Merchant Shipping Act (Cap. 234), article 6

6. Miscellaneous Provisions 298-308 Part V A. Prevention of Pollution From Ships 308A Part VI. Emigrant Ships 309-311 Part VII. Special Shipping Inquiries and Courts 312-329 Inquiries and investigatio ns as to shipping casualties 312-317 Provisions as to certified officers 318-324 Rehearing of investigations and inquiries 325 Court of survey 326-328 Rules 329 Part VIII . Wreck and Salvage 330-346 Articles M E R C H A N T S H I P P I N G [CAP. 234. 3 Vessels in distress 330-334 Dealing with wreck 335-338 Removal of wrecks 339-341 Salvage 342-346 Part IX. Liability of Shipowners 347-362 Liability and limita tion thereof 347-358 Apportionment of liability 359-362 Part X. General Provisions 363-374 Registrar-General and registrars 363-366 Surveyors of ships 367-369 Jurisdiction and proceedings 370-372C Application of Act to Fo reign Ships by Order 373 Regulations, Rules and Orders 374-375 SCHEDULES First Schedule Registration fees Second Schedule Documents to be in the form prescribed by the Minister Third Schedule National Colours of Maltese Ships Fourth Schedule Form of Maltese Seaman’s Card Fifth Schedule Declaration in lieu of tax ret urn in respect of a company owning and, or, operating an exempted ship. Articles 4 CAP . 234.] MERCHANT SHIPPING PART I PRELIMINARY Short title. 1. The short title of this Act is Merchant Shipping Act. Interpretation. Amended by: XXXVII. 1988.4; XVII. 1991.82; XXII. 2000.3; XV . 2009.52; VIII. 2010.61; I.2025.2.     Cap. 499. 2. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires or it is otherwise expre ssly provided - "approved jurisdiction" means any member country of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and any other country approved for the purposes of this Act by the Mini ster by notice; "Authority" means the Authority for Transport in Malta established by the Authority for Transport in Malta Act ; "bareboat charterer" means a person who leases or sub-leases a ship, by means of a contract for a stipulated period of time, during which period such person shall acquire full control and complete poss ession of the ship, including the right to appoint her master and crew for the duration of the charter but excluding the right to sell or mort gage the ship; "clearance" includes a transire; "cargo ship" means every ship which is not a passenger ship, a fishing vessel or a pleasure yacht; "collision regulations" means th e regulations made under articl e 292; "company" means a limited liability company; "consular officer" when used in relation to Malta, means the diplomatic or consular representative of the Government of Malt a or a person serving in a diploma tic, consular or other foreign service of any country which, by arrangement with the Governmen t of Malta, has undertaken to repre sent that Government’s interes t; and when used in relation to any other country, means the offic er recognised by the Government of Malta as a consular officer of the country; "court of survey" m eans the court established by article 326; "crew accommodation" includes sleeping rooms, mess rooms, sanitary accommodation, hospital accommodation, recreation accommodation, store rooms and cat ering accommodation provided for the use of seamen and appr entices, not being accommodation which is also used by, or provid ed for the use of, passengers; "effects" in relation to persons, includes clothes and document s belonging to such persons; "Gazette" means the Ma lta Government Gazette; "law" includes any instrumen t having the force of law; "Malta" has the same meaning as is assigned to it by article 12 4 of the Constitution of Malta ; "master" includes every person (except a pilot) having command M E R C H A N T S H I P P I N G [CAP. 234. 5 or charge of a ship; "Minister" means the Minister responsible for shipping and includes any person actin g under his authority; "month" means calendar month; "name" in relation to a p erson, includes surname; "Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development" means the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development established in 1961 under the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development; "passenger" means any person carried in a ship except - (a) persons employed or engag ed in any capac ity on board the ship on the business of the ship; (b) a person on board the ship either in pursuance of the obligation laid upon the master to carry shipwrecked, distressed or other persons, or by reason of any circumstances that neither the master nor the owner could have prevented or forestalled; and (c) a child under the age of one year; "passenger ship" means any ship w hich carries more than twelve passengers; "person" includes a body of persons; "pilot" means any person not belonging to a ship who has the conduct thereof; "prescribed" means prescribed by regulations, rules, orders or instructions under this Act; "proper officer" means an officer authorised in that behalf by the Minister or other ap propriate authority; "proper return port" means either the port at which a seaman or an apprentice was shipped or a port in the country to which he belongs or some other port ag reed to by the seaman or the apprentice; "radio navigation aid" means ra dio apparatus on board a ship being apparatus designed for the purpose of determining the position or direction of ships or other objects; "register" means the record to be kept by the registrar under article 365; "registered" means regi stered under this Act; "registrar" means a person appoin ted as registrar under article 364, and includes any person acting under his authority with th e permission of the Registrar-General; "Registrar-General" means the Registrar-General of Shipping and Seamen as provided in article 363, and includes any person acting under his authority; "seaman" includes every pers on (except masters, pilots and apprentices) employed or engaged in any capacity on board a shi p; 6 CAP . 