to 1'lle £o'ieh c~j~t sal p p 1 ng (~"llij~d l'lent) bill, 1 983' (1'0 be/j  s introduced in lok sabha) - 1 page 5, line 30,-for "voyage" r8ad -"v oj age s" 2 page 10, line 11,-for "officer1! read "officers ii ne'w uelpi; november 21 1 (8 kartika 30, 1s' saka) _ no: it~ ot',tt13  the mercrant sripping (amen-dmen'h ,bill, t:gea' a billfurther to amend th~ merchant shipping act, 1958 be it enacted jiy parliament in· tht! thirty-fourth year' of' the republic of india as follows:-j (1) this act may be called the merchant shipping (amendment) a('t, 1983, ' fhort title ana' cof\1dlcneemenl  ) (2) it shall come into force on such date as 'the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, appoint 44 011808 ~; in' ~ection 3 of the m'e'rchanf shippirig ad, 1958 (henrina~ refer-adlendred: to as the principal act), after clause (11), the" following: "'ause shall ment of be itiserted, rilriii!ly: -=' section 3 10 (1ia) ~'famiby" means,-(i) in the ease' of male; his wife, his' children, - whether married or urm1arried~ hia' de'pe'iideb:t pil'e'ritl1 iftd' his; deceased ion' widow and children: provicle4i that if , pe1'lon proves that his wife has ceased 'under the personal law r>veming him or ,the customary law of the community to which the spouses belong, to be entitled to maintenance she shall no longer be deemed to be a part of such person's family for the purpose of this act, unless sqch 5 person subsequently intimates by express notice, in writing to the central government that she shall continue to be s() regarded: and (ii) in the case of female, her husband, her children, whether married or unmarried, her dependent parents, her hus1;>and's 10 dependent parents and her deceased son's widow and children:    provided that if a person by notice in writing to the central government expresses her desire to exclude her husband from the family, the husband and his dependent parents shah no longer be deemed to be a part of such person's family for the 15 purpose of this act, unless such person subsequently cancels ift writing any such notice el'planation-in either of the above two cases, if the child, or, as the case may be, the child of a deceased son, of a person has heen adopted by another person and if under the personal law of 20 the adopter adoption is legally recognised such a child shall be consider~ as excluded from the family of the first mentioned person 3 in section 24 of the principal act, the following proviso' shall be inserted at the end, namely: -25 amendment of aect10n 24 ''provided that subject io ~uch order as the central government· ~ i$sue in thjs behalf, when the office of regis~ of indian ships at any port is vacant or the holder of such office is on leave or is not available, for any reason, at the port to exercise and discharge the powers, duties a"ld functions of the office, the seniormost surveyor 30 at that port may act as, and exercise and discharge the powers, duties and functions of, the registrar of indian ships at that port" 4 in sub-section (1) of section 101 of the principal act, for the words "signed by the master", the words "signed by the owner or agent and the master" shall be substituted'  35 amendment of section 101 5 for section 102 of the principal act, the following section shall be - substituted, namely:-substitution 01 new section for section 102 "102 notwithstanding anything contained in any other provision of this act, the master of a ship registered at a port outside in4ia who has an agreement with the crew made in due form accordin,' 40 to the law of that port or of the port in which her crew were engaged, may engage in any port in india- (a) a seaman who is not a citizen of india and who holds a  c~mtinuous  discbarge certificate or any other similar document engagement of seaman where agreement is made out of indla •  the herchjj,nt shipping(amendhent) bill, 19r3 ----~-- -"-,,,--'-cl1usa 15 of the bill seeks to insert rt ne'yt 'section 177a in the principnl act whi-ch 9r::jpowcrs the ccntrrl government' to make ruler- for th-e purposes of preventing occupational accidents to seafarers and to give ef"ect to the nrovisions of inte·rnational labour organls at ton convent ion no 134 • the purposes, 111ter al~, are as under :-(a) the nianne r in which any equipment or g9sr may pe maintained, inspected or tebtecl and cond·itlon foi' :3uch main~enance, inspection and testing; :, (b) the manner in wliicr, the use of' eny material or pr()ces~ shall be reptl1ate~ f'or the manllfact·ure of arly such eouipment or gear; (c) ~e provi~1on of safa '!1c3ns of' acce~~ to such -c"~ipma~t or gear f'ot tha use of sea~en and nrr,,'i , ton o-t:' urotect lvc clothing for seamen where n,~cb~ f' ary; (ci) be!"tr;cti one! orr the hours of empioy'll19nt of seamen in any sps('ificd operation or under any s~ecif'ied circ'tmstance~; and ( e) the manner and 4"or'l'l in which and the perr-on to whom any accident occurring on board a ship r ~hal+ be repo~~d 2 clause 19 of the bill seeks to include an express provision in section a6s of the principal act relating to the power of tha c01jrt under that sectton to