Section 236
Duty to report wrecks.
The Merchant Shipping Act, 2025
About this Act
An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to merchant shipping to ensure compliance with India's obligation under the maritime treaties and international instruments to which India is a party and also to ensure the development of Indian shipping and efficient maintenance of Indian mercantile marine in a manner best suited to serve the national interest and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
(1) When any Indian vessel or any ship other than an Indian vessel, is involved in a maritime casualty resulting in a wreck in any area to which this Chapter applies, the master or ship owner or the operator of the ship shall, without any delay report such incident to the Director-General and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre or the Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre of Indian Coast Guard.
(2) When any Indian vessel is involved in a maritime casualty resulting in a wreck in a convention area of any State, the master and the operator of that ship shall, without any delay, report such incident to the affected State in such manner as may be required by that State and shall also report such incident to the Director-General and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre or the Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre of Indian Coast Guard.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this sub-section,—
(i) “affected State” means the country in whose convention area the wreck is located;
(ii) “convention area” means the Exclusive Economic Zone of a State party established in accordance with international law or, if a State party has not established such a zone, an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea of that State determined by that State in accordance with international law and extending not more than two hundred nautical miles from the baseline from which the breadth of its territorial sea is measured.
(2) When any Indian vessel is involved in a maritime casualty resulting in a wreck in a convention area of any State, the master and the operator of that ship shall, without any delay, report such incident to the affected State in such manner as may be required by that State and shall also report such incident to the Director-General and the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre or the Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre of Indian Coast Guard.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this sub-section,—
(i) “affected State” means the country in whose convention area the wreck is located;
(ii) “convention area” means the Exclusive Economic Zone of a State party established in accordance with international law or, if a State party has not established such a zone, an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea of that State determined by that State in accordance with international law and extending not more than two hundred nautical miles from the baseline from which the breadth of its territorial sea is measured.