Merchant Shipping Act 1979

29 Inquiries as to whether person has died on United Kingdom ship etc.

(1) In section 61 of the [1970 c. 36.] Merchant Shipping Act 1970 (which among other things provides for an inquiry into the death of a person in a ship registered in the United Kingdom).—

(a) at the end of subsection (1)(a) there shall be inserted the words " in a boat or life-raft from such a ship; or "; and

(b) after subsection (1) there shall be inserted the following subsections—

(1A) Subject to subsection (4) of this section, where it appears to the Secretary of State that—

(a) in consequence of an injury sustained or a disease contracted by a person, when he was the master of or a seaman employed in a ship registered in the United Kingdom, he ceased to be employed in the ship and subsequently died ; and

(b) the death occurred in a country outside the United Kingdom during the period of one year beginning with the day when he so ceased,

the Secretary of State may arrange for an inquiry into the cause of the death to be held by a superintendent or proper officer.

(1B) Subject to subsection (4) of this section, where it appears to the Secretary of State that a person may—

(a) have died in a ship registered in the United Kingdom or in a boat or life-raft from such a ship; or

(b) have been lost from such a ship, boat or life-raft and have died in consequence of having been so lost,

the Secretary of State may arrange for an inquiry to be held by a superintendent or proper officer into whether the person died as aforesaid and, if the superintendent or officer finds that he did, into the cause of the death.

(2) In subsection (3)(a) of that section (which provides for a report of the findings of an inquiry under that section to be made available to the next of kin of the deceased if the deceased was employed in the ship) for the words " if the deceased person " there shall be substituted the words " if the person to whom the report relates " and for the words " deceased person's name " there shall be substituted the words " name of the person to whom the report relates ".

(3) In section 97(5) of the said Act of 1970 (which provide! that references in that Act to dying in a ship include dying in a ship's boat and being lost from a ship's boat) after the word " Act" there shall be inserted the words " (except section 61) ".