Merchant Shipping (Safety and Load Line Conventions) Act 1932

ARTICLE 16 Control.

1 A ship to which this Convention applies, when in a port of a country to which it does not belong, is in any case subject to control with respect to load fine as follows: An officer duly authorised by the Government of that country may take such steps as may be necessary for the purpose of seeing that there is on board a valid International Load Line Certificate. H there is such a certificate on board the ship, such control shall be limited to the purpose of securing—

(a) that the ship is not loaded beyond the limits allowed by the certificate;

(b) that the position of the load line on the ship corresponds with the certificate; and

(c) that the ship has not been so materially altered in respect to the matters dealt with in conditions A and B (set out in paragraph 3 of Article 14) that the ship is manifestly unfit to proceed to sea without danger to human life.

2 Only officers possessing the necessary technical qualifications shall be authorised to exercise control as aforesaid, and if such control is exercised under (c) above, it shall only be exercised in so far as may be necessary to secure that the ship shall be made fit to proceed to sea without danger to human life.

3 If control under this Article appears likely to result in legal proceedings being taken against the ship, or in the ship being detained, the consul of the country to which the ship belongs shall be informed as soon as possible of the circumstances of the case.