention of this Act, and a fine has been imposed:
(a) the ship shall if the fine is not paid, be liable to be seized after such reasonable notice as the
Director-General may in each case determine has been given; and
(b) the ship may be sold by any person authorized for that purpose in writing by the Director-
General and that person may by a bill of sale, give to the purchaser a valid title to the ship free
from any mortgage or other claim on it which at the time of the sale may be in existence.
(2) Any remainder from the proceeds of sale after the payment of the fine and the costs of
conviction, together with the costs of the seizure and sale, shall be paid over to the owner of the
ship, or the mortgagee, as the case may be.
Section 453—Conveyance of Offenders and Witnesses to Ghana
(1) Whenever any complaint is made to a consular officer of Ghana that
(a) any offence against the property or a person has been committed at any place, either ashore or
afloat outside Ghana by any seafarer who at the time when the offence was committed or within
three months before that time was employed on a Ghanaian ship; or
(b) an offence on the high seas has been committed by a seafarer belonging to a Ghanaian
registered ship,
the consular officer may inquire into the case upon oath, and may if necessary, take any steps in
the power of the consular officer for the purpose of placing the offender under the necessary
restraint and of sending the offender as soon as practicable in safe custody to Ghana.
(2) The consular officer may order the master of a ship registered in and bound for Ghana to receive
and give passage and subsistence during the voyage to the offender and as many witnesses as can
be given suitable accommodation.
(3) The consular officer may endorse upon the agreement with the crew of the ship the particulars
with respect to an offender or witness sent in the ship as the Authority requires.
(4) A master of a ship to whose charge an offender has been so committed shall on the arrival of
the ship in Ghana hand the offender over into the custody of a police officer, who shall take the
offender before a court to deal with the matter as in cases of offences committed upon the high
seas.
(5) A master of a Ghanaian ship who when required by any consular officer to receive and give
passage and subsistence to an offender or witness, does not do so or who does not deliver an
offender committed to the charge of that master into the custody of a police officer as directed
commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units
or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
(6) The expense of imprisoning an offender and of conveying the offender and a witness to Ghana
in a manner other than in the ship to which they respectively belong, shall where the expenses are
not paid as part of the costs of the prosecution, be paid out of Government funds.
Prosecution and Compounding of Offences
Section 454—Liability of Shipowners
(1) Where any person is beneficially interested otherwise than by way of mortgage, in a ship or a
share in a ship, the person interested, as well as the registered owner of the ship, is subject to all
pecuniary penalties imposed by this Act or any other enactment on the owner of the ship or the
owner of the share in a ship.
(2) Proceedings may be taken for the enforcement of any penalties referred to in subsection (1)
against both or either of the parties referred to jointly or severally.
Section 455—Offences by Bodies of Person, Servants and Agents
(1) Where a body corporate, firm, association or other body of persons is charged with an offence
under this Act, every person who at the time of the alleged offence was a director, manager,
secretary or similar officer or a partner of the body corporate, firm, association or body of persons,
or was purporting to act in that capacity, also commits the offence and is also liable to the penalty
provided for the offence unless that person proves
(a) that the offence was committed without the knowledge of that person and that the ignorance
was not caused by the wilful default or neglect of that person; or
(b) that having regard to the nature of that person's functions in that capacity and to all the
circumstances, that person exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.
Section 456—General Penalty and Continuing Offences
(1) A person who commits an offence under this Act, or does anything or omits to do anything in
contravention of the provisions of this Act, for which no penalty is provided elsewhere than in this
section is liable to a fine not exceeding 100 penalty units or a term of imprisonment not exceeding
6 months or to both.
(2) Where an offence under this Act is a continuing one, and no penalty is provided in respect of
the continuance every person who commits that offence is, in addition to any other liability, liable
to a fine not exceeding 50 penalty units for each day or part of a day during which the offence
continues.
