- Type
- Act
- Year
- २०२७ BS · 1971 AD
- Status
- In force
- Category
- खण्ड ९: पर्यटन, श्रम तथा यातायात · Volume 9: Tourism, Labor and Transport
- Official text
- Official page Official text (PDF)
- English translation
- Official English translation archived copy: the original page is no longer online
Includes amendments up to: 2066 BS. Translations may not include later amendments. The Nepali text is the authoritative law.
Analysis drawn from official reports, court rulings and published research, each cited. Figures are being double-checked against the source documents; corrections are welcome.
What does it do?
- The Act governs the registration of Nepali ships and boats and applies to every ship registered under it, and to its owners and crew, wherever the ship is. A ship registered under the Act gets Nepali nationality and the right and duty to fly Nepal's merchant flag. Vessels of 10 gross register tons or more used at sea are entered in the merchant ship register; smaller vessels are entered in a separate boat register. Kathmandu is the port of registry for all Nepali ships.यो ऐनले नेपाली पानीजहाज र डुङ्गाको दर्ताको व्यवस्था गर्छ, र यसअन्तर्गत दर्ता भएका पानीजहाज जहाँसुकै रहे पनि ती र तिनका धनी, नाविक र कर्मचारीमा लागू हुन्छ। यस ऐनबमोजिम दर्ता भएको पानीजहाजले नेपाली राष्ट्रियता र नेपालको व्यापारिक पानीजहाजको झण्डा प्रयोग गर्ने अधिकार र कर्तव्य पाउँछ। समुद्रमा प्रयोग हुने १० ग्रस रजिस्टर टन वा बढीका जलयान व्यापारिक पानीजहाजको दर्ता किताबमा र त्योभन्दा साना जलयान डुङ्गाको दर्ता किताबमा दर्ता हुन्छन्। सबै नेपाली पानीजहाजको दर्ता स्थान काठमाडौँ हो। Nepal Law Commission, Government of Nepal Section 1(2), p. 2; Section 2(a)–(c), pp. 2–3; Section 3, p. 4; Section 7, p. 6; Section 20, p. 13
- A merchant ship can be registered only if at least 51% of its shares belong to Nepali citizens or Nepali-registered bodies whose main place of business is in Nepal and whose manager and board majority are Nepali, and any previous foreign registration has been cancelled. At least 75% of the master and crew must be Nepali citizens (the government can allow this to be reached in stages), and ships may not be sold or mortgaged to foreigners in a way that breaks these rules. The government sets up the Nepal Ship Office and appoints a Registrar to keep the registers.व्यापारिक पानीजहाज दर्ता गर्न त्यसको कम्तीमा ५१ प्रतिशत शेयर नेपाली नागरिक वा नेपालमा स्थापित र मुख्य कारोबारस्थल नेपालमै भएका, व्यवस्थापक र सञ्चालक समितिका बहुसंख्यक सदस्य नेपाली रहेका संगठित संस्थाको हुनुपर्छ, र पहिलेको विदेशी दर्ता खारेज भएको हुनुपर्छ। मास्टर र नाविकमध्ये कम्तीमा ७५ प्रतिशत नेपाली नागरिक हुनुपर्छ (सरकारले यो प्रतिशत क्रमशः पुर्याउने गरी अनुमति दिन सक्छ), र यी शर्त तोडिने गरी पानीजहाजको शेयर वा स्वामित्व विदेशीलाई हस्तान्तरण गर्न पाइँदैन। नेपाल सरकारले नेपाल पानीजहाज कार्यालय स्थापना गरी दर्ता किताब राख्न रजिस्ट्रार नियुक्त गर्छ। Nepal Law Commission, Government of Nepal Sections 4–5, pp. 4–5; Section 23, p. 14
- Operating a ship without registering it, or registering it with false information, is punishable by up to two years' imprisonment, a fine of up to Rs 100,000, or both, and the ship can be stopped or lose the right to fly the flag. A 2080 amendment added piracy offences, punishable by 10–15 years' imprisonment plus a fine equal to the value involved. The Registrar can fine owners who do not display the ship's name or do not provide information the government asks for. Cases are brought by the government and heard by a district court named by the government, or otherwise by Kathmandu District Court.दर्ता नगरी पानीजहाज सञ्चालन गरेमा वा झुटो विवरण दिई दर्ता गराएमा धनीलाई दुई वर्षसम्म कैद वा एक लाख रुपैयाँसम्म जरिबाना वा दुवै सजाय हुन्छ, र जहाजको सञ्चालन रोक्न वा झण्डा प्रयोग गर्ने अधिकार खोस्न सकिन्छ। २०८० को संशोधनले सामुद्रिक डकैती (पाइरेसी) सम्बन्धी कसुर थपेको छ, जसमा दश वर्षदेखि पन्ध्र वर्षसम्म कैद र बिगोबराबर जरिबाना हुन्छ। जहाजमा नाम नलेखेमा वा सरकारले मागेको विवरण नदिएमा रजिस्ट्रारले धनीलाई जरिबाना गर्न सक्छ। मुद्दा नेपाल सरकार वादी भई चल्छ र सरकारले तोकेको जिल्ला अदालत, नतोकेसम्म काठमाडौँ जिल्ला अदालतले हेर्छ। Nepal Law Commission, Government of Nepal Sections 24B and 25, pp. 16–17; Sections 25A–26, p. 18
Gaps, loopholes and improvement ideas
- Capacity The Nepal Ship Office was set up on 2075/11/2 under this Act to develop water-transport infrastructure and to register and regulate ships and boats. The Auditor General reported that six years later (FY 2080/81) and again seven years later (FY 2081/82) the laws and action plan needed to develop water transport had still not been prepared; in 2081/82 the Office spent Rs 21.5 million of a Rs 60.7 million budget.जल यातायातको पूर्वाधार विकास र पानीजहाज तथा डुङ्गाको दर्ता र नियमन गर्न यही ऐनबमोजिम २०७५/११/२ मा नेपाल पानीजहाज कार्यालय स्थापना भएको हो। महालेखापरीक्षकका अनुसार कार्यालय स्थापना भएको छ वर्ष (आ.व. २०८०/८१) र सात वर्ष (आ.व. २०८१/८२) पछिसम्म पनि जल यातायात विकासका लागि आवश्यक कानून र कार्ययोजना तयार भएका छैनन्; २०८१/८२ मा कार्यालयले रु. ६ करोड ७ लाख बजेटमध्ये रु. २ करोड १५ लाख मात्र खर्च गरेको थियो। Office of the Auditor General, Nepal · Office of the Auditor General, Nepal OAG 63rd Annual Report, MoPIT chapter, Nepal Ship Office, para 72, printed p. 341 (PDF p. 373); OAG 62nd Annual Report, MoPIT chapter, Nepal Ship Office, para 91, printed p. 387 (PDF p. 417); Act s. 4(3), p. 5
Ideas to fix it
- Prepare the legal and structural infrastructure, with a clear roadmap, and implement water-transport programmes that are economically and technically feasible.कानूनी तथा संरचनागत पूर्वाधार तयार गरी स्पष्ट मार्गचित्रसहित आर्थिक तथा प्राविधिक दृष्टिले सम्भाव्य जल यातायात कार्यक्रम कार्यान्वयन गर्ने। Proposed by: Office of the Auditor General (63rd Annual Report) Office of the Auditor General, Nepal
Where does it conflict with other laws?
No conflict with another law is documented in the sources we have reviewed so far.