ordel', subject t'j a:'1y rules made by ·the cent ral government 1n this behalf, - payrnent of rea~:onable ex;en~es of a wltnessattending an 1mtestigation or incmiry such a power is even now avauable under the section to tl':le cotlrt, as it i5 a power exer~lsable 'ty it under section 312 of the code of criminal procedure, 1973 1n the exercise of its criminal iur~sdiction fowever', 'wherrjas the pc't1er under the code 'of 9rim1nal proced'lre, 19'13 is subject to 'any rul~~ made by the state c~vernment, the power under tho propose1 amendment will be subject to rules made! by the cent ral government contd ••• 2/-3 clause 21 of the btll seeks to insert a new section 434a in the principal act·, to empower th~ central government to frame a scheme fo!' providin~ for the insurance of all persons employed as members of the crew on sailing vessels against death or per~onal injury caused by accident arising in the course of their e~ployment as such members, 4 the deleg2tion of leg1slrltive power under theaforementioned provisions relate to matters of procedure or adrlinistrative detail hence, the delet~ation of legj slati'v·epower is normal in character,  • ne\-; delhi  '"'  ,: '~ - i·",:'~ ' - ' 1 ~ , -:' the 30th november, 19r3", , , sd/-( z r ~~sari ) mpti[ t"sr ow' state in rr:he ministry of shipping at~d transport of identity issued by the competent authority of the country in  which the ship is registered or, as the case may be, of the country in which the sai,d agreement was made; or s (b) a seaman who is a citizen ·of india and who holds a ~ertificate of discharge or a continuous certificate of discharge issued under this act , and any seaman so engaged under clause (a) or clause (b) may sign the; agreement aforesaid and it shal! not be necessary for him to sign an agreement under this act" in 6 in the principal a'ct, section 105 shall be re-numbered as sub-section (1) thereof and 'after ~ub-section (1) as so re-number~ the following sub-section' shall be inserted, namely:-amendmento! section 105 i, (2) a copy of the statement referred to in sub-section (1) shall also be sent to the se'amen's employment ()ftice concerned" 7 in section 108 of the principal act, for the portion beginning with amend_ the words "unless proved to have been made" an!i ending with the words ment of aectfon "if made out of india", the following shall be substituted,· namely:-:-108 "unless proved to have been made with the consent of all the persons 20 interested in' the erasure, interlineation or alteration by the written attestation,':"- (a) if in india, of some shipping master or customs ~ol1ec­tor; or (b) if outside india, by an indian consular officer or at any port outside india at which no indian consular officer is available, any such person as is authorised in this behalf by the central government by notification in the official gazette" 8 after section 130 of the principal act, the' following section shall insertion i?e inserted, namely: _ of new sect10n 130a 30 certain un· disbursed amounts to be utilised for wellareaf seamen 35 ii 130a subject to the pro~isions of section 160 and to such restrictions and conditions as may be prescribed, any amo~t deposited with or recovered by the shipping master for makmg payment in accordan·ce with the- allotment note made by a seaman or for being paid to a seaman or his nominee may, if such amount remains unclaimed with the shipping, master for a period of not les!; than six years, be utili~ for the welfare of seamen in such manner as the central· government may direct" 9 in sechon 132 of the principal act, in cl~use (a) of sub-section (1),: amendfor the words "three hundred rupees", the words "three thousand rupees ment 'of   ' 8~od 40 shall be substituted 132 ' 10 in section 137 of the principal act, in sub-section (1), for the words "one month from the date of the agreement", the words "one month from the date on which the seaman'$ right to wages begins" shall amendment of section 137 b~ substitllted, j-j in -ct,iod '1 qi tbe prit\c:ip~ act, in 8ul)mctjon (3), for the, w~ ~~o his ~ ~e~s"tlle wpr,dj "to the ~d n~ted by him in this behalf under ~tion l,~ or if he ha~ pot ,mg any sueh nomi-amendment of section 141 m~tj~q or thenominat~on made by him is or has become void, to his legal helri' shall be substituted s   ' 12 in section 159 of the principal act,-amend_ ment of section 159 10, ~ a~ in tbeopeni,ng portio~ for tj;a,e worqj "s~ su~ los be thinks proper to allow, may-0', the worcl~, fl8yrea ~ le~  sums as he think~ proper to allow, sh,~!r pay and deliver the residue to the pers,on n~~r¥lted by the sea~an or apprentice in this ~ha1f under section -159a arid if he has not made any such nomination or the nomination made by him is or has become void, the shipping master xnay-:-:-'; shjij tw ~~~; (b) in clause ('b), after the words and igures "the indian - i - ,3d ot 1925 successlon act, 1925", the words and figures 'or a certificate under t s - s~uon 29 of ~~ ~dmi~str~~rs-general act, 1~" shall be in~rted 45 of j903 13 after section 159 of the principal act, the following secuon shall be j~serted, namely: -' 1 n8!!,~lion of new section j59a nomination "159a (1) a seaman may, for the purposes of sub·section (3) of section 141 and c1au~e (b)' of 'section )59 and 'an apprentice may, 20 for the purposes of clause (b) of section 159, nomina~e any person - or persons: prpvided that if the seaman or the apprentice has a family, he may nominate for the purpoms atoras,aiji ~y one or ltlore members of his family only and if a seaman or an apprentice f,cquiqit;s a family 2s after he has made any such nomination, the no~ina,tionshall become ~d ) (2) the form in which any nomination may be made under sub-~tion p), t~ c~ft'l1f~~ or v~ation of any s~ nqlniaation (induding the ~aking of ii fresh nomination) adfi a~l other mat~rs; 30 connected with such nominations shall be such !is may be prescribed" i~, in se~tion 160 of the principjll act, in sub-section (2), after the amepdmerit' of p~p)fbo th~ fq49\v,ing prov!soshall be inserted, nameiy:'-  se~i"d " :d\i,: 160 "provided further thet if, before the expiration of six years after the proctleda of 4de sale have belln 10 paid, no cl~m is made uu!reto 3s th~ amount or my part thereof m4ly be utiliaed for the wttlfare of seamen in such \ mander as the central government may direct" ti after section 177 o~ the principal act, the following section shall be inserted, namely:--insertion ot new section l77lt· - p01llft!f to make rules to prevent ~id~nts, cle, "i,77jl;(l) t~ c~~t~a1 gover~ment may, having regard to the 40 provislons of the  convention concerning the prevention of occupational accidents, to seafarers adopted by the 'general conference of the international labour organisation on the 30th day qf october, 1979, make rules 80 as to ensure sare working conditions for indian ships and for preventing accident, and different rules may be made for duferent classes of ships and fqr ships of the saine class in different circumstances, , ' , (2) in particular and withoyt ·peejucliae te the generality of the' foregoing powers, such rules may provide for au qt' hy' of ,the fo17 lowing matters, namely:-5 (a) the manner in which any equipment or gear may be maintained, inspeeted or tatiteci aad qoiiiiltioqs ai to such mai~tenance, inspection aad testing; (b) the manner in whieh the use of any material or process shall be regulated for the manl1faetwl'e of any sueh equipment or gear;· 10 (c) the provision of safe means' of acc'e1is to sucr equij>~ent or gear for the use of seam~n and provision of protective cloth ing foj" seamen where' ~epary; 15 (d) r~strjcti~m on the houff of elllp1qy-ment of searn~ in any specified operation or under any specified circumstajlces: and  (e) the manner and form in wbkh and the persol1$ to whom any acddent occurring on board a ship shall be repol ted:' 18 in sec\~on 19' of the princiwal act, in dallse cd), for the words , "~fticer of the ship", the words "o~cer of, or a seamim or ap apprentice 20 belong!ng to, the ship" shall be substituted, amend ment of section 194 amend ment of sedion 204 1'7 to section 204 of the principal" act, the fol1owing proviso s~a]j be added, namely:-"provided that the provisions of this section shall not extend to the casein 'which the hafobour or secreting is by the spouse of t~e seaman' or ap~rentice", 18 in section 299a of the principal act in sub-section (1) ,-amendme»t of section 299a, (a) in the opening j?ortion, the words "of five hundred tons gross or more" shall'be omitted; (b) in clause (a) ,for the words "if the ship performs international voyage", the words "if the ship 'is of five hundred tons gross or more ·and performs international voyages" shall be substituted - amend_ ment of section 365, 19, 'in the principal act, section 365 shall be re·numbered as subseqtiojl (1) thereof and aftel' sub-section (1) as so re·numbered, the fonowin, sulhection shan· be insertq, namely::,"""" 35 "(2) subj~t to any r\llas made in this behalf by the central goverqment the court making an investigation or il)quiry' under this part may, if it thinks fit, order the payment, on the part of that government ~f the re"asonable expenses of any witnes~ attending for the purposes of !'luch investigation or inquiry before such  court" zo, in section 40z of the principal act, in lub~ction (l),-amend ment ot section 402, (a) after the words "indian navy", the words "or of the coast - guard" 'shall be inserted; t''' (b) the following explanation shall be inserted at the end, 45 namely:'-': 'explanatfon-"coast guard" means·the coat -guard constituted vnder section 3 of the coast guard act, 1978', ao of 1978 21 af~r section 434 of the principal act, the fonowing sections shall be inserted, nem~ly: -- f memben of :rew of a lallit1l' vessel "434a (1) subject to the otberprovwons of this section and the scheme framed under sub-~ction (3), the owner of ~ery sailing vessel shall take and keep in force, in accordance with the provisions 5 of the said scheme, a policy of insurance' ~hereby all the members  of the crew of such vessel are insured against death or personal injury caused by accident in the course of employment as such members (2) it shall be the