Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

NAVIGATION ACT 1912 - SECT 14

             (1)  Subject to this section, the Authority may, having regard to such principles as are prescribed for the purposes of this subsection, by order, require a ship, or each ship included in a class of ships, to carry a qualified master of a specified designation and to carry not less than:

                     (a)  a specified number of qualified officers of specified designations; and

                     (b)  a specified number of qualified seamen of specified designations.

             (3)  The Authority is not to exercise its powers under subsection (1) except to the extent that it appears to it necessary or expedient in the interests of safety or the protection of the marine environment.

             (4)  An order under subsection (1) may require a ship, or each ship included in a class of ships, to carry a master of a different designation and to carry different crews:

                     (a)  for different voyages;

                     (b)  for the carriage of different cargoes;

                     (c)  for the performance (whether in port or at sea) of different operations done by, or in relation to, the ship; and

                     (d)  according to whether the ship is in port or at sea.

             (5)  Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing more than one order under subsection (1) from applying in relation to a ship.

             (6)  The Authority may, by instrument in writing, exempt a ship, or ships included in a class of ships, from the application of an order under subsection (1).

             (7)  An exemption under subsection (6):

                     (a)  is subject to such conditions (if any) as are specified in the exemption; and

                     (b)  may be confined to a particular period or to one or more particular voyages or operations.

             (8)  If an order under subsection (1) is contravened in relation to a ship, or a condition that is applicable to a ship by virtue of an exemption under subsection (6) is contravened, the master and the owner of the ship are each guilty of an offence punishable on conviction by a fine not exceeding 60 penalty units.

          (8A)  An offence under subsection (8) is an offence of strict liability.

Note:          For strict liability , see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code .

             (9)  Where a ship does not carry a master of such designation, and such officers and seamen, as it is required to carry by virtue of an order under subsection (1) or the conditions of an exemption under subsection (6):

                     (a)  the Authority may cause the ship to be detained for the purpose of preventing it from going to sea; or

                     (b)  the Authority may, by notice in writing addressed to the master or owner of the ship and served in accordance with the regulations, require that a specified operation by, or in relation to, the ship shall not commence or shall cease within a time specified in the notice, as the case may be.

           (10)  Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing the service under paragraph (9)(b) of more than one notice in respect of a ship.

           (11)  If a notice under paragraph (9)(b) is contravened in relation to a ship, the master and owner of the ship are each guilty of a further offence punishable on conviction by a fine not exceeding $5,000.

        (11A)  An offence under subsection (11) is an offence of strict liability.

Note:          For strict liability , see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code .

           (13)  In the preceding provisions of this section, a reference to a ship shall be read as including a reference to a ship that is intended to be constructed or is in the course of construction and, in either case, is intended to become a ship of a kind referred to in paragraph 10(a), (b) or (c).