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(1) When a ship

(a) has sustained or caused an accident which occasions loss of life or a serious injury to a person, or

(b) has sustained a material damage affecting its seaworthiness or its efficiency in its hull or in any part of its machinery, the owner or master of the ship shall within twenty-four hours after the occurrence of the accident or the damage or as soon as possible after that, transmit to the Director-General or an officer of the Authority or to any other appropriate agency, a report of the accident or damage.

(2) A report of accident or damage to a ship made under subsection (1) shall be signed by the owner or master of the ship, and shall state

(a) the name of the ship, the port to which the ship belongs, the official number of the ship and the place where the ship is located,

(b) the circumstances in which the accident or damage occurred, and

(c) the probable cause of the accident or damage.

(3) Where the managing owner, or where a managing owner is not resident in Ghana, the agent of a ship to which this section applies has reason to believe that the ship has sustained damage or caused an accident, the managing owner or agent shall require proof that the accident or damage has been reported to the Authority by the master.

(4) Where the managing owner or agent has reason to believe that the accident or damage has not been reported, the managing owner or agent shall as soon as possible, send to the Director-General notice in writing stating the name of the ship, its official number, and its port of registry or the port to which it belongs, and stating to the best of the managing owner's or agent's knowledge and belief, the nature, the probable cause and extent of the accident or damage, and the location of the ship.

(5) The master or managing owner or agent who fails without reasonable cause to comply with this section commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding two hundred and fifty penalty units or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding twelve months or to both the fine and the imprisonment.

(6) This section applies to Ghanaian ships, irrespective of where they are, as well as foreign ships navigating in Ghanaian waters.