The Cabinet Secretary may make regulations prescribing the manner and extent to which the provisions of this Act shall apply to Government ships operated for non-commercial purposes.

This Act applies to regulation of ships in inland waters.

The Cabinet Secretary may, by notice in the Gazette, delegate to the Director-General or any other officer appointed under this Act and specified in such notification, the exercise of any powers (other than the power to make regulations) or the performance of any duties conferred or imposed on him by or under this Act, subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be specified in such notification.

A delegation in the terms of subsection (1) shall not affect the exercise of such powers of the performance of such duties by the Cabinet Secretary.

Every officer purporting to act pursuant to any delegation under this section shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be presumed to be acting in accordance with the terms of such delegation.

The Cabinet Secretary may make regulations generally for the better carrying out into effect the provisions of this Act.

The Director-General or a person authorised by him for the purpose, may board, inspect and survey any ship to which this Act applies, enter port facilities in Kenya, demand the production of documents, records and other evidence; and take testimony of witnesses under oath, for the purposes of conducting inspection and survey and for undertaking other activities authorised or required under this Act.

In carrying out the duties under subsection (1), the Director-General or a person authorised by him shall follow a laid down code of conduct.

The Director-General shall be the Registrar of Kenyan Ships and the Registrar of Seafarers.

In exercise of his powers under subsection (1) the Director-General may designate any other officer to perform the duties of a registrar of Kenyan ships and a registrar of seafarers.

The Director-General may, upon such conditions, if any, as he thinks fit to impose, exempt any ship from any specified requirement of, or prescribed under, this Act, or dispense with the observance of any such requirement in the case of any ship, if he is satisfied, as respects that requirement, of the matters specified in subsection (2).

Subject to the provisions of any regulation or any treaty or agreement with any foreign Government, only Kenyan ships may be engaged in any local trade in Kenyan waters.

The Cabinet Secretary may make regulations to provide for the circumstances under which foreign ships may engage in local trade in Kenyan waters.

Every owner, agent and master of a ship that contravenes subsection (1) or (2) commits an offence and each shall be liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding one million shillings and the ship shall be liable to be detained until such time as the owner, agent or master shall each have paid their respective fines.

Every foreign ship anchoring in or trading in or from Kenyan waters or entering a port in Kenya shall carry insurance cover against risks of loss or damage to third parties.

Where a ship is in contravention of this section, the owner shall be deemed to have committed an offence and shall be liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding one million shillings, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or to both such fine and imprisonment.

A ship shall be regarded as a Kenyan ship for the purposes of this Act if the ship is registered in Kenya under this Part.

The Cabinet Secretary shall make regulations prescribing the manner and conditions under which any other persons or classes of persons may own Kenyan ships.

Whenever a ship is owned wholly by persons qualified to own a ship in Kenya, that ship shall, unless it is registered in some other State, be registered in Kenya in the manner provided in this Part.

Every Kenyan ship, and every Kenyan Government ship shall be registered in one of the register books kept pursuant to section 25.

Where the master of any ship which is owned wholly by persons qualified to own a registered Kenyan ship fails, on demand, to produce the Certificate of Registry of the ship or such other evidence as satisfies the Director-General that the ship complies with the requirements of subsection (1), that ship may be detained until that evidence is produced.

Any ship which is wholly owned by persons qualified to own a Kenyan ship, and which immediately before the commencement of this Part, is registered in Kenya in accordance with the Merchant Shipping Act (Repealed) is entitled to be registered under this Act, but subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.

A ship required to be registered under this Act shall not be recognised as a Kenyan ship and shall not be entitled to the rights and privileges accorded to Kenyan ships under this Act unless it is so registered.

Where it appears to the Registrar of Ships that a ship in respect of which an application for registration has been made is not entitled to be registered, having regard to the matters mentioned in subsection (1)(a), (b) or (c), he shall inform the applicant, or any representative person for the time being appointed in relation to the ship, and the ship shall not be registered.

Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Registrar may appeal to the Director-General whose decision shall be final.

In the event of a registered ship being in any condition referred to in subsection (1), every registered owner of the ship or any share therein shall, immediately upon obtaining knowledge of the event, inform the Registrar of Ships who shall make an entry thereof in the register.

On receipt of the closure transcript referred to in subsection (3)(b), the owner shall immediately surrender the ship’s certificate of registry to the Registrar of Ships for cancellation.

Upon the de-registration of a ship the Registrar of Ships shall issue to the owner of such ship a certificate of de-registration in the prescribed form.

On receipt of the certificate of de-registration referred to in subsection (1), the owner shall immediately surrender the ship’s certificate of registry to the Registrar of Ships for cancellation.

A person who fails, without reasonable cause, to surrender a certificate of registry when required to do so under this Part, commits an offence and shall be liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding five hundred thousand shillings, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or to both such fine and imprisonment.

There shall be a register of Kenyan ships for all ships registered in Kenya.

The register shall be maintained by the Registrar of Ships.

The Director-General may give directions of a general nature with regard to the discharge of any of the functions of the Registrar of Ships.

The register may consist of separate register books and shall be so constituted as to distinguish registrations of small ships, pleasure vessels and submersible craft and may otherwise distinguish between classes or descriptions of ships.

The register shall be maintained in accordance with the registration regulations and any directions given by the Director-General under subsection (3).

The register shall be available for public inspection upon payment of the prescribed fees.

The register shall be automated for the purposes of providing collaboration with other agencies and enabling linkage to the National Electronic Window System established under section 3 of the National Electronic Single Window System Act.

