Section 23: Custody and use of certificate

23. Custody and use of certificate.—(1) 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, mortgagees, or other person to, on, or in the ship. (2) No person, whether interested in the ship or not, who has in his possession or under his control the certificate of registry of a ship shall refuse or omit, without reasonable cause, to deliver such certificate on demand to the person entitled to the custody thereof for the purposes of the lawful navigation of the ship, or to any registrar, officer of customs, or other person entitled by law to require such delivery. (3) Any judge or any court, taking cognizance of the matter, may, by order, summon the person so refusing or omitting to deliver the certificate to appear before such judge or court, and to be examined touching such refusal, and unless it is proved to the satisfaction of such Judge or court that there was reasonable cause for such refusal, the offender shall be liable to a fine which may extend to one hundred thousand rupees, but if it is shown to such judge or court that the certificate is lost, the person summoned shall be discharged, and the judge or court shall certify that the certificate of registry is lost. (4) If the person so refusing is proved to have absconded so that the order of a judge or process of a court cannot be served on him, or if he persists in not delivering up the certificate, the Judge or court shall certify the fact, and the same proceeding may then be taken as in the case of a certificate mislaid, lost, or destroyed, or as near thereto as circumstances permit.

Effective date: 2001-01-01

Related sections