Section 457—Compounding of Offences
(1) The Authority may compound any offence under this Act if the person suspected of having
committed the offence pays a sum to be determined by the Authority but in any case not less than
250 penalty units to the authority.
(2) On the payment of a sum of money under subsection (1),
(a) the person Suspected of having committed the offence in respect of which the payment has
been made shall if the person is in custody be discharged;
(b) a ship detained in respect of the offence shall be released; and
(c) no further proceedings shall be taken against the person or ship in respect of that offence.
Section 458—Admissibility of Document in Evidence
(1) Where a document is declared under this Act to be admissible in evidence, the document shall
on its production from the proper custody, be admissible in evidence in any court or before any
person who has by law or consent of the parties the authority to receive evidence and subject to all
just exceptions, shall be prima facie proof of the matters stated in it in pursuance of this Act or by
any officer in pursuance of the duties of the officer.
(2) A copy of any such document or an extract from it shall also be admissible in evidence if it is
proved to be a copy or extract of the original, or if it purports to be a certified true copy or extract
of the original signed by the officer in whose custody the original document was entrusted.
(3) Any person who has by law or consent of the parties authority to receive evidence shall have
the same powers as a court to impound any document to which this section applies which has a
false or counterfeit seal, stamp or signature affixed to it.
Section 459—Service of Documents
(1) Where for the purposes of this Act any document is to be served on any person, that document
may be served
(a) in any case by delivering a copy personally to the person to be served, or by leaving a copy at
his last place of abode;
(b) if the document is to be served on the master of a ship, where there is one, or on a person
belonging to a ship, by leaving the document for the master or person on board that ship with the
person being or appearing to be in command or charge of the ship; and
(c) if it is a document to be served on the master of a ship, where there is no master, and the ship
is in Ghana, on the managing owner, on an agent of the owner residing in Ghana, or where no
agent is known or can be found, by affixing a copy of it in a conspicuous place on the ship.
(2) A person who obstructs the service on the master of a ship of any document under the
provisions of this Act, commits an offence and on summary conviction is liable to a fine not
exceeding 100 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or to both and
if the owner or master of the ship is privy to the obstruction, the owner or master is liable to a fine
not exceeding 250 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 460—All Officers to be Public Officers
An officer appointed or authorised under this Act is a public officer.
Section 461—Protection of Public Officers
Subject to the Constitution, no suit shall be maintained against any public officer for anything done
or omitted to be done in good faith by that officer in the exercise or performance or in the purported
exercise or performance of any power, authority or duty conferred or imposed on the officer under
this Act.
Section 462—Notices to be in Writing
Where by or under this Act any notice, authority, order, direction or other communication is
required or authorised to be given or made by the Director-General, to any person (not being an
officer appointed under this Act) the notice, authority, order, direction or other communication
shall be in writing.
PART XVIII—MISCELLANEOUS
Section 463—Definition of Authorized Officer
In this Part, "authorized officer" means
(a) the Director-General;
(b) a surveyor of ships; and
(c) a person appointed to exercise power under this Act.
Section 464—Powers of Authorized Officers to Board ships
(1) An authorized officer, either alone or with another person, may go on board any ship in Ghana
whenever the officer
(a) suspects that an offence under this Act has been or is about to be committed on the ship; or
(b) considers it necessary to do so in the discharge of any duty imposed on the officer by this Act
or any other enactment.
(2) Where a ship is registered in Ghana the powers conferred by this section on an authorized
officer may also be exercised outside Ghana by a proper officer, in addition to an authorized
officer.
(3) A master of a ship who without reasonable excuse refuses to allow any officer to board the ship
in the exercise of the powers conferred on the officer by subsection (1) or (2), commits an offence
and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or to a term of
imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or both.