Before registration every ship shall be surveyed by a surveyor of ships and her tonnage ascertained in accordance with the tonnage regulations made under this Act, and the surveyor shall grant a certificate specifying the ship’s tonnage and build, and such other particulars descriptive of the identity of the ship as may for the time being be required by the Director-General and such certificate shall be delivered to the Registrar of Ships before registration.

When the tonnage of any ship has been ascertained and registered in accordance with the tonnage regulations that tonnage shall be treated as the tonnage of the ship except so far as those regulations provide, in specified circumstances, for the ship to be re-measured and the register amended accordingly.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Director-General may exempt any ship or class of ships from all or any of the requirements of this section.

Subject to subsection (2), the port of Mombasa shall be the port of registry of a ship registered under this Act and the port to which the ship belongs.

The Cabinet Secretary may, by order, declare any other port of Kenya as a port of registry.

On completion of the registration of a ship, the Registrar of Ships shall issue a certificate of registry comprising such particulars respecting the ship as may be specified in the registration regulations.

A certificate of registry shall be valid for a period of twelve months from the date of issue, and shall be renewed annually on payment of the prescribed fee, and if the ship complies with all other conditions prescribed under this Act and is seaworthy and properly found and equipped and has not been altered in any significant manner since the certificate was issued.

The certificate of registry shall be used only for the lawful navigation of the ship, and shall not be subject to detention by reason of any title, lien, charge, or interest whatever had or claimed by any owner, mortgagee, or other person to, on, or in the ship.

Where any person, whether interested in the ship or not, refuses on request to deliver up the certificate of registry when in his possession or under his control to the person entitled to the custody thereof for the purposes of the lawful navigation of the ship, or to the Registrar of Ships, any officer of customs, or other person entitled by law to require such delivery, any court capable of taking cognisance of the matter may summon the person so refusing to appear before such court, and to be examined touching such refusal, and unless it is proved to the satisfaction of such court that there was reasonable cause for such refusal, that person commits an offence and shall be liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding seventy thousand shillings, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five months, or to both such fine and imprisonment.

Where the person so refusing is proved to have absconded so that the warrant of, or process of a court cannot be served on him, or if he persists in not delivering up the certificate, the court shall certify the fact, and the same proceedings may then be taken as in the case of a certificate mislaid, lost, or destroyed, or as near thereto as circumstances permit.

The Registrar of Ships may, with the approval of the Director-General, and upon the surrender to him of the certificate of registry of a ship, issue a new certificate in lieu thereof.

Whenever a change occurs in the registered ownership of a ship, the Registrar of Ships may endorse the change on the certificate of registry or issue a new certificate of registry.

The master shall, for purposes of endorsement by the Registrar of Ships referred to in subsection 2, deliver the certificate of registry to the Registrar of Ships forthwith after the change.

Where the master fails to deliver to the Registrar of Ships the certificate of registry as required by subsection (2), he commits an offence and shall be liable upon conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand shillings, or to imprisonment to a term not exceeding four months, or to both such fine and imprisonment.

Where it is shown to the satisfaction of the Registrar of Ships that the certificate of registry has been lost, stolen or destroyed or has become defaced or illegible (“the event”), he may issue to the owner a duplicate of that certificate, which shall be marked as such, and shall be of the same effect as the original.

Where a duplicate certificate of registry is issued the original, if then available or if subsequently found or recovered, shall be forthwith surrendered to the Registrar.

The facsimile or other electronically transmitted version of the duplicate certificate, or the temporary certificate, as the case may be, shall be surrendered to the Registrar of Ships, as soon as an original duplicate certificate referred to in subsection (1) is received by the owner.

Any person who fails, without reasonable cause, to surrender a certificate of registry when required to do so under subsection (2) commits an offence and shall be liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand shillings, or to imprisonment to a term not exceeding four months, or to both such fine and imprisonment.

No provisional certificate shall be granted by any person under this section unless he is satisfied that an application under registration regulations for registry of the ship has been made or is intended.

A provisional certificate under this section shall have the effect of a certificate of registry until the expiration of three months after its date of issue or until the arrival of the ship at a port in Kenya, whichever happens earlier, and on either of those events happening shall cease to have effect.

The master of every ship in respect of which a provisional certificate is issued under this section shall, within ten days of the ship’s first arrival at a port in Kenya deliver the certificate to the Registrar of Ships, and where any master fails to comply with this subsection, he 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.

Where the transferee does not comply with the requirements of subsection (5) the registration of the ship shall automatically terminate at the expiration of the certificate of registry granted under subsection (2)(b) and the certificate of registry and any certificate issued in respect of the ship under this Act shall be delivered to the Registrar of Ships.

Where a ship is registered under section 42, it shall be deemed to be a Kenyan ship for the purposes of this Act.

Where a ship is registered under section 42 it shall not hoist any colours other than Kenyan national colours specified in section 91.

Every ship registered in the register shall have a name, and two or more ships shall not bear the same name.

A Kenyan ship shall not be described by any name other than that by which it is for the time being registered.

The Registrar of Ships may, in accordance with the provisions of any regulations made under this Act, refuse the registration of any ship by the name by which it is proposed to register that ship if it is already the name of a registered Kenyan ship or a name so similar as is calculated or likely to deceive or to offend the public interest.

If the Registrar refuses to register a ship by the name that is proposed or if the requirements of the regulations referred to in subsection (3) are not complied with, that ship shall not be registered under the name proposed, or until the regulations are complied with, as the case may be.

