152 LAWS GOVERNING MARINE INSPECTION 



(c) wooden ships of primitive build such as dhows and junks. 

 2. National laws or regulations may grant exceptions or exemp- 

 tions in respect of vessels of less than 200 tons gross registered tonnage. 



ARTICLE 2 



For the purpose of this Convention the following expressions have 

 the meanings hereby assigned to them : 



(a) "master or skipper" means any person having command or 

 charge of a vessel ; 



(b) "navigating officer in charge of a watch" means any person, 

 other than a pilot, who is for the time being actually in charge of 

 the navigation or maneuvering of a vessel ; 



(c) "chief engineer" means any person permanently responsible for 

 the mechanical propulsion of a vessel ; 



(d) "engineer officer in charge of a watch" means any person who 

 is for the time being actually in charge of the running of a vessel's 

 engines. 



ARTICLE 3 



1. No person shall be engaged to perform or shall perform on board 

 any vessel to which this Convention applies the duties of master, or 

 skipper, navigating officer in charge of a watch, chief engineer, or 

 engineer officer in charge of a watch, unless he holds a certificate of 

 competency to perform such duties, issued or approved by the public 

 authority of the territory where the vessel is registered. 



2. Exceptions to the provisions of this Article may be made only 

 in case of force Tnajeure. 



ARTICLE 4 



1. No person shall be granted a certificate of competency unless — 



(a) he has reached the minimum age prescribed for the issue 

 of the certificate in question ; 



(b) his professional experience has been of the minimum 

 duration prescribed for the issue of the certificate in question; and 



(c) he has passed the examinations organized and supervised 

 by the competent authority for the purpose of testing whether he 

 possesses the qualifications necessary for performing the duties 

 corresponding to the certificate for which he is a candidate. 



2. National laws or regulations shall — 



(a) prescril)e a minimum age to have been attained by and a 

 minimum period of professional experience to have been completed 

 by candidates for each grade of competency certificate ; 



(b) provide for the organization and supervision by the compe- 

 tent authority of one or more examinations for the purpose of testing 

 whether candidates for competency certificates possess the qualifica- 

 tions necessary for performing the duties corresponding to the certifi- 

 cates for which they are candidates. 



3. Any Member of the Organization may, during a period of three 

 years from the date of its ratification, issue competency certificates to 