Section 465—Power to Require Production of Documents
(1) Whenever an authorized officer has reason to suspect that the provisions of this Act, or of any
law for the time being in force relating to shipping or seafarers, is not being compiled with that
officer may
(a) require the owner, master or a member of the crew of any Ghanaian ship to produce any official
log book or other document relating to the crew or a member in the person's possession or control;
(b) require a master to produce a list of all persons on board the ship of that master, and take copies
of the official log books or documents, or of any part of them;
(c) muster the crew of any such ship; or
(d) summon the master to appear and give an explanation concerning the ship or the crew or the
official log books or documents produced or required to be produced.
(2) A person who on being requested by an authorised officer
(a) fails without reasonable excuse to produce to that officer an official log book or document as
requested;
(b) refuses to allow the official log book to be inspected or copied;
(c) impedes a muster of the crew required under this section;
(d) refuses or neglects to give any explanation which that person is required to give; or
(e) knowingly misleads or deceives an authorised officer who demands any explanation,
commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units
or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 466—Inspection of ships
(1) For the purpose of ensuring that the provisions of this Act and any Regulations made under it
are complied with, an authorised officer may at all reasonable times
(a) inspect a ship and its equipment or any part of it;
(b) inspect articles on board a ship and any document carried on the ship,
(c) ensure compliance with any international convention relating to shipping to which Ghana is a
party; and
(d) where the ship is registered in Ghana, the powers conferred by this section may also be
exercised on a ship outside Ghana by an authorised officer.
(2) A person exercising powers under this section
(a) shall not unnecessarily detain or delay a ship; and
(b) may where necessary in consequence of an accident or for any other reason require a ship to
be taken into dock for a survey of its hull or machinery.
(3) Where an authorized officer has reasonable grounds to believe that there are on any premises
provisions and water intended for supply to a ship registered or licensed in Ghana which if
provided on the ship would not be in accordance with any Regulations made under section 152,
the authorized officer may enter the premises and inspect the provisions and water for the purpose
of ascertaining whether they are in accordance with the Regulations.
(4) A person who
(a) obstructs an authorized officer in the exercise of the powers of the authorized officer under this
section;
(b) fails without reasonable cause to comply with any requirement made under subsection (2); or
(c) refuses or fails to give an authorized officer reasonable facilities for the exercise of the powers
of the authorized officer under this section,
commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units
or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 467—Report by Surveyor to Director-General
The Director-General may, require a surveyor to report to the Director-General on
(a) the nature and causes of any accident or damage which any ship has sustained or caused, or is
alleged to have sustained or caused;
(b) whether the provisions of this Act or any Regulations made under it have been complied with;
and
(c) whether the hull and machinery of any ship are sufficient and in good condition.
Section 468—Powers of Surveyor
(1) A surveyor of ships in the execution of the duties of a surveyor may
(a) go on board a ship and inspect the ship or any part of it, or any of the machinery, boats,
equipment or articles on board, or any of the certificates of an officer to which the provisions of
this Act apply;
(b) investigate and report to the Director-General on the nature and causes of any accident or
damage which a ship has sustained or caused or is alleged to have sustained or caused;
(c) require the attendance of all such persons to appear before the surveyor and examine them on
oath or affirmation for the purpose of the surveyor report; and
(d) require answers or returns to any inquiries.
(2) A person summoned under paragraph (c) of subsection (1) shall be paid such expenses as would
be paid to a witness attending on subpoena to give evidence before a court.
Section 469—Returns by Surveyors
(1) Surveyors shall make returns to the Surveyor-General as the latter requires, with respect to
(a) surveys and inspections of ships;
(b) machinery, equipment and cargo of ships including the loading of ships carried out under this
Act; and
(c) any other details of ships as may be prescribed.
(2) An owner, master or engineer of a ship surveyed by a surveyor shall on demand give to the
surveyor such information and assistance within the power of that owner, master or engineer as
the surveyor may require for the purpose of making any return under subsection (1).
(3) An owner, master or engineer of a ship who fails without reasonable cause to give information
or assistance required under subsection (2) after a demand by a surveyor commits an offence and
is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or to a term of
imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or both.