If any person acts or suffers any other person under his control to act in contravention of this section or omits to do or suffers any other person under his control to omit to do anything required by this section, he commits an offence and shall be liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand shillings, or to imprisonment to a term not exceeding twelve months, or to both such fine and imprisonment, and the ship may be detained until the provisions of this section are complied with.

A change shall not be made in the name of a ship without the prior written permission of the Registrar of Ships.

An application to effect a change of ship’s name shall be in writing and, if the Registrar of Ships is of the opinion that the application is reasonable, he may grant permission, and thereupon require notice thereof to be published in such form and manner as he thinks fit.

On being granted permission to change the name of the ship, the owner shall forthwith ensure that the change is in the register and in the ship’s certificate of registry, and on her bows and stern.

Where it is shown to the satisfaction of the Registrar of Ships that the name of any ship has been changed without his permission he shall direct that her name be altered to that which she bore before the change, and the name shall be altered on her bows and stern accordingly.

On the registration of a fishing vessel the registrar shall allocate to it a combination and sequence of letters and numerals (hereinafter called the “identity mark”) which he shall cause to be entered in the register book.

Same letters and identity mark of a registered fishing vessel shall not be allocated to any other fishing vessel.

Every registered fishing vessel shall display the identity mark allocated to it under this section on each side of its bow and shall show its Port of Registry on the stern.

The Registrar shall keep a register book for ships under construction which shall contain the names of the ships under construction.

A ship under construction may be entered in the register book for ships under construction from the date of the signing of the contract for construction until it is placed on another register after completion.

When a Kenyan ship, other than a small ship is so altered as not to correspond with the particulars relating to its tonnage or description in the register, notification of the alteration shall be given within thirty days after the completion of the alteration to the Registrar of Ships, and the notice shall be accompanied by a Certificate of Survey stating the particulars of the alteration.

Upon receipt of a notice of alteration of a Kenyan ship under subsection (1), the Registrar of Ships shall either cause the alteration to be registered or direct that the ship be registered anew.

Where there is a failure to comply with the requirements of subsection (1) or with a direction under subsection (2), the Registrar of Ships may suspend the Certificate of Registry of the ship in respect of which the failure occurs.

If default is made in registering a ship anew after it has been altered or in registering the alteration, the owner of the ship commits an offence and upon, conviction shall be liable to a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand shillings, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months, or to both such fine and imprisonment and, in addition, to a fine of ten thousand shillings for every day during which the offence continues after conviction and the ship shall be liable to forfeiture in case of default to comply within one month.

The particulars of the alteration and the fact of the new certificate having been issued or an endorsement having been made shall be entered by the Registrar in the register book.

The particulars of the alteration so made, and the fact of the new certificate having been issued, or an endorsement having been made, shall be entered by the Registrar of Ships in the register.

Where a Kenyan ship is outside of Kenya and consequent upon notification is to be registered anew, a proper officer or other appropriate authority designated to act on behalf of the Government shall issue to the master on his application, either a provisional certificate, describing the ship as altered, or provisionally endorse the particulars of the alteration on the existing certificate.

Where the proper officer or other appropriate authority issues a provisional certificate or provisionally endorses a certificate under this section, he shall add to the certificate or endorsement a statement that the same is made provisionally.

The master of every ship in respect of which a provisional certificate is issued or a certificate is endorsed under this section shall, within ten days of the ship’s arrival thereafter at a port in Kenya or within six months of the date of issue or endorsement of the certificate, whichever is earlier, deliver that certificate to the Registrar of Ships and, if any master fails to comply with this subsection, commits an offence and shall be liable, upon conviction, 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.

Where any ship in respect of which a provisional certificate is issued or a certificate is endorsed under this section first arrives thereafter at a port in Kenya, application for registration of that ship anew shall be made to the Registrar of Ships and the other requirements requisite for registration shall be complied with; and, if, in respect of any such ship, there is failure to comply with this subsection, the owner of the ship commits an offence and shall be liable, upon conviction, 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, in addition, to a fine of ten thousand shillings for every day during which the offence continues after conviction and, in the event of failure to comply within a period of one month, the ship shall be liable to be expelled from Kenyan waters.

Where a ship is to be registered anew, the Registrar of Ships shall proceed as in the case of first registry, and on the surrender to him of the existing certificate of registry, and on compliance with the other requirements for registration, or in the case of a change of ownership, compliance with such of them as the Registrar of Ships thinks fit, shall register the ship anew, and grant a new certificate.

When a ship is registered anew, her former register shall be considered as closed, except so far as relates to any unsatisfied mortgage or existing certificates of sale or mortgage entered thereon, but the names of all persons appearing on the former register to be interested in the ship, as owners or mortgagees shall be entered on the new register, and the registration anew shall not in any way affect the rights of any of those persons.

Subject to subsections (2) and (3), every ship of 24 metres and below and every vessel of whatever length trading or operating solely within the territorial and inland waters of Kenya shall be licensed under this Act.

Ships registered under this Act shall be exempted from being licensed under this section.

The Director-General may in writing exempt, either generally or specifically, ships from compliance with subsection (1), subject to such conditions as he may stipulate.

A ship shall not be licensed in Kenya unless it is owned wholly by persons referred to in section 18.

No more than eight persons may be registered as joint owners of a licensed Kenyan ship.

Within seven days, or such further time as may be allowed by the Director-General after a change of ownership of a licensed Kenyan ship, the owner shall notify the Registrar of Ships of such change in writing.

Where the owner of a licensed Kenyan ship fails to comply with subsection (3), the licence of the ship shall be deemed to have been cancelled.

