1214
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 43

Verification of services in Mercantile Marine Offices.

11. Statements of services in ships over 20 tons of which the agreements with the crews have been entered into in New Zealand can be verified by the Superintendents of Mercantile Marine Offices, and may be obtained on application at such offices upon payment of a small fee, the amount of which will be regulated by the amount of service required to be verified. Delay, inconvenience, and disappointment will be avoided by candidates getting this verification beforehand.

Verification of services, &c., by articles.

12. Services which cannot be verified by proper entries in the articles of the ships in which the candidates have served cannot be counted.

Service on a lake or river.

13. In addition to the required workshop-time, service on a lake or river, in a steamer in which the aggregate piston-area of the propelling-engines proper amounts to at least 2,000 (two thousand) circular inches, will be accepted towards qualifying a candidate to be examined for a certificate of competency, as follows:—

Two months of river or lake service, in a capacity not lower than that of third engineer, whilst in possession of a third-class engineer’s certificate, may be deemed equivalent to one month of sea service: Provided that—

For a second-class certificate, not less than three months of the qualifying service must be actual sea service; and that—

For a first-class certificate, at least six months of the qualifying service must have been at sea in a grade not below that of third engineer, where an engineer of a lower grade is carried. During the last eighteen months of this service the candidate must have been in possession of a second-class engineer’s certificate of competency.

Service in auxiliary-screw steamships.

14. Service performed on board auxiliary-screw whalers, and other vessels with auxiliary steam-power, in the capacity of engineer, may be allowed to count towards qualifying a candidate for examination for a second-class engineer’s certificate of competency to the extent of one-half the time the vessel is actually at sea, provided he is in possession of a third-class engineer’s certificate, unless the candidate is able to prove a larger amount of time under steam, in which case he will be allowed to count the whole of such extended time.

Assistant engineer.

15. Service entered upon a ship’s articles as having been performed in the capacity of assistant engineer must be supported by proof of the candidate having acted as second, third, or junior engineer on regular watch, as the case may be.

Service as engineer only accepted as qualifying service.

16. Service in the engine-room (afterwards referred to), for qualifying a candidate to be examined for a second-class engineer’s certificate, must be only in those capacities which afford opportunities of obtaining practical experience as an engineer; and service in the capacity of fireman, stoker, donkeyman, greaser, winchman, labourer, engineer’s steward, or any other capacity than that of engineer taking watch on engines and boilers for propelling will not be accepted.

Qualifying service defined.

17. In the case of candidates for first-class certificates, “qualifying service” means service on regular watch as senior engineer in charge of the main engines or boilers. During the whole of the period claimed candidates must have been in possession of second-class certificates. In the case of candidates for second-class certificates, “qualifying service” means service as engineer on regular watch on the main engines or boilers. During the whole of the period claimed candidates must have been in possession of third-class certificates, or the exemption for same. In no case will time spent in clerical work be allowed to count.

Service as second engineer where certificate not required.

18. If a candidate has served in the engine-room with a second-class certificate in the capacity of a second engineer in steamships which are not required by law to carry a certificated second engineer, his service may be accepted without reference to the vessel’s horse-power, provided he has been on the ship’s articles as second engineer, and produces certificates of discharge as second engineer for the required period.

Unsuccessful candidates may in certain cases receive certificates for inferior grade.

19. In cases where the candidate is already in possession of a certificate of service, should he fail to pass the examination for the higher grade, but passes the examination for the lower grade, he may receive a certificate accordingly, but no part of the fee will be returned.

Inaccurate statements of service.

20. It is provided by “The Shipping and Seamen’s Act, 1877” (sec. 32), and by section 4 of “The Shipping and Seamen’s Act Amendment Act, 1899,” that every person who makes, or procures to be made, or assists in making, any false representation for the purpose of obtaining for himself or for any other person a certificate of competency, or the issue of any such certificate, shall for each offence be deemed guilty of a misdemeanour, the punishment for which is imprisonment for any period not exceeding twelve months, with or without hard labour, or a penalty not exceeding one hundred pounds.

21. These provisions will be strictly enforced by the Marine Department, and any candidate for a certificate of competency who shall, for the purpose of obtaining any such certificate, present to the Examiner any “application to be examined for a certificate of competency” (Exn. 3), or statutory declaration, containing any false or designedly inaccurate statement of service, and any other person who shall make or prepare, or assist in making or preparing, any such false or inaccurate statement, will be prosecuted.

If after passing examination services are found to have been insufficient.

22. If, after a candidate has passed his examination, it is discovered, on further investigation, that his services are insufficient to entitle him to receive a certificate of the grade for which he has passed, it will not be granted to him; but if the Marine Department are satisfied that the error in the calculation of his services did not occur through any fault or wilful misrepresentation on his part, the certificate may be issued to him, or he may be allowed to go up for re-examination without payment of further fee, when he has performed the amount of service in which he was deficient, as the Marine Department may direct.

Certificate of a lower grade may be granted on certain conditions.

23. If in such a case the applicant’s services are sufficient to entitle him to receive a certificate of a lower grade, provided as aforesaid he has not wilfully misrepresented the amount of his services, an inferior certificate may be granted to him, and the