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Merchant Shipping Act, 1951 (Act No. 57 of 1951)

Chapter IV : Engagement, Discharge, Repatriation, Payment, Discipline and General Treatment of Seafarers and Cadets

114. Repatriation of seafarers whose service terminates elsewhere than at proper return port

[Section 114 heading substituted by section 29(k) of Act No. 12 of 2015]

 

(1) When the service of a seafarer belonging to a South African ship terminates without the consent of the said seafarer at a place other than a proper return port, and before the expiration of the period for which the seafarer was engaged, the master or owner of the ship shall, in addition to any other relative obligation imposed on the seafarer by this Act, make adequate provision for the maintenance of the seafarer according to his or her rank or rating, and for the return of that seafarer to a proper return port.

[Section 114(1) substituted by section 11 of Act No. 12 of 2015]

 

(2) If the master or owner fails without reasonable cause to comply with the provisions of subsection (1), the expenses of maintenance and of the journey to the proper return port shall, if defrayed by the seafarer, be recoverable as wages due to him, and if defrayed by the proper office, be regarded as expenses falling within the provisions of subsections (4) and (5) of section one hundred and fifty-four. Inability to provide the said expenses shall not, for the purposes of this subsection, be regarded as reasonable cause.

[Section 114(2) substituted by section 29(d) of Act No. 12 of 2015]

 

(3) The provisions of this section shall not apply in the case of a seafarer who is not a South African citizen or a citizen of a treaty country (other than the Republic) and who was engaged at a port out of the Republic and discharged at a port outside the Republic.

[Section 114(3) substituted by section 29(i) of  Act No. 12 of 2015]