Report shipping accidents or face legal action!

THE MARITIME authorities have issued a strict warning to the shipping industry to report accidents on-board ships in SA waters or ports timeously – or possibly face a hefty fine or jail sentence. The SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) has circulated a notice reminding ship owners, masters and shore contractors of their obligation to report casualties, accidents and serious injuries to them in terms of section 2 59 of the Merchant Shipping Act No 57 of 1951. The warning, according to Tony Edwards of Shepstone & Wylie’s international transport, trade and energy department, “has suggested to insiders that harbour accidents have been occurring underneath the radar”. The obligation to report accidents applies to both SA and foreign-flagged ships, he added, and range from loss, abandonment or stranding of a ship to loss of life or serious injury to any person, or an accident. The act also extends the obligation to report an accident to the employer of a stevedore, or a shore contractor who might be involved in a “casualty resulting in loss of life or serious injury to any person”. “The master or owner of the ship who learns about an accident is obliged to notify the employer forthwith,” Edwards added.