respollsibility of the owner of every sailing 10 vessel to bear the expenses incidental to the taking of the policy of insuran~ referred to in sub-section (1) ard to pay the premiums for keeping it in force: provid~ that the maximum amount which the owner of the sailing vessel shall be liable 'to pay by wav of premium's per year 15  shall not exceed-(a) where the number of members of the crew is not more than ten, one hundr~ and fifty rupees; (b) where the number of members of the crew is ,moret1'\an ten, a sum calculated at the rate of fifteen rupees for each 20 member of the crew (3) the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, 'frame a scheme providing for the insur;mce of all persons employed as members of the crew of 'sailing vessel, against death or personal injury caused by accident arising in the course of their 25 employment as such membe;rs (4) without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub-section' (3), a scheme framed urider that aub-section may provide for-(e) the amount ·which should be payable in the case of  personal injury resulting in the death of a member of the crew of a sailing vessel due to accident and in the case of other injuries: provided that different amounts may be provided in respect of different personal injuries not resulting in death: 35 (b) the procedure for pa~mpnt of such amounts; and (c) all other matters necessary for giving effect to the scheme , (5) where, under the provisions of 'any other law for th~ time being in force, compensation is payable in respect of death or  personal injury sustained by a member of the crew' of a sailing vessel as a result of an ,ccident in the course of his ·employment as such member, then if the amount payab!e in respect of such death or personal injury in accordance with the scheme framed under this section-  ti , (a) j'i; equal to, or more than, the compensation payable under such other law, no compen~ation' shall be payable under such other law; (b) is less than the compensation pay'able under such other law, the compensation payable under such other law shall be reduced by the said amount /-5 10 (6f every scheme framed by the central government under this section shall be laid, as ·'soon as may be after it is made, before each house of parliament, while it is in session, for a' total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the  session immediately following the session or the $uccessive sessio~ aforesaid, both houses agree that the scheme should not be made, the 'scheme shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that scheme  15 polley of insurance 434b (1) no sailing vessel shall ply or proceed to sea 'unless there is in force in respect of the members of the crew of the vessel a policy of insurance complying with the requirements of section 434a and the scheme framed thereunder (2) no customs collector shall grant a port clearance to ii sailing !l0 'vessel until after production by the owner of such a policy of insurance "  amendment of section 436  22 in section 436 of the principal act, in the table, the existing serial qumber 137 shall be re-numbered as serial number 136a, and after serial number 136a as so re-numbered, the following serial number and  25 the entries relating thereto shall be inserted, namely:--------- ---------- -------- i ----- -_---------"----------~---------if the owner faib to comply 434a(i} with ,ub-gection (i) or 'e"lion 434a | imprisonment         | which       ||----------------------|-------------|| may extend           |             || 10                   |             || six                  |             || months               |             || or                   |             || fi                   |             || ne                   |             || which                | may ('xtend || fi                   |             || ve thou-and rupees, |             | 0 r both," the merchant shipping act, 1'958 was enacted over two decades ago tile act has been amended many a time either to give effect to the international conventions on maritime matters or on the basis of the experience gained" in administering the provisions of the act the defects and deficiencies which- have oome to light subsequent to t~  amendments last made, have been further examined by the national shipping board, an advisory board on mallitime matters constituted under section 4 of the slid enactment it is considered necessary· to give effect to the recommendations of the national shipping :bo~rd it is also felt thatl this opportunity may be taken to adopt the provisions of the prevention of accidents (seafarers) convention, 1970 by incorporating a suitable provision in the act 2 some of the salient proposals are:-(1) &!ct1on 101 9fthe act provides that articles of agreement with the crew shan~ ~ signed ,by the master and the seamen it i& considered desirable to amend the section by providing that owners or agents of ships should ihso be required to sign" the agreement 80 as to bird them to the obligations cast by the agreement o( ship owners with respect to payment of wages and other provisions