AD. 1899.]
MERCHANT SHIPPING.
[No. 10.
483
British or Colonial ship on or near the coasts of the Colony or on board a British or Colonial ship in the course of a voyage to the Colony;
(e) where the incompetency or misconduct has occurred on board a ship registered in the Colony; and
(f) where the master, mate, or engineer of a British or Colonial ship who is charged with incompetency or misconduct on board that ship is found in the Colony,
shall be lawful for such Court to make investigation respecting such shipwreck or casualty and to hear and inquire into any such charge of incompetency or misconduct, and for such purposes the Court shall have the same jurisdiction over the matter in question as if it had occurred within its ordinary jurisdiction, but subject to all provisions, restrictions, and conditions which would have been applicable if it had so occurred. Such Court shall also have the powers given by section 729 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, to inspectors appointed by the Board of Trade, 57 & 58 Vict. c. 60, as well as all the powers of a Stipendiary Magistrate acting as a Court of Summary Jurisdiction.
(6) An inquiry shall not be held under this section into any matter which has once been the subject of an investigation or inquiry, and has been reported on by a competent court or tribunal in any part of Her Majesty's dominions, or in respect of which the certificate of a master, mate, or engineer has been cancelled or suspended by a naval court.
(7) Where an investigation or inquiry has been commenced in the United Kingdom with reference to any matter, an inquiry with reference to the same matter shall not be held under this section.
M. S. Act, 1894, s. 478.
(8) The certificate of a master, mate, or engineer may be cancelled or suspended—
(a) if the Court finds that the loss or abandonment of, or serious damage to, any ship, or loss of life, has been caused by his wrongful act or default; or
(b) if the Court finds that he is incompetent, or that he has been guilty of any gross act of misconduct, drunkenness, or tyranny, or that, in a case of collision, he has failed to render such assistance or give such information as is required under section 422 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894.
(9) Where any case before any such Court as aforesaid involves a question as to the cancelling or suspending of a certificate, the Court shall, at the conclusion of the case or as soon afterwards as possible, state in open Court the decision to which it has come with respect to the cancelling or suspending thereof.
(10) The Court shall in all cases send a full report on the case, with the evidence, to the Board of Trade, and shall also, if it determines to cancel or suspend a certificate, send a copy of its decision to the Registrar-General of Shipping and Seamen.