The Director-General may in writing exempt any ship from the provisions of subsection (1).

The tonnage of any ship to be registered under this Part shall be ascertained in accordance with regulations made by the Cabinet Secretary, referred to in this Act as tonnage regulations, and whenever the tonnage of any ship has been ascertained and registered in accordance with the tonnage regulations, the same shall be repeated in every subsequent registration thereof, unless any alteration is made in the form or capacity of the ship, or unless it is discovered that the tonnage of the ship has been erroneously computed; and in either of those cases shall be re-measured, and her tonnage determined and registered according to the tonnage regulations.

Tonnage regulations may provide for the measurement and survey of ships to be undertaken, in such circumstances as may be specified in the regulations by persons appointed by such organisations as may be authorised for the purpose by the Director-General.

Tonnage regulations may provide for the issue, by the Director-General or by persons appointed by such organisations as may be authorised for the purpose by the Director-General, of certificates of the tonnage of any ship or of the tonnage which is to be taken for any purpose specified in the regulations as the tonnage of a ship not registered in Kenya, and for the cancellation and surrender of such certificates in such circumstances as may be prescribed by the regulations.

Regulations requiring the surrender of any certificate may make a failure to comply with the requirement an offence punishable upon conviction with a fine not exceeding fifty thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding four months.

In making the tonnage regulations, the Cabinet Secretary shall pay due regard to the provisions of the Tonnage Convention.

Where it appears to him that the Tonnage Convention has been adopted by a foreign Country and is in force in that country, the Director-General may apply the provisions of that convention to the ships of such country as provided in this section.

The Director-General may order that ships of the foreign country shall, without being re-measured in Kenya, be treated as being of the tonnage denoted by their certificates of registry or other national papers, to the same extent, and for the same purposes as the tonnage denoted in the certificate of registry of a Kenyan ship is treated as being the tonnage of that ship.

Where it appears to the Director-General that the tonnage of any foreign ship, as measured by the rules of the country to which the ship belongs, materially differs from what it would be under the tonnage regulations, he may order further that any of the ships of that country may, for all or any of the purposes of this law, be re-measured in accordance with the tonnage regulations.

Where by reason of the infancy, unsoundness of mind or any other cause, any person interested in any ship or any share therein is incapable of making any declaration or doing anything required or permitted by this Act to be made or done in connection with the registration of the ship or share, the guardian or trustee, if any, of that person, or, if there is none, any person appointed on application made on behalf of any such person, or of any other person interested, to a court of competent jurisdiction, may make such declaration or a declaration as nearly corresponding thereto as circumstances permit, and do such act or thing in the name, and on behalf, of the incapacitated person.

All acts done by any such person in the name, and on behalf, of the incapacitated person shall be as effectual as if done by the infant, person of unsound mind or incapacitated person.

The name and address of the managing owner for the time being of every ship registered at a port in Kenya shall be registered with the Registrar of Ships.

Where there is no managing owner there shall be registered the name of such other person to whom the management of the ship is entrusted by or on behalf of the owner; and any person whose name is so registered shall, for the purposes of this Act, be under the same obligations, and subject to the same liabilities, as if he were the managing owner.

If default is made in complying with this section, the owner commits an offence and shall be liable, upon conviction, or, if there are more owners than one, each owner shall be liable in proportion to his interest in the ship, to a fine not exceeding in the aggregate three hundred thousand shillings, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both such fine and imprisonment each time the ship leaves any port in Kenya.

Declarations required to be made under this Part shall be made before a Registrar of Ships, a proper officer or any other person authorised by law to administer oaths.

Declarations required to be made under this Part may be made on behalf of a body corporate by the Managing Director or any other officer of the body corporate authorised by it for the purpose.

Any person may, on application to the Registrar of Ships during the hours of his official attendance and on payment of such fee as shall be from time to time determined by the Director-General inspect any register book.

A copy or transcript of the register of Kenyan ships kept by the Authority shall be admissible in evidence and have the same effect to all intents as the original register of which it is a copy or transcript.

The Cabinet Secretary may make such alterations in the forms so prescribed as he may deem requisite, and shall by notice in the Gazette give due notice of his intention to alter any such form.

A Registrar of Ships shall not be required, without the special direction of the Director-General, to receive and enter in the register book any bill of sale, mortgage or other instrument for the disposal or transfer of any ship or share therein, or any interest therein, which is made in any form other than that for the time being required under this Part, or which contains any particulars other than those contained in such form.

Without prejudice to the provisions of subsection (1), any person who wilfully makes a false declaration concerning the qualification of himself or of any other person or of any body corporate to own a Kenyan ship or any share therein, commits an offence and shall be liable, upon conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or a fine not exceeding five hundred thousand shillings, or both, and that ship or share shall be subject to forfeiture under this Act, to the extent of the interest of the declarant, and also, unless it is proved that the declaration was made without authority, of any person or body corporate on behalf of whom the declaration was made.

Where a Kenyan ship is by this Act required to be registered, then such a ship, if not so registered, shall not be entitled to any benefits, privileges or advantages usually enjoyed by Kenyan ships.

The payment of dues, the liability to fines and forfeitures and the punishment of offences committed on board a ship required to be registered, but which has not been registered, or by any person belonging to such ship shall be dealt with in the same manner in all respects as if she were a registered Kenyan ship.

Subject to subsections (2) and (3) and other provisions of this Act, a small ship that trades outside the limits of Kenyan territorial waters is required to be registered under this Act.

Ships registered under section 19 are exempted from being registered under this section.

