قانون رقم (66) لسنة 1974 بشأن الربابنة وضباط الملاحة والمهندسين البحريين في السفن التجارية والمرشدين البحريين في الموانئ والممرات الملاحية

Law No. (66) of 1974

on the qualifications of sea captains, navigation officers, and maritime engineers in merchant ships and pilots in ports and sea lanes

In the name of the people,

The Revolutionary Command Council

Upon review of:

• The Maritime Law;
• Law No. (81) of 1970 on ports;
• Law No. (82) of 1970 on establishing public corporations for ports and lighthouses;
• Law No. (56) of 94 AH / 74 AD on the approval of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya accession to the Convention Concerning the Minimum Requirement of Professional Capacity in the Case of Captains, Navigating and Engineer Officers aboard Merchant Ships (Geneva) of 1936;
• The proposal of the Minister of Transport and the approval of the Cabinet.

issued the following law:

Article (1)

In application of the provisions of this law:

1. The "sea captain" or "shipmaster" shall refer to any qualified person who is responsible for commanding the ship and is responsible for the same.
2. The "navigation officer" shall refer to any person who is not a pilot and who bear actual responsibility for the ship's navigation or its manoeuvring, and who is responsible for the navigation thereof during the duration of his watch.
3. The "head engineer" shall refer to any person who is permanently responsible for managing the ship's mechanical driving force.
4. The "maritime engineer" shall refer to any person who bears actual responsibility for managing the ship's machines and who shall be responsible for the watch.
5. The "pilot" shall refer to any qualified person officially appointed to perform operations of piloting ships in ports and sea lanes.

Article (2)

The following maritime certificates shall authorise their holders to perform the professions indicated adjacent to each one:

1. Sea captain of the high seas certificate:
   Command ships of any cargo, any type, and in any journey.
2. First navigation officer of the high seas certificate:

1. First navigation officer in high seas ships.
2. Command goods ships to the high seas whose cargo is less than 500 recorded tons (barrels).
3. Pilot coastal navigation ships.

1. Second navigation officer for the high seas certificate:

1. Second navigation officer in high seas ships.
2. Sole navigation officer in coastal navigation ships that transport passengers and goods.
3. Command coastal ships to transport passengers and goods whose total cargo is less than 200 recorded tons (barrels).

1. Coastal navigation sea captain certificate.

1. Command coastal ships.
2. Second navigation officer in high seas ships.

1. Coastal navigation officer certificate:

1. Navigation officer in coastal navigation ships.
2. Pilot coastal ships to transport goods whose cargo is less than 150 recorded tons (barrels).

1. Head maritime engineer certificate, of which there are two types:
   First: For commercial engines, and second: for other engines.
2. Maritime engineer certificate, of which there are two types:
   First: For steam engines, and second: for other engines.
3. Sailing ship shipmaster.
   Command sailing ships (even if these ships are equipped with an auxiliary engine) of any cargo, any type, and in any journey.
4. Maritime pilot certificate.
   Of which there are three degrees:

1. First maritime pilot, which shall authorise its holder to pilot any ship in the piloting zone.
2. Second maritime pilot, which shall authorise its holder to pilot ships whose total cargo is less than 6,000 recorded tons (barrels) in the piloting zone.
3. Third maritime pilot, which shall authorise its holder to pilot ships whose cargo is less than 3,000 recorded tons (barrels) in the piloting zone.

The competent minister shall issue decrees on the foreign certificates that are equivalent to these certificates.

Article (3)

Only people who have obtained one of the certificates mentioned in Paragraph (i) of the aforementioned article may practice the profession of piloting.

The competent minister shall issue decrees organising piloting.

Article (4)

Subject to the provisions of Article (3), the total number of maritime certificate holders to work aboard a ship shall be no less than the following: Number

1. Ships whose total cargo is below 500 recorded tons 1
2. Ships whose total cargo is 500 recorded tons or more, and less than 1,000 tons 2
3. Ships whose total cargo is 1,000 recorded tons or more, and less than 2,000 tons 3
4. Ships whose total cargo is 2,000 recorded tons or more 4

Article (5)

Ships with engines (excluding sailing ships equipped with auxiliary engines) shall have at least one engineer that holds a maritime engineer certificate aboard if the total power of their propulsion machinery is 300 horsepower and less than 400 horsepower. If the total power of the propulsion machinery is 400 horsepower or more and less than 800 horsepower, there must be an engineer that holds a head engineer certificate accompanied by an engineer that holds a maritime engineer certificate aboard.

If the total power of the propulsion machinery is 800 horsepower or more, and the total recorded cargo of the ship is 1,000 tons or more, then it must have three engineers aboard, at least one of which holds a head maritime engineer certificate. All others must hold at least a maritime engineer certificate.

Article (6)

In addition to what was established by Article (4) and Article (5), one or more persons who have not obtained the qualification of the position may be utilized on the condition that they not be responsible under any condition for a watch. An unqualified person may not under any condition take the place of a qualified person whose presence is mandated by Articles (4) or (5) unless due to force majeure, or prior permission from the competent maritime authorities.

Article (7)

With the exception of the sailing ship shipmaster, the maritime certificates stipulated in Article (2) shall be granted by the competent minister to people who have successfully passed an exam taken before a special committee. The competent minister shall issue decrees to form the aforementioned committee, exam materials, conditions, and fees that shall be collected from the students. The fees shall not exceed five LYD and the exam materials shall match the prescribed level of materials in naval colleges and merchant marine colleges.

A sailing ship shipmaster certificate shall be granted by the president of the competent maritime authority on the basis of a recommendation from the exam committee for sailing ship pilots. The competent minister shall issue a decree on forming it and on the conditions and materials of the aforementioned exam.

Article (8)

The competent minister may grant any navigation officer or maritime engineer that served on governmental ships then left the service a certificate that authorises him to work on merchant ships with a rank equivalent to his rank or grade without an exam. It shall meet the necessary conditions met by those who take the exam for the aforementioned certificate.

The equivalent certificate for each rank or grade shall be determined by virtue of a decree issued by the competent minister. The competent minister may also grant these certificates to qualified people who possess the required experience.

Article (9)

Delegates of the competent maritime authority shall have the right to at any time board any boat headed to the state's ports to inspect the certificates of sea captains, navigation officers, maritime engineers, and pilots of sailing ships.

Each sea captain must present these certificates to the aforementioned delegates upon request. The competent maritime authority shall suspend the travel of any boat that fails to meet the conditions stipulated in Articles (2), (4), and (5).

Article (10)

War ships, governmental ships, and ships that are used by a public authority for non-commercial purposes, and units that operate within the ports shall not be subject to the provisions of this law.

Article (11)

Any owner, provider, or sea captain that violates any of the provisions of Articles (4), (5), and (6) of this law shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a period that shall not exceed one year and shall be fined an amount that shall not exceed 50 LYD or either of these two penalties.

Article (12)

Any person who uses fraudulent means or counterfeit documents to obtain work as a sea captain, maritime pilot, officer, maritime engineer, and shipmaster of a sailing ship in a ship that flies the flag of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a period that shall not exceed two years and shall be fined an amount that shall not exceed 100 LYD.

Article (13)

The Minister of Transport shall implement this law and it shall enter into force from its date of issuance. It shall be published in the Office Gazette.

The Revolutionary Command Council - Libya

Major Abdessalam Ahmed Jalloud

Prime Minister

Taha al-Sharif bin Amer

Minister of Transport

Issued on: 9 Ramadan 1394 AH

Corresponding to: 25 September 1974 AD