Section 470—Receipt of fee by Surveyor an Offence
A surveyor of ships who fraudulently demands or receives directly or indirectly any fee, gratuity
or remuneration in respect of any duties performed by that surveyor under this Act except as
directed by the Director-General, commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a
fine not exceeding 1000 penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or to
both.
Section 471—Obstruction of Surveyor
(1) No person shall willfully impede or obstruct a surveyor in the execution of the duties of the
surveyor under this Act, whether on board a ship or elsewhere.
(2) A person who willfully impedes a surveyor of ships or any person having the powers of a
surveyor of ships in the execution of the duty of the surveyor, whether on board a ship or elsewhere
commits an offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units or
to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 472—Power of Arrest
(1) An authorized officer, officer of Customs, Excise and Preventive Service, or Police Officer
may arrest without warrant, a person who in the presence of the officer commits an offence under
this Act or any Regulations made under it.
(2) Any article, in respect of which an offence referred to in subsection (1) is believed to have been
committed may unless sooner given up by an order of a court be impounded and taken to the police
station and kept there, until the charge relating to the offence is disposed of by due process of law.
Section 473—Books
(1) Subject to this Act, the Authority may on the directions of the Minister prepare and issue forms
for any book, instrument or paper required under this Act, other than those required under Part III.
(2) The Minister shall cause every form to be sealed with the seal of the Minister or marked with
some other distinguishing mark, before finally directing the Authority and upon making an
alteration on a form give notice to the public in such a manner as the Minister considers necessary
to prevent inconvenience to the public.
(3) The Minister may cause forms to be supplied at moderate charges to all Customs Houses and
Shipping Offices in Ghana.
(4) A book, instrument or paper, if made in a form purporting to be the proper form and if sealed
in accordance with this section, shall be considered to be in the form required by this Act unless
the contrary is proved.
Section 474—Exemption from Stamp Duty
The following instruments are exempt from Stamp Duty:
(a) any instrument used by or under the direction of the Director-General in carrying into effect
the provisions of this Act, and
(b) any instrument which is made under this Act.
Section 475—Offences in Respect of use of forms
A person who
(a) without reasonable cause uses a form not approved by the Minister in a case where such
approved form is under this Act required to be used, or
(b) prints, sells or uses any document purporting to be a form approved by the Minister under this
Act, knowing that the form has not been approved, prepared or issued by or on the direction of the
Minister,
commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units
or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months or to both.
Section 476—Power to Apply Act to ships of other Countries, and to Exempt such ships
Where
(a) the Authority is satisfied that any provisions of the law of a foreign country applicable to ships
registered in or belonging to that country are substantially the same or equally effective as any of
the provisions of this Act or Regulations made under it;
(b) it is proved that a ship of that country complies with the corresponding provisions of the laws
of that Country in which it is registered or to which it belongs; and
(c) the Director-General is satisfied that the Government of that country has provided or
undertaken to provide for the exemption of Ghanaian ships while they are at any port in that
country, from the corresponding provisions of the law of that country,
the Authority may by Executive Instrument direct that all or any of the provisions of this Act or
Regulations shall not apply with respect to a ship registered in or belonging to that country while
it is at a port in Ghana.