234.] MERCHANT SHIPPING "ship" means every description of vessel used in navigation, whether self propelled or not, and it includes barges, pontoons , floating establishments, installations or structures, oil rigs and other similar vessels, and for those parts of the Act wherever applicable it shall also include a ship under construction; "shipping master" means an offi cer in the office of the Registr ar- General designated by the Minist er to perform the functions of shipping master under this Act and, whether such an officer has or has not been so designated, includes the Registrar-General; "surveyor of ships" and "surveyor" means a person appointed as a surveyor of ships under article 367; "tonnage regulations" means the regulations for ascertaining th e tonnage of a ship made under article 81; "vessel" includes any ship or boat, or any other description of vessel used in navigation; "wages" includes emoluments. (2) Any notice required to be sent under this Act to the master, owner, or any other person representing the ship shall be deeme d to have been duly receive d and notified if sent by electronic mail . PART II REGISTRY Registration of Maltese ships Maltese ships. Amended by: XXXVII. 1988.5; XVII. 1991.87; XXII. 2000.4; XV . 2009.49; L.N. 210 of 2016; I.2025.3. 3. (1) No ship, other than a ship exempted from registry, or a ship referred to in sub-article (7), shall enjoy the rights and privileges of a Maltese ship or be recognised as a Maltese ship unless such ship is regis tered under this Act. Cap. 499. (2) Ships registered under the Authority for Transport in Malta Act not exceeding twenty-four metres in length shall be exempted from registry, and such ships, if not registered elsewhere and if owned wholly by persons habitually resident in Malta or by bodi es corporate established under and subject to the laws of Malta an d having their principal place of b usiness in Malta, shall also b e deemed to be Maltese ships: Provided that ships of a length of six metres or over not employed solely in navigation on the coasts of Malta shall not be exempted from registry. (3) It shall be lawful to register any ship which is being built or equipped and that when built or equipped will be a ship registr able under this Act. (4) Pending completion the ship may be assigned an official M E R C H A N T S H I P P I N G [CAP. 234. 7 number and a name. (5) For the purposes of identification the owner of such ship th at is being built or equipped shall identify it by painting the offic ial number, name and port of registry on the keel, and such details are to be reproduced on the ship’s side and eventually on the stern, as m ay be possible from time to time. (6) The requirements of this Act - (a) relating to survey and safety of ships already built (b) relating to the declaration of ownership of a ship under construction where the builders thereof have not yet affected delivery to the owners, and (c) relating to a bill of sale in respect of a sale of a ship under construction, shall be suspended under such conditions as the Registrar-Gener al may impose, until the construction or equipping of the ship is completed or until delivery has been made, as the case may be. (7) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, ships under six metres in le ngth shall not be registrable under this Act. (8) No ship shall be registered o therwise than by or with the express permission of the Registr ar-General if the completion o f her first construction occurred more than twenty years before t he commencement of the year in which application for registration is first made under this Act, and the Registrar-General may allow the registration, or refuse to allow the registration of, any such ship: Provided that the Minister m ay, in any case, direct the Registrar-General, not to register any ship irrespective of its age in respect of which an application for registration has been made, if in the Minister’s opinion it would be detrimental to the national interest of Malta or the interest of Maltese shipping for the s hip to be registered. Ships eligible to be registered under this Act.  Amended by: XXXVII. 1988.6; XXII. 2000.5. 4. (1) A ship shall not be eligible to be registered under this Act unless owned wholly by persons of the following description (in this Act referred to as persons qualified to own a Maltese ship), namely - (a) citizens of Malta; (b) bodies corporate established under and subject to the laws of Malta having their principal place of business in Malta or having a place of business in Malta and satisfying the Minister that they can and will ensure due observance of the laws of Malta relating to merchant shipping; (c) such other persons as the Minister may, by regulations, prescribe, and, saving any other provision of this Act, if a registered sh ip ceases to be owned wholly by persons qualified to own a Maltese ship, such ship shall ceas e to be a Maltese ship. 8 CAP . 234.] MERCHANT SHIPPING (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of this article, regulations made under sub-article (1)( c) may, in particular - (a) prescribe the extent of the ownership of a ship or class of ships eligible to be reg istered under this Act; and (b) prescribe other conditions in conjunction with the requisite ownership for ships eligible to be registered under this Act. (3) A body corporate shall be deemed to satisfy the Minister as required by sub-article (1)( b) unless the Minister has made a declaration to the contrary; and the Minister may, before withdrawing such declaration, impose such conditions as he may deem fit in the circumstances that may include the provision of a guarantee or a bond. (4) For the purposes of sub-article (1)( b) the Minister may, by regulations, establish such other conditions as he may deem expedient in order to ensure the proper application of this Act , and the due observance of the laws of Malta relating to merchant shipping. Home port. Amended by: XXXVII. 1988.7. 5. The home port of every ship re gistered under this Act shall be Valletta, and the name of the home port shall be shown on an y certificate of registry i ssued under article 19. Registration Fees Registration fees.  Amended by:  XXIV . 1986.2. 6. (1) There shall be levied in respect of the registration of a ship under this Act the fee on first registration and the annua l fee specified in th e First Schedule to this Act. (2) The Minister may with the concurrence of the Minister responsible for finance, by regulations amend, add to, vary, re voke or substitute the First Schedule to this Act. Payment of fees. Amended by: XI.1977.2;  XXIV . 1986.3. Substituted by: XXXVII. 1988.8. Amended by: XXXVII. 1990.2, 6; I.2025.4.