This section shall apply to ships in Lake Victoria which ply beyond waters under the jurisdiction of Kenya.

The Director-General may in writing exempt, either generally or specifically, small ships from compliance with subsection (1), subject to such conditions as he may stipulate.

A small ship shall not be registered in Kenya unless it is owned wholly by individuals or corporations ordinarily resident in Kenya.

No more than eight persons may be recorded as joint owners of a registered small ship.

Within seven days, or such further time as may be allowed by the Director-General, after a change of ownership of a small ship, the owner shall notify the Registrar of Ships in writing of such change.

Where the owner of a registered small ship ceases to be resident in Kenya, or where he fails to comply with subsection (3), the certificate of registration of the ship shall be deemed to have been cancelled.

The Director-General may in writing exempt any small ship from the provisions of subsection (1).

A registered ship or a share therein, when disposed of to a person qualified to own a Kenyan ship, shall be transferred by a bill of sale.

The bill of sale shall contain such description of the ship as is contained in the surveyor’s certificate, or some other description sufficient to identify the ship to the satisfaction of the Registrar of Ships, and shall be executed by the transferor in the presence of, and be attested by, a witness or witnesses.

Every bill of sale for the transfer within the Kenyan registry of a registered ship or of a share therein, when duly executed, shall be produced to the Registrar of Ships, with the declaration of transfer, and upon being satisfied that the ship remains entitled to be registered in Kenya, the Registrar of Ships shall thereupon enter in the register the name of the transferee as owner of the ship or share, and shall endorse on the bill of sale the fact of that entry having been made, with the date and time thereof.

Bills of sale of a ship or of shares therein shall be entered in the register in the order of their production to the Registrar of Ships.

Upon the transfer being registered in the manner provided in subsection (1), the Registrar of Ships shall issue a new certificate of registry.

The Registrar of Ships, on receipt of the declaration of transmission so accompanied, and upon being satisfied that the ship remains entitled to be registered in Kenya, shall enter in the register the name of the person entitled under the transmission as owner of the ship or share the property in which has been transmitted, and, where there is more than one such person, shall enter the names of all those persons in the register, but those persons, however numerous, shall, for the purpose of the provisions of this Act with respect to the number of persons entitled to be registered as owners, be considered as one person.

Where the property in a registered ship or share therein is transmitted to any person by any lawful means other than a transfer under section 80, but as a result of the transmission the ship no longer remains in the ownership of persons qualified to be owners of a Kenyan ship, then the court may, on an application by or on behalf of that person, order a sale of the property so transmitted and direct that the proceeds of sale, after deducting the expenses of the sale, shall be paid to that person or otherwise as the court directs.

The court may require any evidence in support of the application it may think requisite, and may make the order on any terms and conditions it may think just, or may refuse to make the order, and generally may act in the case as the justice of the case requires.

Every such application for sale shall be made within four weeks after the occurrence of the event on which the transmission has taken place, or within such further time (not exceeding one year from the date of the occurrence) as the court may allow.

Where such an application is not made within the time aforesaid, or if the court refuses an order for sale, the ship or share transmitted shall thereupon be subject to forfeiture under this Act.

An officer of the port authority shall not grant clearance for any ship until the master of such ship has declared to that officer the name of the nation to which he claims that she belongs, and that officer shall thereupon inscribe that name on the clearance certificate.

Where a ship attempts to proceed to sea without such clearance, she may be detained until the declaration is made.

Where the master or owner of a ship which is not a Kenyan ship does anything, or permits anything to be done, for the purpose of causing the ship to appear to be a Kenyan ship then, except as provided by subsections (2) and (3), the ship shall be liable to forfeiture and each of the master, owner and charterer, if any, commits an offence and, upon conviction, shall be liable as provided in section 89.

No liability shall arise under subsection (1) where the assumption of Kenyan national character has been made for the purpose of escaping capture by an enemy or by a foreign ship of war in the exercise of some belligerent right.

Where the registration of any ship has terminated by virtue of any provision of this Act or the registration regulations, any marks prescribed by such regulations displayed on the ship within the period of fourteen days beginning with the date of termination of that registration shall be disregarded for the purposes of subsection (1).

Where the master or owner of a Kenyan ship does anything, or permits anything to be done, for the purpose of concealing the nationality of the ship, the ship shall be liable to forfeiture and each of the master, owner and charterer, if any, commits an offence and liable as provided in section 89.

Where a person uses the Kenyan flag and assumes the Kenyan character on board a ship owned in whole or in part by any person not qualified to own a Kenyan ship for the purpose of making it appear to be a Kenyan ship, the ship shall be liable to forfeiture under this Act, unless the assumption has been made for the purpose of escaping capture by an enemy or by a foreign ship of war in the exercise of some belligerent right.

In any proceeding for enforcing any such forfeiture in accordance with subsection (2), the burden of proving the right to use the Kenyan flag and to assume the Kenyan national character shall be upon the person using and assuming the same.

A person who commits an offence under section 88 shall be liable, upon conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or a fine not exceeding thirty thousand shillings, or both.

Section 92 applies to offences committed within Kenya as well as outside Kenya.

A ship registered or licensed in accordance with this Act shall be entitled to fly the national flag of Kenya.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit Kenyan ships which are exempt from registration under this Act from using on the waters of Kenya the national colours of Kenya.

If default is made in complying with subsection (1), the master of the ship commits an offence and, upon conviction, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand shillings, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two months, or to both such fine and imprisonment.