protecting  the int~ of seafarers" (vide clause 4~   " (2) according to the merchant shipping act, 1958, employment of 'indian seaman at indllq1 ports is done only through seamen's' employment offtce as an exceptiori, however, section 102 permits·the jj1asteor of a fore'lgn' ftag ship to engage a seaman, not being a holder of' a certificate of continuous discharge at a port in india, otherwise than through the seamen's employment pffice accordingly whenever there is any casual vacancy on board a foreign flag ship -at an indian port the master may either engage an indian national who does not hold a certificate of continuous discharge or he may engage a non-indian national, whether holder of a certificate of continuous discharge issued by his country or not it has been noticed that by and large, masters of foreign flag ships employ foreigners who often co'me to indian ports to avail of such casua] vacancies thus, while a certificate of continuous discharge hold· " ing indian national is debarred from seeking employment, foreigners of any nationality can seek employment on such basis in order to remedy this situation it is proposed to substitute section 102 so as to confine the scope to engagement by a foreign flag ship· at an indian port to seamen who either belong to the flag state or to the state where the rest of the crew of the ship were engaged, presumption being that in the absence of such seaman being available at indian port, employment would naturally be offered to indian seamen holding certificate of contin!loua di'scharge (vicf:e clause 5)  - (3) at present there is no provision in the act for flpplication  of moneys deposited with shipping masters on behalf of seamen which remain undisb'· ;,ed 01' unclaimed there are however two provisions namely, section 137(2) and section 141(3) in the act under which such moneys can be deposited with' the shipping masters as a welfare measw:e, it is proposed to make a provision that " if no claim for the moneys so deposited with the shipping ma$ters is received for a period of six years, then the said amount would subject to the orders of the central government be utilised fo; the welfare of the seamen (vide clause 8) (4) section 141(3) provides that any amount payable by way of compensation to the deceased seamen can be paid to his legal heirs as the legal formality required to be completed ·for establishing a heir is cumbersome, it is proposed to provide that coni pensation may be paid to a person nominated by a seaman sulr ject to the condition that in the case ofa seaman having a family the nominee shall be a member of his family for this purpose, it is proposed to amend section 141(3) and also to define the expression "family" in section 3 of the act (vide clauses 2 and 11) (5) section 159 (b) provides that for considering eligibility for a claim for moneys due to a 'de~eased seaman, the shipping master may require production of a probate letters of administration or a certificate issued under the indian succession act as the proce dure for obtaining a certificate under section 2g of the administrators-general act, 1963 is more expeditious, it is proposed to amend this section 'to make a provision that a certificate issued by the administrator-general under section 29 of that act would also be sufficient for payment 'of wages due to a deceased seaman (vide clause 13) this would facilitate in the early settlement or claims up to the limit of rs 50,000/- provided for ,in the said section 29 (6) at present there is no provision in the act for the prevention of' occupational accidents to' seafarers the - international labour organisation has adopted a convention on the subject and government in consultation with the i'epresentatives or organisa tions of ship owners and seafarers, proposes to ratify and il'npl~­ment the provisions of the said convention it is accordingly proposed tq make a provision in the act to confer power on the central government to make rules so as to ensure safe working conditions on indian ships and for preventing occupational accidents (vide clause 15), (7) it is proposed to include imitable provision providing for the insurance of the members of the crew of sailing vessel against death or personal injury caused by the accident in the course of empolyment an obligation is sought to be cast o~ the o:-vner of each sailing vessel to take and keep m force a polley of insurance for this purpose provision is also being made that no sailing vessel shall ply' w11~ss there is in force a policy of insurance for the crew of the' sailing vessel and also no customs collector shall grant port clearance to a sailing vessel until after production of a policy of ,insurance (vide clause 21), 3, amongst the other amendments included in the bill, mention may be made in particular of the following: (a) provision requiring crew to report any change to the cencerned seamen's employment office (vide clause 6), (b) authorisa~on of persons to carryon alterations in agreement with crew in ports where there are no indian consular officer (vide clause 7) '(c) provision to ernpow~r