INDIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Gautam Bhatikar, Deeksha Dev Singh and Isha Patil, Phoenix Legal
• proof of the payment of mortgage registration fees; • a deed of mortgage/hypothecation deed; and • a letter/board resolution from the owner authorising a signatory to lodge Form 11 with the Mercantile Marine Department, along with all documents. 1.7 Ship Ownership and Mortgages Registry Registrations and mortgages are available to the public and can be viewed upon making an application to conduct a search of the registry. Obtaining information on the registration and mortgages on a vessel incurs a nominal fee. 2. Marine Casualties and Owners’ Liability 2.1 International Conventions: Pollution and Wreck Removal India has acceded to the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, 2007, but this has not yet been incorporated into domestic law. Wreck removal is currently dealt with under the provisions of: • the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958; • the Merchant Shipping (Wrecks and Salvage) Rules, 1974 (as amended in 1975); and • to some extent, the Indian Ports Act, 1908. India is a party to the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage (CLC) 1992, along with its 1976 and 1992 Protocols, and to the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Com - pensation for Oil Pollution Damage 1992 (IOPC). The CLC and the IOPC have been statutorily incorporated into Indian domestic law in Part X-B and Part X-C of the Merchant Shipping Act,
1958, respectively. However, India has not rati - fied the International Oil Pollution Compensation Supplementary Fund, 2003 nor incorporated its terms into domestic law. MARPOL and its Protocol of 1978 have been made a part of Indian domestic law, enacted in Part XI-A of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958. Various rules and regulations have been made to enforce the above conventions under the Mer - chant Shipping Act, 1958. 2.2 International Conventions: Collision and Salvage The Indian Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 and the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Collisions at Sea) Regulations, 1975 incorporate the Conven - tion on the International Regulations for Prevent - ing Collisions at Sea, 1972 and its Annexes. India has ratified the International Convention on Salvage, 1989 but has not yet incorporated it into domestic legislation. The current provi - sions dealing with salvage fall under Part XIII of the Indian Merchant Shipping Act, 1986 and the Merchant Shipping (Wrecks and Salvage) Rules, 1974 (amended in 1975). 2.3 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims India is a party to the 1976 Convention on Limi - tation of Liability for Maritime Claims, which came into force through the Indian Merchant Shipping Act, 1958, with certain reservations expressly excluding claims arising out of loss resulting from contractual rights that occur in direct connection with the operation of a ship. The subsequent 1996 Protocol came into force through the Merchant Shipping (Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims) Rules, 2015, and
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