Section 477—General Power to make Regulations
(1) The Minister may by legislative instrument make Regulations generally for carrying out the
provisions of this Act and may in particular make Regulations:[As inserted by the Ghana Shipping
(Amendment) Act, 2011 (Act 826) s. 4(a)]
(a) providing for anything which is to be prescribed under this Act;
(b) prescribing the fees to be charged for any services rendered or acts performed under this Act;
(c) prescribing for the control of ships, the regulation of maritime traffic, the administration of
maritime search and rescue within Ghanaian waters;
(d) relating to registration of ships (s.3);
(e) relating to method of ascertaining tonnage of ship generally or tonnage of ships in compliance
with international conventions (s.21);
(f) for markings on ships and exemptions from marking (s.27);
(g) relating to certificate of registry (s.28 & 29);
(h) relating to the licensing of Ghanaian ships (s.42);
(i) to provide for manning of Ghanaian ships including inland water-crafts and qualifications of
officers and crew (s.99);
(j) relating to discipline aboard Ghanaian ships (s. 110);
(k) to provide for conditions of service of persons serving in Ghanaian ships and Ghanaians serving
on foreign ships (s. 121);
(l) to prescribe for occupational safety (s. 151);
(m) to prescribe for provisions and water to be provided for seafarers employed in Ghanaian ships
and any class of ships specified in the Regulations (s. 152);
(n) to prescribe for medical examinations of persons employed on board ships and the issue of
medical certificates in respect of these persons (s. 156);
(o) to prescribe for provision of crew accommodation on board Ghanaian ships (s. 157);
(p) to require Ghanaian ships to carry medicines, medical stores, appliances and books containing
instructions and advice as specified in the Regulations (s. 159);
(q) prescribe for official log book to be kept in a Ghanaian ship of not less than one hundred gross
tons and a Ghanaian ship trading from Ghana (s.206);
(r) in respect of prevention of collisions at sea and in other navigable waters, lights to be carried
and exhibited and steering and sailing rules to be observed by ships (s.217);
(s) relating to signals of distress and urgency (s.230);
(t) for the removal of obstructions or impediments to navigation in a port or harbour or approach
to a port or habour (s.246);
(u) relating to
(i) system of lighting, marks, and features and other characteristics of aid to navigation in
conformity with international practice (s.248); and
(ii) navigation aids, dues and exemption from payment of the dues;
(v) relating to safety at sea in conformity with international safety conventions (s.252);
(w) relating to survey of ships (s.254),
(x) prescribing cargo ship construction and survey regulations (s.276);
(y) prescribing safety requirements and providing for the inspection, survey and issue of safety
certificates in respect of ships (s.299);
(z) to give effect to the Load Line Convention, prescribing load line requirements and providing
for the issue of Ghanaian Load Line Certificates in respect of ships to which the Load Line
Convention does not apply (s.303);
(aa) relating to the validity of Load Line Certificates issued in respect of a foreign ship (s.308) and
carriage of deck cargo (s.316);
(bb) relating to carriage of bulk cargo having regard to the applicable international conventions
(s.328);
(cc) relating to the carriage of dangerous goods on ships (s.331);
(dd) in respect of passenger ships to prescribe for
(i) accommodation facilities and provisions on board ships which carry passengers to or from a
port in Ghana;
(ii) preparation and furnishing of particulars of passengers to or from a port in Ghana;
(iii) the number of passengers to be carried and terms and conditions for carrying passengers
(s.405).
(ee) in respect of the safety and protection of offshore installations, mobile offshore drilling units,
pipelines and cables in an area within Ghana's maritime jurisdiction.[As inserted by the Ghana
Shipping (Amendment) Act, 2011 (Act 826) s. 4(b)]
(2) A person who commits an offence under this Act, is liable on summary conviction to
(a) a fine of not more than five thousand penalty units or a term of imprisonment of not more than
five years or to both in respect of an individual, or
(b) a fine of not less than ten thousand penalty units and not more than fifteen thousand penalty
units in the case of a body corporate.[As inserted by the Ghana Shipping (Amendment) Act, 2011
(Act 826) s. 4(c)]
Section 478—Fees
There shall be paid in respect of
(a) a certificate issued by the Authority in respect of any survey;
(b) inspection of a ship or for any service provided in the engagement and the discharge of
seafarers;
(c) inspection of registers;
(d) examinations of seafarers; and
(e) verifying sea service or reproducing copies of documents;
Such fees as may be prescribed by Regulations.
