Law No. 2013-029 establishing the Merchant Shipping Code

Subject to the provisions of Section 4 below, the following is prohibited:

• the disposal into the sea of

2- The Minister in charge of the Merchant Marine may define by decree a model maritime employment contract, specific to Mauritanian seamen embarked on foreign fishing vessels authorized to operate in waters under Mauritanian jurisdiction. This contract must take into account the period during which these vessels are authorized to stay.

2 – With regard to fishing vessels, the Maritime Authority may authorize a minimum age of 15 for persons undergoing vocational training in mathematics.

3 – The professional qualifications required on board fishing vessels take account of the provisions of the STCW-F Convention.

2 – For sea fishing, collective agreements may set working hours calculated on an annual basis.

1 – On board fishing vessels, actual work is organized on the basis of eight hours per day, but this duration may be exceeded in the event of force majeure or operational necessity in the cases provided for in paragraphs 1 and 2 of article 435 above. 2 – On the fishing grounds : 2.1. – the minimum rest period per twenty-four-hour period may be reduced to eight hours for five consecutive days. 2.2. – hours of rest not taken may be recovered:

• under the conditions laid down in collective agreements, or
• grouped together and taken ashore with another period of rest or leave. 3– The minimum rest period per seven-day period may not be less than seventy-two hours.

1 – The Maritime Authority shall ensure that the health of crews and persons on board is normally safeguarded. It must be informed of any health problems that may arise on board any vessel, whether commercial or fishing, with the exception of pleasure craft. 2 – It inspects, or has inspected, the state of installations, living quarters, the conditions under which food and supplies are kept, and in general everything that concerns habitability, hygiene and working conditions on board a ship. 3 – Independently of the maritime safety inspector or the maritime labor inspector, when the seriousness of a personal injury or the repetitive nature of certain accidents justifies an on-board investigation, the Maritime Authority may decide to add a physician.

1 – All commercial or fishing vessels with a crew of 12 or more and sailing or crossing for more than 48 hours must be equipped with a sick bay. 2 – However, ships sailing less than 20 miles from the coast are exempt from this requirement, provided they have an emergency medical kit which must be kept in a dry place.

1 - There is co-ownership (joint ownership) of a vessel when its ownership is divided into shares and this is shared between several natural or legal persons. 2 - A co-owner may own several shares but co-ownership ceases when one of them owns all the shares. 3 - Each share becomes part of the personal assets of its holder who may sell or mortgage it, subject to the provisions of this chapter. 4 - The name, domicile, nationality of the co-owners and the number of shares each holds must be entered on the Mauritanization/registration deed as well as on the registration register.

1 - For the application of this law, any floating or mobile construction intended for maritime transport, whether for commercial, fishing, pleasure, towing, pilotage or other purposes, is considered a seagoing vessel.

2 - The status of a seagoing vessel is established by its Mauritanization / registration with the competent services of the Ministry responsible for Merchant Shipping and its assignment to maritime navigation.

1- Any ship that possesses Mauritanian nationality and consequently receives an act of Mauritanization: 1.1 - subject to the provisions of articles 49 and 50 above, built in Mauritania or regularly imported. 1.2 - having a name in accordance with the provisions of section 2 below (article 59) 1.3 - measured in accordance with the provisions of section 5 below (article 68)

2 - The vessel must also meet the following ownership conditions: 2.1 - be owned by natural or legal persons under Mauritanian law 2.1.1- Must own at least 51% of the vessel when owned by individuals, and 2.1.2. - if the vessel is owned by a legal entity, have its registered office in Mauritania, and hold at least 51% of the shares owned by Mauritanian shareholders or associates, with shares subscribed by nationals to be registered. 2.1.3 if the ship is owned by an individual and legal entities, the shares must be owned, without any condition of proportion in the capital distribution, by Mauritanian nationals fulfilling the conditions of paragraph 2.1.1 above and by companies fulfilling the conditions of paragraph 2.1.2 above. 2.2 in addition, must be of Mauritian nationality: 2.2.1 in public limited companies, the chairman of the board of directors, the managing directors and the majority of the members of the board of directors. 2.2.2 in joint-stock companies, shares subscribed by nationals must be registered shares 2.2.3 in SARLs and partnerships, managers and partners holding at least 51% of the capital must be registered shareholders.

3 - Mauritanian nationality may also be possessed by any vessel belonging to: 3.1 to natural persons having the nationality of a State with which a reciprocity agreement has been concluded and who have their domicile or habitual residence in that State 3.2 to trading companies of a State with which a reciprocity agreement has been concluded and which are represented or established in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. 3.3 to a foreign company or its subsidiary having acquired it as part of an investment in the fisheries sector and covered by an establishment agreement.

1 - All vessels flying the flag of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania must comply:

• the rules relating to the safety of maritime navigation defined by the present law, and
• the relevant rules of international conventions to which the Islamic Republic of Mauritania has acceded. 2 - The Maritime Authority may issue technical safety regulations applicable to ships flying the Mauritanian flag and not subject to international conventions.

1 – All Mauritanian vessels of 300 gross tons or more engaged in international voyages, or of 500 gross tons or more engaged in domestic voyages, as well as passenger vessels, whatever their size and navigation, must be equipped with a transponder ("AIS" system) enabling them:

• automatically provide information on its identity, position and speed to other ships, aircraft, and competent authorities,
• receive the same information from other equipped vessels,
• exchange all useful information with shore-based authorities. 2 – As a transitional measure, ships required to be equipped with the AIS system by virtue of the foregoing provisions will be subject to this obligation only if they were built before July 1, 2002, and if they are engaged only in domestic navigation. 3 – Ships fitted with a transponder must keep it in operation at all times, except in circumstances where international rules allow the protection of navigational information.