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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

139. Wages not claimable by seafarer who fails to exert himself to save ship

 

(1) If it is proved that a seafarer of a South African ship whose ship has been wrecked or actually or constructively lost has not made every reasonable effort to save the ship, cargo and stores, he shall not be entitled to claim any wages that would otherwise be due to him.

[Section 139(1) substituted by section 29(d) of Act No. 12 of 2015]

 

(2) For the purposes of this section, a ship shall be deemed to be constructively lost if—
(a) the ship is reasonably abandoned because its actual total loss appears to be unavoidable;
(b) the ship cannot be preserved from actual total loss without an expenditure that would exceed its value when the expenditure has been incurred; or
(c) the ship has been damaged to the extent that the cost of repairing the damage would exceed its value when repaired.

[Section 139(2) substituted by item 9 (Schedule 2) of Act No. 58 of 1998]