Section 479—Publication of International Conventions Ratified by the Republic
(1) The Director-General shall from time to time by Notice in the Gazette publish
(a) the international conventions including amendments to them and replacements and other
international instruments which apply to Ghana, and the reservations if any, entered into by Ghana;
and
(b) those international conventions, including amendments to them and replacements of them and
other international instruments which cease to apply to Ghana.
(2) The Director-General shall keep a copy of
(a) the instruments referred to in subsection (1) that have application in Ghana; and
(b) notices issued under this Act,
and shall upon payment of a prescribed fee make copies available for inspection and for the taking
of copies by members of the public, seafarers or persons concerned with or having an interest in
ships or shipping.
Section 479A—Issue and form of Maritime Circulars
(1) The Authority may issue maritime circulars for the purpose of disseminating to the shipping
and fishing industries and mariners relevant information on
(a) safety,
(b) security,
(c) pollution prevention, and
(d) any other relevant matter.
(2) The maritime circulars shall be in the form of
(a) Shipping Notices, which convey mandatory information to be complied with under the relevant
legislation and Instrument, and
(b) Guidance Notes which give significant advice and guidance relating to the
(i) improvement of security,
(ii) safety of shipping and of life at sea, and
(iii) prevention of pollution from shipping and offshore installations.[As inserted by the Ghana
Shipping (Amendment) Act, 2011 (Act 826) s. 5]
PART XIX—FINAL AND TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS
Section 480—Application of this Act
(1) This Act applies to
(a) Ghanaian ships wherever they may be; and
(b) other ships while in a port or place in or within the territorial and other waters of Ghana.
(2) This Act does not apply to
(a) ships and aircrafts of the Ghana Armed Forces; and
(b) ships and aircrafts of any foreign visiting Armed Forces.
(3) This Act applies to the Republic of Ghana.
Section 481—Interpretation
In this Act unless the contexts otherwise requires
"agent" in relation to a ship means an agent of the owner, not being a managing owner, vested with
a specific authority by the owner;
"aircraft" means any ship or vessel designed for flying but capable of being manoeuvred on water
and includes a seaplane or any ship or vessel able to alight upon or hover over water;
"apprentice" includes a trainee officer, a cadet and other ratings in sea service;
"Authority" means the Ghana Maritime Authority;
"bankruptcy" includes insolvency and any other process leading to the liquidation of assets;
"Board" means the governing board of the Ghana Maritime Authority;
"cargo" includes livestock;
"cargo ship" means a ship which is not a passenger ship or a fishing vessel;
"company" means a body corporate registered under the Companies Code, 1963 (Act 179) or a
partnership registered under the Incorporated Partnership Act, 1962 (Act 152);
"consular officer" means a person discharging the duties of a consular officer on behalf of the
Government and when used in relation to any other country, means the officer recognised by the
Government as a "consular officer" of that other country;
"court" includes tribunals;
"crew" in relation to a ship includes seafarers and apprentices;
"deposition" includes Summary of evidence;
"Director-General" means the Director-General appointed under section 8 of the Ghana Maritime
Authority Act;
"duly qualified medical practitioner" means a person registered or licensed under the Medical and
Dental Decree 1972 (N.R.C.D. 91);
"fishing vessel" means a mechanically propelled vessel used for catching fish, whales, seals,
walrus or other living resources of the sea but does not include a vessel with an outboard motor;
"foreign ship" means a ship which is not a Ghanaian ship;
"Ghana" includes Ghanaian waters;
"Ghanaian Government Ship" means a ship which belongs to the Government of Ghana but does
not include a ship which forms part of the Armed Forces of Ghana;
"Ghanaian ship" means a ship which is
(a) registered or licensed in Ghana under this Act; or
(b) owned by Ghanaians but exempted under this Act from being registered or licensed;
"Ghanaian waters" includes the internal waters, inland waters, territorial sea and waters around
offshore installations located in an area within the country's maritime jurisdiction;[As inserted by
