Merchant Shipping Act 1894

Official Logs.

239Official logs to be kept and to be evidence.

(1)An official log shall be kept in every ship (except ships employed exclusively in trading between ports on the coasts of Scotland) in the appropriate form for that ship approved by the Board of Trade.

(2)The Board of Trade shall approve forms of official logbooks, which may be different for different classes of ships, so that each such form shall contain proper spaces for the entries required by this Act.

(3)The official log may, at the discretion of the master or owner, be kept distinct from, or united with, the ordinary ship's log, so that in all cases the spaces in the official log-book be duly filled up.

(4)An entry required by this Act in an official log-book shall be made as soon as possible after the occurrence to which it relates, and if not made on the same day as that occurrence shall be made and dated so as to show the date of the occurrence and of the entry respecting it; and if made in respect of an occurrence happening before the arrival of the ship at her final port of discharge shall not be made more than twenty-four hours after that arrival.

(5)Every entry in the official log-book shall be signed by the master, and by the mate, or some other of the crew, and also

(a)if it is an entry of illness, injury, or death, shall be signed by the surgeon, or medical practitioner on board (if any); and

(b)if it is an entry of wages due to, or of the sale of the effects of, a seaman or apprentice who dies, shall be signed by the mate and by some member of the crew besides the master; and

(c)if it is an entry of wages due to a seaman who enters Her Majesty's naval service, shall be signed by the seaman, or by the officer authorised to receive the seaman into that service.

(6)Every entry made in an official log-book in manner provided by this Act, shall be admissible in evidence.

240Entries required in official log-book.

The master of a ship for which an official log is required shall enter or cause to be entered in the official log-book the following matters ; (that is to say,)

(1)Every conviction by a legal tribunal of a member of his crew, and the punishment inflicted :

(2)Every offence committed by a member of his crew for which it is intended to prosecute, or to enforce a forfeiture, or to exact a fine, together with such statement concerning the copy or reading over of that entry, and concerning the reply (if any) made to the charge, as is by this Act required :

(3)Every offence for which punishment is inflicted on board, and the punishment inflicted :

(4)A statement of the conduct, character, and qualifications of each of his crew, or a statement that he declines to give an opinion on those particulars :

(5)Every case of illness or injury happening to a member of the crew, with the nature thereof, and the medical treatment adopted (if any) :

(6)Every marriage taking place on board with the names and ages of the parties:

(7)The name of every seaman or apprentice who cesses to be a member of the crew, otherwise than by death, with the place, time, manner, and cause thereof:

(8)The wages due to any seaman who enters Her Majesty's naval service during the voyage:

(9)The wages due to any seaman or apprentice who dies during the voyage, and the gross amount of all deductions to be made therefrom :

(10)The sale of the effects of any seaman or apprentice who dies during the voyage, including a statement of each article sold, and the sum received for it:

(11)Every collision with any other ship, and the circumstances under which the same occurred : and

(12)Any other matter directed by this Act to be entered.

241Offences in respect of official logs.

(1)If an official log-book is not kept in the manner required by this Act, or if an entry directed by this Act to be made therein is not made at the time and in the manner directed by this Act, the master shall for each offence be liable to the specific fine in this Act mentioned in respect thereof, or where there is no such specific fine, to a fine not exceeding five pounds.

(2)If any person makes, or procures to be made, or assists in making, any entry in an official log-book in respect of any occurrence happening previously to the arrival of the ship at her final port of discharge more than twenty-four hours after that arrival, he shall for each offence be liable to a fine not exceeding thirty pounds.

(3)If any person wilfully destroys or mutilates or renders illegible any entry in an official log-book, or wilfully makes or procures to be made or assists in making a false or fraudulent entry in or omission from an official log-book, he shall in respect of each offence be guilty of a misdemeanor.

242Delivery of official logs to superintendent of mercantile marine office.

(1)The master of every foreign-going ship shall, within forty-eight hours after the ship's arrival at her final port of destination in the United Kingdom or upon the discharge of the crew, whichever first happens, deliver the official log-book of the voyage to the superintendent before whom the crew is discharged.

(2)The master or owner of every home trade ship for which an official log is required to be kept shall, within twenty-one days of the thirtieth day of June and the thirty-first day of December in every year, transmit or deliver the official log-book for the preceding half year to some superintendent in the United Kingdom.

(3)If the master or owner of a ship fails without reasonable cause to comply with this section, he shall be subject to the same consequences and liabilities to which he is subject for the non-delivery of the list of the crew required to be delivered under this Part of this Act.

243Official logs to be gent home in case of transfer of ship, and in case of loss.

(1)Where by reason of transfer of ownership or change of employment of a ship, the official log censes to be required in respect of the ship or to be required at the same date, the master or owner of the ship shall, if the ship is then in the United Kingdom, within one month, and if she is elsewhere within six months, after the cessation, deliver or transmit to the superintendent at the port to which the ship belonged the official log-book (if any) duly made out to the time of the cessation.

(2)If a ship is lost or abandoned, the master or owner thereof shall, if practicable, and as soon as possible, deliver or transmit to the superintendent at the port to which the ship belonged the official log-book (if any) duly made out to the time of the loss or abandonment.

(3)If the master or owner of a ship fails without reasonable cause to comply with this section, he shall for each offence be liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.