Where there are hoisted on board any Kenyan ship, any colours or pendant usually worn by ships of the Kenyan Navy, or the national colours of any other country, the master of the ship or the owner thereof, if he is on board the ship, and every other person hoisting the pendant or colours, commits an offence and upon conviction shall be liable to a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand Kenya shillings, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months, or to both such fine and imprisonment and to seizure of the colours or pendant.

Where there are hoisted on board any Kenyan ship, any colours or pendant usually worn by ships of the Kenya Defence Forces or the national colours of any other State, the master of the ship, or the owner thereof if he is on board the ship, and every other person hoisting the pendant or colours, 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 twelve months, or to both such fine and imprisonment and to seizure of the colours or pendant by the State.

A person who uses or permits any person to use the Kenyan flag on board a foreign ship for the purpose of making that ship appear to be a Kenyan ship commits an offence and shall be liable, upon conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or a fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty thousand shillings, or both.

In any proceedings under this section, the burden of proving the right to use the flag and to assume the appearance of a Kenyan ship is upon the person using the flag of Kenya.

No officer or person bringing proceedings under this section shall be liable in damages in respect of the seizure or detention of the ship, notwithstanding that the ship has not been proceeded against or, if proceeded against, adjudicated not liable to forfeiture, if the Court is satisfied that there were reasonable grounds for the seizure or detention.

Where the Court is not so satisfied the Court may award costs and damages to the party aggrieved and make such other order as the Court thinks just.

Subject to any rights and powers appearing from the register to be vested in any other person, the registered owner of a ship or of a share in a ship shall have power absolutely to dispose of it provided the disposal is made in accordance with this Act.

Subsection (1) does not imply that interests arising under contract or other equitable interests cannot subsist in relation to a ship or a share in a ship, and such interests may be enforced by or against owners and mortgagees of ships in respect of their interest in the ship or share in the same manner as in respect of any other personal property.

The registered owner of a ship or of a share in a ship shall have power to give effectual receipts for any money paid or advanced by way of consideration on any disposal of the ship or share.

A registered ship, or a share in any such ship, may be made a security for a loan or the discharge of any other obligation.

The instrument creating any such security (referred to in this Part as “a mortgage”) shall be in the prescribed form.

Where a mortgage executed in accordance with subsection (2) is produced to the Registrar of Ships, he shall register the mortgage in the prescribed manner.

Mortgages shall be recorded by the Registrar of Ships in the order in which they are produced for the purposes of registration and the registrar shall enter and sign on each mortgage a statement to the effect that it has been registered by him, stating the date and time of the registration.

Where it is stated in the mortgage instrument that it is prohibited to create further mortgages over a vessel without the prior written consent of the mortgagee, the Registrar of Ships shall make a note in the register to such effect, and the Registrar of Ships shall not register any further mortgage unless the consent in writing of the holder of a prior mortgage is produced to him, and any mortgage registered in violation of this provision shall be null and void.

Where it is stated in the mortgage instrument that it is prohibited to transfer the ownership of a ship or terminate the registration of the ship in the manner provided in section 21(1)(d), without the prior written consent of the mortgagee, the Registrar of Ships shall make a note in the register to such effect, and the Registrar of Ships shall not record a transfer of ownership of the ship or terminate the ship’s registration, as the case may be, unless the appropriate consent in writing of the holder of the mortgage is produced to him, and any recording in the register of a transfer of ownership or a termination of the ship’s registration in the circumstances referred to in this subsection shall be null and void.

A mortgage may be registered in the register referred to in section 25(1) in respect of a provisionally registered ship, and where a mortgage is so registered, it shall be subject to all relevant provisions relating to mortgages under this Act and the registration regulations.

A mortgage registered pursuant to subsection (7) shall continue to be a registered mortgage until it is discharged, even if the provisional registration of the ship in respect of which the mortgage was registered, ceases to be effective.

For the purposes of subsection (1), “ship” includes a ship under construction.

A mortgage in respect of a ship under construction shall be entered in the register referred to in section 25(1), however, upon the registration of such ship under construction being transferred to another appropriate part of the register as provided in section 25(4), the entries relating to the mortgage, unless the mortgage is discharged, shall in like manner be transferred to the same appropriate part of the register.

A mortgage in respect of a ship under construction shall, for the purposes of determining priority under this or any other law, and in all other respects, be treated as a registered ship mortgage and shall continue to be treated as such until it is discharged, even if the ship under construction ceases to be registered under this Act; and a ship under construction shall, for the purposes of a mortgage thereon under this or any other law, be treated as maritime property.

Where a registered owner of a Kenyan ship or a share therein, is desirous of disposing by way of sale or mortgage of that ship or share at any place out of Kenya, he may make application, by declaration in writing, to the Registrar of Ships.

Subject to section 99(1), in the case of an application to dispose of a ship by way of sale, the Registrar of Ships shall enable any such applicant to dispose of the ship or share in the manner desired in accordance with subsection (4).

On receiving an application made under this section, the Registrar of Ships shall enter in the register book a statement of the particulars set forth in the application, and shall grant to the applicant a Certificate of Sale or a Certificate of Mortgage, as the case may require.

A Certificate of Sale shall not be granted except for sale of an entire ship.

The power conferred by any such certificate shall be exercised in conformity with the directions contained therein.

An agreement for sale entered in good faith in exercise of the power conferred by any such certificate to a purchaser for valuable consideration shall not be impeached by reason of the person by whom the power was given dying at any time between the giving of the power and the completion of the sale.

Whenever any such certificate contains a specification of the place at which, and a limit of time not exceeding twelve months within which the power is to be exercised, a sale made in good faith to a purchaser for valuable consideration without notice shall not be impeached by reason of the bankruptcy or insolvency of the person by whom the power was given.

