ADVOKS GLOBAL · KENYA
Merchant Shipping Act
27. Marking of ships
Edition: 2023-12-11 · In force
27. Marking of ships
(1)Every ship other than small ships shall, before registration, be marked permanently and conspicuously to the satisfaction of the Director-General as follows—(a)her name shall be marked on each of her bows, and her name and the name of her port of registry shall be marked on her stern, in letters of a contrasting colour so as to be clearly visible, such letters to be of a length not less than one decimetre, and of proportionate breadth;(b)her official number and net tonnage shall be permanently marked on a main part of the ship’s permanent structure that is readily visible and accessible in such manner as may be specified by a surveyor of ships;(c)in the case of every such ship built after the date of metric conversion, a scale of decimetres, or of metres and decimetres, denoting a draught of water shall be marked on each side of her stem and her stern post in figures at two-decimetre intervals and at intervening two decimetre intervals, if the scale is in metres and decimetres, the capital letter “M” being placed after each metre figure; the top figure of the scale showing both the metre and (except where it marks a full metre interval) the decimetre figure; the lower line of the figures, or figures and letters (as the case may be), coinciding with the draught line denoted thereby; the figures and letters being not less than one decimetre in length and being marked by being cut in and painted in a contrasting colour so as to be clearly visible, or in such other way as the Director-General may approve.(2)Where the scale showing the ship’s draught of water is in any respect inaccurate, so as to be likely to mislead, the owner of the ship commits an offence and shall be liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment.(3)The marks required by this section shall be permanently continued, and no alteration shall be made therein, except in the event of any of the particulars thereby denoted being altered in the manner provided by this Act.(4)Where an owner or master of a registered ship neglects to keep his ship marked as required by this section, or if any person conceals, removes, alters, defaces, or obliterates or suffers any person under his control to conceal, remove, alter, deface, or obliterate any of the said marks, except in the event referred to in subsection (3), that owner, master, or person commits an offence, and for each such offence, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand shillings, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both such fine and imprisonment and, on a certificate from a surveyor of ships that a ship is insufficiently or inaccurately marked, the ship may be detained until the insufficiency or inaccuracy has been remedied.(5)It shall be a defence for an owner, master or person referred to in subsection (4) to prove—(a)that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence; or(b)that the commission of the offence was for the purpose of escaping capture by an enemy.(6)Where a ship proceeds to sea without being marked in accordance with this section, the owner commits an offence and shall be liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding three hundred thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment.(7)The Director-General may exempt any ship or class of ships from all or any of the requirements of this section.