the shipping master to decide dis- putes involving rs 3000 and below instead of, rs 300 and below as at present (vide clause a) (d) modification regardirtg the commencement of payment under an allotment note laid down in 'section 137 (uide clause 1-0), (po) pnwision to make an assault on apprentice, seamen, or other persons on the ship also an offence under section 194 (vide clause 16) - (f) provision to enable the court to direct the government to pay convey~ and daily allowance· to the witnesses in variou$ investigations and idquiries (vide clause ~9) (g) section 436 has been amended to provide for the punishment for the violation of o1fenee under new section 434a (vide clause 22), 4 the remaining amendmejlts included in the bill are of a uudor or corasequential d8ture, 5 the bill seeks to achieve the above objects new df:lm; k vijayabhaskar reddy the 1st november, 1983  · memorandum regarding delegated legislationclause 14 of the bill seeks to insert a new section 177a in the princi pal act which empowers the central government to make rules for the purposes of preventing occupational accidents to seafarers and to give effect to the provisions of international labour organisdtion convention no 134 the purposes, i,nter alia, are as under:-(a) the manner in which any equipment or gear may be maintained, inspected or tested and condition for such maintenance, inspection and testing; (b) the manner in which the use of any material or process shall be regulated for the manufacture of any such equipment or gear; (c) the provision of safe means of access to such "'quipment or gear for the use of seamen and provision of protedive clothing for seamen where necessary; (d) restrictions on the hours of employment of seamen in any specified operafion or under any specified circumstances; and (e) the manner and form in which and the person to whom any accident occurring on board a ship shall be reported 2 clause 20 of the bill seeks to insert a new section 434a in tjie principal act to empower the central government to frame a scheme for providing for the insurance of all persons employed as members of the crew on sailing vesse~s ag;tinst death or personal injury caused by accident arising in the course of their employment as st,lch members 3 the delegation of legislative power under the ·aforementioned provisions relate to matters of procedure or-administrative detail hence the delegation of legislative power is normai in character (44 of 1958) - - - - - 3 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- - - - - 24 at each of the ports of bombay, calcutta and madra::: the principal officer of the mercantile marine department, and at any other port such authority as the central government may by notification in the official gazette appoint, shall be the registrar of indian ships at th~t port - - - - - form and contents of the a;reement 101 (1) an agreement with the crew shall be in the prescribed form, and shall be dated at the time of the first signature thereof and shall be signed by the master before any seaman signs the same - - - - - | en        |     ||-----------|-----|| nwnt      |     || ofaeaman  |     || where     |     || apee-     |    || ment      |     || i        |     || made      | out || of india |     |1ft if the master of a ship registered at a port ·outsidp india has an agreement with the crew made in due form according to the law of that port or of the port in which her crew were engaged and engages a seaman in any port in india, not being the holder of a certificate of disc:harge or ·8 continuous certificate of discharge issued in india, the i seaman may sign the agreement so made and it shall not be necessary for him to sign an agreement under this act - - - - - - ~ " changes in crew to be reporl ed 105 the master of every foreign-going indian ship and of evel'y home-trade indian ship of two hundred tons gross or more, the crew of which has been engaged bef<fre a shipping master, shall, before finally leaving the port where the engagement took place, sign and seni to the nearest shipping master a full and accurate statement in the prescribed form, of every change which has taken place in his crew and that statement shall be admissible in evidence  - - - - - alteration in acreementwlth tbe cnw 10& every erasure intetflinearon 01' alteration in any agre~ment with the crew ·(except additions made for the purpose of shipping substitutes or persons engaged subsequently to the first departure of· the ship) shall be wholly inoperative, unless proved to have been made with the consent of-(a) a11 the persons· interested in such erasure, interlineation or alteration by the written attestation if made in india of some ship  p~~g master or customs col1ector; or (b) an indian consular officer if made out of india  - - - ) 132 (1) where under the agreement with the crew any dispute arises at any port in india between the master, owuer or agent of a ship and any of the crew of the ship, it shall be submitted to the shipping master,_ decision of question's by shipp"ing masters (a) where the amount in dispute does not exceed