Section 23: Marking of ship

(1)
Every ship in respect of which an application for registration under section 21of this Act is made shall, before it is registered, be marked permanently and conspicuously to the satisfaction of the Minister as follows:
(a)
the name of the ship shall be marked on each of its bows, and the name of the ship and the name of the ship's port of registry shall be marked on the stem of the ship, on a dark ground in white or yellow letters, or on a light ground in black letters, such letters to be of a length not less than four inches and of a proportionate breadth;
(b)
the official number and the number denoting the ship's registered tonnage shall be cut in on the main beam of the ship;
(c)
a scale denoting the ship's draught of water shall be marked on each side of the stern and of the stern post of the ship in Roman capital letters or in figures not less than six inches in length, such that the lower line of the letters or figures coincides with the draught line denoted by the scale and those letters or figures shall be marked by being cut in and painted white or yellow on a dark ground, or in such other way as the Minister may approve.
(2)
The marks required by this section shall be permanently continued, and no alteration shall be made in the marks except in the event of any of the particulars denoted by them being altered as provided by this Act.
(3)
The owner or master of any ship who -
(a)
fails to keep the ship marked as is required by this section in the case of ships of that class registered in Nigeria; or
(b)
conceals, removes, alters, defaces or obliterates, or suffers any person under his control to conceal, remove, alter, deface or obliterate, any of the marks on the ship, except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, or for the purpose of escaping capture by an enemy, commits an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine not less than one hundred thousand Naira.
(4)
Where a surveyor of ships or an inspector certifies that a ship registered in a foreign country is insufficiently or inaccurately marked, the ship may be detained until the insufficiency or inaccuracy is remedied.
(5)
No ship registered in a foreign country shall be detained under this section if the owner or master of the ship shows that the ship is marked, and has been kept marked, in accordance with the law of the country in which the ship is registered.