Ministry of Shipping weeds out obsolete rules under the Merchant Shipping Act

The Ministry of Shipping has decided to rescind thirteen rules under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 (as amended), having found them to be obsolete and unnecessary. The rules identified for being weeded out are :

1. Merchant Shipping (Distressed Seamen) Rules, 1960

2. Merchant Shipping (Certificate of Service) Rules, 1970

3. Merchant Shipping (Rates) Rules 1970

4. Merchant Shipping (Radio) Rules, 1983

5. Merchant Shipping (Examination of Masters and Mates) Rules, 1968

6. Merchant Shipping (Examination of Engineer Officers in the Merchant Navy) Rules, 1989

7. Merchant Shipping (Certificate of Competency) Rules, 1989

The following rules are being published for inviting comments and objections over a period of 30 days:-

1. Merchant Shipping (Safety Convention Certificates) Rules, 1975,

2. Merchant Shipping (Radio Direction Finders) Rules 1968,

3. Merchant Shipping (Distress Messages and Navigational Warnings) Rules, 1964

4. Merchant Shipping (Muster) Rules, 1968

5. Merchant Shipping (Pilot Ladder) Rules, 1967

6. Life boatmen’s (Qualifications and Certificates) Rules 1963

Thirteen separate notifications for rescinding the above rules have been sent for publication in the Gazette of India Extraordinary:

This weeding out is in line with the present government’s intention to simply procedures by removing archaic rules that lead to avoidable complications. The Prime Minister had also stressed on the need to identify and do away with such archaic rules and procedures.

In line with this intention, the Ministry of Shipping set up committees to identify obsolete rules and regulations with a view to achieve process simplification. The context, purpose and objectives of all the rules/regulations, administered by the Ministry, were studied and it was found that thirteen rules under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 (as amended) were obsolete and unnecessary. Based on the committee’s recommendations, the Ministry has decided to weed out these rules.

Rescinding of these rules will de-clutter the legislative framework governing merchant shipping sector in India and streamline the processes and procedures in the shipping sector. This will also promote ‘ease-of-doing-business’ in India.