Draft Merchant Shipping Bill, 2020 for Public Consultation
New Bill Aims to Repeal and Replace the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958
Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has issued
a draft of the Merchant Shipping Bill, 2020 for public consultation on 26
November 2020. It aims to repeal and replace the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 (Act
No. 44 of 1958) and the Coasting Vessels Act, 1838 (Act No. 19 of 1838).
The Merchant Shipping Bill, 2020 has been drafted,
with the primary aim of promoting the growth of the Indian shipping industry by
incorporating the best practices adopted by other advanced countries like the U.S.,
Japan, U.K., Singapore and Australia. All up-to-date IMO Conventions / protocols,
to which India is a party, have been adopted in it. Adequate provisions are incorporated
to ensure the safety and security of vessels, safety of life at sea, prevent marine
pollution, provide for maritime liabilities and compensations, and ensure comprehensive
adoption of India’s obligations under International Conventions.
The envisioned advantages of the Merchant Shipping
Bill, 2020 are following:
·
Promoting ease of doing business-
The Bill does away with requirement of general trading license for
Indian vessels
·
Embracing digital technology- It enables electronic means of registration, and grants statutory
recognition to electronic agreements, records, and log books, in addition to electronic
licenses, certificates and payments.
·
Increasing tonnage and Vessel
as a Tradable Asset-The Bill seeks to increase
India’s tonnage by widening the eligibility criteria for ownership of vessels and
providing for the registration of bareboat charter cum demise, thereby increasing
opportunities for international trade.
·
India as a Bankable Shipping
Jurisdiction & avoidance of situations leading to wreck -The proposed Bill seeks to introduce for the first-time statutory
framework for regulating maritime emergency response against maritime incidents.
The provisions seek to provide for time effective implementation of response mechanisms
in order to ensure that the same is prevented from becoming a wreck or other catastrophic
event.
·
Welfare of Indian seafarers
on abandoned vessels and safety of abandoned vessels: Provisions for repatriation of abandoned seafarers have been enhanced,
in line with the MLC regulations.
·
Strengthening adjudication
and predictability of claims: In order to strengthen the
investigation and adjudication of claims arising out of collision of vessels, assessors
may be tasked by the High Courts to present their findings on the degrees of fault
of each vessel.
·
India as an Active Enforcement
Jurisdiction- The Bill incorporates
powers of the Director-General to take action against vessels that are unsafe, and
pose a threat to safety of life at sea and environment, and includes a procedure
for appeal from detention orders. The Bill also incorporates provisions that encourage
active enforcement of pollution prevention standards and the Central Government
has been granted the power to mandate compulsory insurance or such other financial
security, for pollution damage.
The Bill seeks to provide increased opportunities
for investment and provide greater impetus to a self-reliant domestic investment
climate in the maritime industry. The provisions regulating the maritime education,
training, certification and the recruitment and placement of seafarers and ease
of registration of ships under the Indian flag will give an impetus to the quality
and quantity of Indian seafarers. Consequently, it will boost employment opportunities
for Indian seafarers in the national and international market. The benefits will
be extended to ancillary sectors connected with the shipping industry in consonance
with ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiatives of the government.
The draft of the Merchant Shipping Bill, 2020 is
issued for seeking the feedback and suggestions from the public. This can be accessed
on the link: http://shipmin.gov.in/sites/default/files/Draft_MS_Bill_2020.pdf and suggestions can be sent to msbill2020@gmail.com by 24.12.2020.
It has been a priority of Prime Minister Shri Narendra
Modi’s government to replace all archaic colonial laws with modern and contemporary
International laws with active participation of people to enhance transparency in
the governance. For the same, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways recently
issued two draft Bills for public consultation, namely ‘Aids to Navigation Bill
2020’ and ‘Coastal Shipping Bill 2020’ and now this historical ‘Draft Merchant Shipping
Bill 2020’is being issued, within a short span of time of four months. Moreover,
Major Port Authorities Bill 2020 is also under consideration of Rajya Sabha, which has been already passed by Lok Sabha in the last Parliament session. All these Bills are
going to generate sweeping waves in the maritime scenario moving India towards a
fully developed maritime economy.