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Further to its observation, the Committee must repeat its previous comment on the following point:

The Committee previously noted that under sections 221 and 225(1)(b), (c) and (e) of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, penalties of imprisonment (involving, by virtue of section 66 of the Prison Rules, an obligation to work) may be imposed for breaches of discipline such as desertion and absence without leave and disobedience, and sections 222 to 224 and 238 of the same Act as well as section 73(1) of the Harbours and Merchant Shipping Ordinance (Ch. 149) provide for the forcible return of seamen on board ship. The Committee previously also noted that the United Kingdom Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894, 1965 and 1974 are not listed in the Consolidated index of statutes and subsidiary legislation compiled in the framework of the West Indian Legislation Indexing Project (WILIP), and requested the Government to indicate whether these Acts and more particularly sections 221 to 224, 225(1)(b) and (c) and 238 of the 1894 Act have been repealed and, if so, to provide a copy of the repealing legislation. The Committee notes that no reply has been given to this request, and that the Government indicates in its latest reports that the Harbour and Shipping Act (which seems to correspond to the former Harbours Merchant Shipping Ordinance) has still not been amended. Referring to the explanations provided in paragraphs 117 and 125 of its 1979 General Survey on the abolition of forced labour, the Committee hopes that the Government will soon be in a position to indicate that action has been taken to bring the merchant shipping legislation into conformity with Article 1(c) and (d) of the Convention.