the Ghana Shipping (Amendment) Act, 2011 (Act 826) s. 6(a)]
"Ghana's maritime jurisdiction" means the jurisdiction exercisable by Ghana as a coastal state in
the various maritime zones under international law and in accordance with the jurisdiction
specified in the Ghana Maritime Zones (Delimitation) Act, 1986 (PNDCL 159);[As inserted by
the Ghana Shipping (Amendment) Act, 2011 (Act 826) s. 6(b)]
"Government" means the Government of the Republic of Ghana;
"grain" includes millet, wheat, maize (corn), oats, rye, barley, rice, pulses and seeds;
"inland waters" means all the internal waters of Ghana which are navigable;
"inland water craft" includes any vessel, other than a canoe, which is habitually used upon any
river or lake;
"internal waters" means all waters landward of the territorial sea baselines of Ghana as provided
in the Maritime Zones (Delimitation) Law, 1986 (P.N.D.C.L. 159);
"international voyage" means a voyage from a port in one country to a port in another country;
"licensed Ghanaian Ship" means a ship or vessel that is licensed under section 40 of this Act;
"Liens and Mortgages Convention" means the International Convention for the Unification of
Certain Rules Relating to Maritime Liens and Mortgages, 1993;
"local trade in Ghanaian waters" means the transporting locally of passengers or goods or the
carrying on of any other operation or activity, within Ghanaian waters including inland waters for
profit or reward;
"machinery" includes propulsion systems, steering systems, pressurized containers and pumping
systems, windlasses, electrical systems and all similar apparatus required for, or affecting, the
safety or operation of a ship or the safety of the personnel on board a ship;
"managing owner" in relation to a ship includes any person not being an agent in whom an owner
of such ship has vested authority to manage and operate the ship;
"master" includes every person who lawfully his, for the time being, command or charge of a ship;
"merchant ship" means any ship other than a fishing vessel, or a plessure craft or a ship which
forms part of the Armed Forces of Ghana or of another country;
"Minister" means Minister for the time being charged with responsibility for maritime affairs;
"mobile installation" means an installation that is designed or intended to be moved from place to
place without major dismantling or modification, whether or not it has its own motive power;
"mobile offshore drilling unit" means a mobile offshore drilling unit as defined in the 1979 Mobile
Offshore Drilling Unit Code and the 1989 Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit Code as amended;[As
inserted by the Ghana Shipping (Amendment) Act, 2011 (Act 826) s. 6(b)]
"national of Ghana" means
(a) a citizen of Ghana;
(b) a body corporate established by or under an enactment of Ghana and which has its principal
place of business in Ghana;
"officer" in relation to a ship includes a master and deck officer, engineer, radio or medical officer;
"offshore installation" means an artificial structure including a floating structure that is not a ship
which is used or intended to be used in or on, or anchored or attached to the seabed for the purpose
of the exploration for, or the exploitation or associated processing of petroleum;[As inserted by
the Ghana Shipping (Amendment) Act, 2011 (Act 826) s. 6(b)]
"owner" in relation to a ship includes a demise or bareboat charterer and a managing owner;
"passenger" means any person carried on board a ship except—
(a) the master, a member of the crew, or a person employed or engaged in any capacity on board
the ship on the business of the ship and signed on the ship's articles of agreement as such person—
;
(b) a child under one year of age; or
(c) a person carried on the ship under an obligation imposed upon the master to carry shipwrecked,
distressed or other persons, or by reason of any circumstances which neither the master nor the
owner nor the charterer, if any, could prevent or forestall;
"passenger ship" means a vessel which is constructed for or which is habitually or on any particular
occasion used for carrying more than twelve passengers;
“pilot" in relation to any ship means any person belonging to the ship who for the time being has
the conduct of the ship;
"pleasure craft" means a ship, however propelled, that is used exclusively for pleasure and does
not carry passengers or cargo for hire or reward;
"port" has the same meaning as in the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority Law, 1986 (P.N.D.C.L.
