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CAP. 369]
Merchant Shipping (Safety)
[1981 Ed.
Director may refuse clearance
of ship carrying
excess
passengers.
(a) a person employed or engaged in any capacity on board
the ship on the business of the ship; and
(b) a child under 1 year of age,
shall, until the contrary is proved, be presumed to be a passenger on that ship.
(4) Where the Director for the purpose of enabling persons to be moved from any place in consequence of a threat to their lives has permitted more persons to be carried on board a ship than are permitted under this Ordinance other than this section, the carriage of that excess of persons shall not be an offence under this Ordinance.
(5) The owner or agent of any ship shall not be guilty of an offence under subsection (2) if he proves that-
(a) the passengers involved in the offence were shipped with-
out his knowledge or consent; and
(b) he derived no profit, benefit or advantage from the ship-
ping of the passengers.
(6) In any proceedings for an offence under this section, a certificate purporting to be signed and issued by the Director for the purposes of this subsection shall be admitted in evidence on its production without further proof; and unless it is proved that the certificate has not been signed by the Director, it shall be presumed until the contrary is proved that any statement therein to the following effect is true, that is to say a statement that a ship is not fit to carry passengers under the provisions of this Ordinance or would not be fit to do so under those provisions if they applied to the ship, or a statement of the maximum number of passengers a ship is fit to carry under the provisions of this Ordinance or would be fit to do so under those provisions if they applied to the ship.
39. (1) The master of every ship shall, on application to the Director for a port clearance, state the number of passengers he proposes to carry on the voyage; and if such number is in excess of the number allowed by the passenger certificate or exceeds 12 in the case of a ship which is not provided with a passenger certificate, the Director may refuse clearance.
(2) Any master of a ship who-
(a) in an application under subsection (1) for a port clearance intentionally misrepresents the number of passengers proposed to be carried; or
(b) leaves or attempts to leave any port in Hong Kong without
a clearance,
commits an offence and is liable to a fine of $20,000 and to imprisonment for 6 months.
(3) The master of any ship who, after having obtained a port clearance, leaves or attempts to leave the waters of Hong Kong with
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