three hundred rupees, at the instance of eithe~ p~ to the dispute:    -  137 (1) a payment under an allotment note shall begin at the expiry of one month from the date of the agreement and shall be made at the expiration of every subsequent month after the first month and shall be made only in respect of the wages earned b~ore the date ~f payment commence ment and payment of sums allotted '" '" '" - '" 141 (1) '"   '"  wages on termina_ tion of ~ervice by wreck, illness etc, (3) any amount payable by way of compensation under sub-clause (ii) of clause (a) of sub-section (1) shall be deposited with the ship~ ping master at the port of engagement in india for payment to the seaman or in the case of a deceased seaman to his legal heirs '" '" '"  159 where any propertv of a deceased seaman or apprentice is paid or delivered to·a shipping master the shipping master, after deducting for expenses incurred in respect of that seaman or apprentice or of his property such sums as he thinks proper to allow may-payment over of properly of (lecea5ed seoomen by shipping ljlaster (a) pay and deliver the ref:idue to any claimants who can prove themselves to· the satisfaction of the said shipping master to be entitled thereto, and the said shipping master shan be thereby discharged from all further liability in respect of the residue so paid or delivered; or 38 of 1925 (b) if he thinks fit so to do, require probate or letters of administration or a certificate under the indian succession act, 1925, to be taken out, and thereupon pay and deliver the residue to the legal representatives of the deceased 160 (1)  '" '" '"  disposal cit unclailjed property ot deceased seamen (2) if, after the proceeds of the sale having been \go paid, any claim is made thereto, then, if the claim is established to the satisfaction of the shipping master the amount or so much thereof as shall appear to him to be due to the claimant shall be paid to him and if the claim is not so e'!ltablished the claimaot may apply by petition to the high court, and such court, after taking evidence either orally or on affidavit, shall make such order or ~~e ~tl~j(m as shall seem just;  ~" general offence alalnat diaclpuna • provided ·tbat, after the expfrailon of six years from the receipt of ueh property by the slripping master, no claim to such property shall be entertained without the sanction of tbe central government - - - - -  in a seaman lawfwly ("npted or an apprentice shall be guilty of an offence against discipline if he  commits any of the following acbs, namely:- - - - - - (d) if he assaults the master or any other oftlcer of the ship; - - - - - diu  not to be harboured, 1m no person shall barbour or secrete a seaman or apprentice who has wilfully negleoted or refused to join or has deserted from his ship, knowing or having reason to believe the seaman or apprentice to ha,'e so done - - - - - zha (1) where in respect of any indian cargo ship of five hundred tons gross or more the central government is satisfied that the ~hip has been surveyed in the manner prescribed under section 299b and that she complies with the congtruction rules made under section 284 the central governmedt· may issue in respect of the ship-(ci) if the sbip performa international voyages, a certificate in the prescribed form to be called a cargo ship safety construction certificate; safe&j' codif;tuc-tion certl ftcatea and construction certificatea for car,o sbips - - - - - se for the purpose of any investigation or inquiry under this part, the· court making the investigation or inquiry shall, in respect of compelling the atteoclanc:e and emmiaauon of witnesses and the production of' documents and the reaulation of the proeeedim,gs, have the i8d\e powers as are exercisable by that court in the exercise ~ its criminal jurisd~c­tion power of· court  toni denee and regulationot proceed in,s t                    -                                        -                                                            -                                                                                -                                                                                                    - 402 (1)            -                           -                                          -                                                          -                                                                         - salvage payable for savini ufe, carlo er 1ft'eck    (3) where salvage services are rendered by or on behalf of the gov-ernment or by a vessel of the indian navy or the commander or crew of any such vessel, the government, the comtnander or the crew, as the case may be, shall be entitled to salvage and shall have the same rigbts and remedies in respect of those serviees as any other' salvor            -                        -                                    -                                                -                                                            - a bill furt_ to ame~d_ the merchant shipping act, 1958 (shri k vi;aya bhabkma reddy, mtnibter of shipping afld tfamport) 