160);
"port of Registry" in relation to a ship means the port where the ship is for the time being registered;
"proper officer" in relation to any function or activity under this Act means a person authorised to
perform that function or activity and includes a consular officer;
"receiver" means a receiver of wreck so designated under section 349 and includes the Principal
Receiver of Wreck.
"Registrar of Seafarers" means the Registrar of Seafarers appointed under the Ghana Maritime
Act;
"Registrar of Ships" means the Registrar of Ghanaian ships appointed under the Ghana Maritime
Act;
“salvage" includes all expenses properly incurred by a salvor in the performance of salvage service
or salvage operations;
"seafarer" means a person employed or engaged in any capacity on board a ship, and includes
apprentices except for the purposes of sections 183 to 206 inclusive, but does not include a master,
pilot or a person temporarily employed on the ship while the ship is in port;
"ship" includes every description of vessel used in navigation, other than a canoe, however,
propelled and other water craft propelled by oars;
“shipwrecked persons" means persons belonging to any ship referred to in section 349;
"supernumerary" means a person employed on a ship not for regular service but for use in times
of need;
"Surveyor" means a Surveyor appointed under section 254 and includes the Surveyor-General;
"tackle" means, in relation to a vessel, the tackle machinery, gear apparatus, and appliances used
on board a ship for loading and unloading;
"vehicle" includes any vehicle of any description, whether propelled by mechanical power or
otherwise, and whether used for drawing other vehicles or otherwise;
"vessel" includes every description of watercraft with its equipment whether self-propelled or not
that is used or capable of being used on water as a means of transportation for the purposes of
navigation, fishing or commerce or for any other purpose;
“wages" means remuneration to crew for the work done as agreed between the crew and vessel
owner or managing owner;
"wreck" includes—
(a) flotsam, jetsam, lagan, and derelict found in the waters or on the shores of Ghana;
(b) cargo, stores, tackle or equipment;
(c) the personal property of ship wrecked persons; and
(d) any wrecked or any part of a wrecked aircraft or any cargo.
"Wreck Commissioner" means a person appointed by the Director-General under section 434 of
this Act.
Section 482—Repeals and Savings
(1) The Merchant Shipping Act, 1963 (Act 183), as amended by the following enactments
(a) the Merchant Shipping, Act, 1963 (Amendment) Decree, 1969 (N.L.C.D. 372),
(b) the Merchant Shipping (Amendment) Law, 1991 (P.N.D.C.L. 248);
is hereby repealed.
(2) Part I of the Fisheries Law, 1991 (P.N.D.C.L. 256) as retained by the Fisheries Act, 2002 (Act
625) is hereby repealed
(3) Notwithstanding the repeal under subsection (1) of this section, any instrument or notice issued,
served or granted under the repealed enactment or any valid law in existence immediately before
the coming into force of this Act, shall until revoked, amended or cancelled continue in force as if
it were made or issued under this Act.
(4) In this section “instrument" means any Regulation, licence, certificate, validation, exemption,
notice or other authority, issued, made or given.
SCHEDULE
(Section 1A (2))
Permit to trade in Ghanaian waters by a foreign ship
1. Name of ship:
.................................................................................................................................................
2. Registry of the ship
.........................................................................................................................................
3. Port of Registry:
.............................................................................................................................................
4. International Maritime Organisation Number of Ship:
........................................................................................
5. Registered Owner:
.........................................................................................................................................
6. Address of Registered Owner:
........................................................................................................................
7., Name and address of Agent in Ghana:
............................................................................................................
8. Nature of the approved trade in Ghanaian waters:
............................................................................................
9. Period of validity of permit::
............................................................................................................................
10. Conditions attached:
.....................................................................................................................................
Minister
Ministry Responsible for Transport
Date:........................................................[As inserted by the Ghana Shipping (Amendment) Act,
2011 (Act 826) s. 7]
Date of Gazette Notification: 11th July, 2003.