Where no agreement for sale is entered into in exercise of the powers conferred by a Certificate of Sale granted under this Part, that certificate shall be delivered to the Registrar of Ships, and the Registrar shall thereupon cancel the certificate, and shall enter the fact of the cancellation in the register book; and every certificate so cancelled shall be void.

Where any ship registered in a foreign country is sold in exercise of a power conferred by a Certificate of Sale granted under the law of that country, to persons qualified to own a Kenyan ship, that ship may be registered in Kenya in accordance with this section.

Application for registration anew shall be made to the Registrar of Ships and there shall be produced to the Registrar of Ships the Bill of Sale by which the ship is transferred, the Certificate of Sale and the Certificate of Registry of the ship.

The owner of a Kenyan ship, or a share therein in respect of which a Certificate of Sale or mortgage has been granted specifying the places where the power thereby given is to be exercised, may, by an instrument under his hand, authorise the Registrar of Ships by whom the certificate was granted to give notice to the proper officer at every such place that the certificate is revoked.

Notice shall thereupon be given accordingly and be recorded by the proper officer receiving it, and after it is recorded, the certificate shall be deemed to be revoked in respect of any sale or mortgage to be thereafter made at that place.

After it has been recorded, the notice shall be exhibited to every person applying for the purpose of effecting or obtaining a transfer or mortgage under the certificate.

A proper officer, on recording any such notice, shall inform the Registrar of Ships by whom the Certificate was granted whether any previous exercise of the power to which the certificate refers has taken place.

In subsection (1), “owner” includes, in relation to a ship, the charterer, manager or operator of such ship.

The requisite modifications referred to in subsection (1)(c) of those conditions are the substitution for any requirement to be satisfied by or as respects the charterer of the ship.

A ship to which this section applies is entitled to be registered if an application for registration is duly made under section 28.

The registration of a ship registered by virtue of this section shall remain in force, unless terminated by virtue of registration regulations and subject to any suspension thereunder, for twenty four months or until the end of the charter period whichever is the earlier and shall then terminate by virtue of this subsection.

The private law provisions for registered ships shall not apply to a ship registered by virtue of this section and any matters or questions corresponding to those for which the private law provisions for registered ships make provisions shall be determined by reference to the law of the country of original registration.

No provision shall be made by any regulations under subsection (7) which would have the effect of relaxing the relevant requirements of regulations made under this Act within the provision in their application of this Act to a ship to which this section applies.

Regulations under subsection (7) may make such transitional, incidental or supplemental provision as appears to the Cabinet Secretary to be necessary or expedient, including provision divesting or providing for the divestment of ownership in the ship.

A ship shall not be registered under this Part without documentary proof that her registration in the underlying or original registry has been deleted.

The Cabinet Secretary may, by notice in the Gazette, exempt any ship or class of ships from the requirements of Part IV where such requirements are superfluous.

The maritime liens relating to a ship set out in section 105 shall be extinguished after a period of one year from the time when the claims secured thereby arose unless, prior to the expiry of such period, the ship has been arrested and the arrest has led to a forced sale pursuant to the provisions of the rules of court or any other law for the time being in force relating to the sale of property in admiralty proceedings.

The one year period referred to in subsection (1) shall not be subject to interruption or suspension except that time shall not run during the period the lien holder is legally prevented from arresting the vessel.

No charter party or contract for the use of the ship shall be deemed to be lien or encumbrance for the purpose of this section.

In this Part—

“crew agreement” has the meaning given to it in section 119;

“mate” means a deck officer; and

“relief and maintenance” includes the provision of surgical or medical treatment and such dental and optical treatment, including the repair or replacement of any appliance, as cannot be postponed without impairing efficiency; and

“ship’s boat” includes a life-raft.

References in this Part to going to sea include references to going to sea from any country outside Kenya.

For the purposes of this Part, a seafarer is discharged from a ship when his employment in that ship is terminated.

For the purposes of this Part, a seafarer discharged from a ship is deemed to be discharged from a ship in any country and “left there” shall be deemed to be left behind in that Country notwithstanding that the ship also remains there.

Any power conferred by this Part to provide for or grant an exemption includes power to provide for or grant the exemption subject to conditions.

The Director-General may appoint such persons as he thinks fit as Assistant Registrars of Seafarers who shall perform their duties under the direction of the Registrar of Seafarers.

No person shall, either as principal or as agent, engage or recruit a Kenyan seafarer for employment on board a Kenyan or foreign ship, without first obtaining a licence in the prescribed form from the Authority authorizing such person to engage or recruit Kenyan seafarers for sea service.

Any person who contravenes subsection (3) commits an offence and, upon conviction, 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.

A crew agreement 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 a seafarer signs his name.

The crew agreement shall be so drawn up as to admit of such stipulations to be adopted at the will of a master and seafarer in each case, whether respecting the advance and allotment of wages or otherwise, as are not contrary to law.

The master shall, at the commencement of every foreign voyage or engagement, cause a legible copy of the crew agreement omitting the signature to be displayed in some part of the ship which is accessible to the crew.

Every erasure, amendment or alteration in any crew agreement, except additions made for the purpose of shipping substitutes or persons engaged after the first departure of the ship, shall be without effect unless proved to have been made with the consent of all persons interested in the erasure, amendment or alteration.

In any proceedings, a seafarer may introduce evidence to prove the contents of any crew agreement or otherwise to support his case without producing or giving notice to produce the agreement or any copy thereof.

Every person who fraudulently alters, makes any false entry in, or delivers a false copy of, any crew agreement commits an offence.

The master shall sign and give to a seafarer discharged from his ship, either on his discharge or on payment of his final dues, a certificate of his discharge in a prescribed form specifying the period of his service and the time and place of discharge.

A certificate of discharge under subsection (1) shall not contain any statement as to the wages or the quality of work of the discharged seafarer.

The master shall, upon the discharge of every certificated officer whose certificate of competency had been delivered to and retained by him, return the certificate to the officer.

The master before whom the discharge of a seafarer is being made shall, subject to section 175, and if the seafarer so desires, give the seafarer a copy of the character report on him.

Without prejudice to subsection (1), no child shall be employed in any capacity in any Kenyan ship unless there has been delivered to the master of the ship a certificate granted by a duly qualified medical practitioner certifying that such a child is fit to be employed in that capacity.

No child shall be employed to work in the engine-room of any ship, unless that child is an apprentice working under supervision.

The master of every ship trading from and beyond Kenyan waters shall, before leaving Kenya, sign and send to the Director-General a full and accurate statement, in the prescribed form of every change which takes place in his crew before finally leaving and that statement shall be admissible in evidence.

Any master who without reasonable cause fails to comply with this section commits an offence.

Where, during the progress of a voyage of a ship, the master is removed, superceded or for any other reason ceases to have command or charge of the ship, he shall deliver to his successor the Certificate of Registry and the various documents relating to the navigation of the ship and to the crew thereof which are in his custody; and if he fails without reasonable cause to do so, he commits an offence.

The successor to every master shall, immediately on assuming the command of a ship, enter in the official log book a list of the documents so delivered to him.

In making regulations under subsection (1), the Cabinet Secretary shall have due regard to Seafarers’ Code of the International Labour Organization.

Except where otherwise provided in this Act, all correspondence, documents, forms or other writings shall be in the English language, and in the case of the crew agreement, official log book and muster lists, in a prescribed form save that a foreign language version of any document may be appended to the English language version thereof.

All written signs displayed on board a Kenyan ship shall be in the English language with, if it is considered to be necessary by the master, a foreign language version appended thereto.

Where in the opinion of the Director-General the crew of a Kenyan ship consists of, or includes persons who may not understand orders given to them in the course of their duty because of their insufficient knowledge of English and the absence of adequate arrangements for transmitting orders in a language of which they have sufficient knowledge, the Director-General shall inform the master of his opinion and the ship, shall not proceed to sea until the Director-General is satisfied that the situation has been rectified.

If a ship goes to sea or attempts to proceed to sea in contravention of this section, both the owner and the master each commits an offence.

The Cabinet Secretary may make regulations prescribing the procedure to be followed in connection with the discharge of seafarers from Kenyan ships.

Regulations under this section may provide that in such cases as may be specified in the regulations, or except in such cases as may be specified in or determined under the regulations, a seafarer shall not be discharged outside Kenya from a Kenyan ship without the consent of the proper officer.

Regulations under this section may make a contravention of any provision thereof an offence.

The master of every Kenyan ship shall, before paying off or discharging a seafarer, deliver at the time and in the manner provided by this Act a full and true account of the seafarer’s wages and of all deductions to be made therefrom for any reasons whatsoever.

The account shall be delivered to the seafarer not less than twenty-four hours before his discharge or paying off.

A deduction from the wages of a seafarer shall not be allowed unless it is included in the account delivered to the proper officer when a seafarer is left behind at a foreign port except in respect of a matter happening after the delivery.

The master shall, during the voyage, enter the various matters in respect of which the deductions are made in a book kept for that purpose, and shall if required produce the book at the time of the payment of wages and also upon the hearing before any competent authority of any complaint or question relating to that payment.

When a seafarer is discharged, and the settlement of his wages completed, he shall sign a release, in a prescribed form, of all claims in respect of the past voyage or engagement; and the release shall be signed by the master or owner of the ship.

The release, so signed and attested, shall operate as a mutual discharge and settlement of all demands between the parties thereto in respect of the past voyage or engagement.

The release shall be delivered to and retained by the owner for a period of seven years after expiry of the agreement and shall be produced on demand made therefor by the Registrar of Seafarers or other proper officer.

In any proceedings under this Act before the Registrar of Seafarers relating to wages, claims or discharge of a seafarer, the Registrar may require the owner or his agent or the master or any mate or other member of the crew to produce any log books or other documents in his possession or power relating to a matter in question in the proceedings and may require the attendance of and may examine any of those persons who are then at or near the place on the matter, and may administer oaths.

In any proceedings under this Act before the Registrar of Seafarers relating to the wages, claims or disputes or discharge of seafarers, all travelling and other expenses incurred by the Registrar shall be met by the owner or master of the ship in dispute.

Where, before the Registrar of Seafarers or a proper officer, a question as to wages is raised between the master or owner of a ship and a seafarer, and the amount does not exceed one hundred thousand shillings, the Registrar or a proper officer may, on the application of either party, decide the question and the decision shall be final; but if the Registrar or a proper officer is of the opinion that the question is one which ought to be decided by a court, he may refuse to decide it.

Where any question, of whatever nature and whatever the amount in dispute, between a master or owner and any of his crew is raised before a shipping master, and both parties agree in writing to submit it to him, the shipping master shall hear and decide the question so submitted; and an award made by him on the submission shall be conclusive as to the rights of the parties, and a document purporting to be the submission or award shall be admissible as evidence thereof.