Merchant Shipping Act 1970

Engagement and discharge of crews

Crew agreements

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• (1) Except as provided under subsection (5) of this section an agreement in writing shall be made between each person employed as a seaman in a ship registered in the United Kingdom and the persons employing him and shall be signed both by him and by or on behalf of them.

• (2) The agreements made under this section with the several persons employed in a ship shall be contained in one document (in this Act referred to as a crew agreement) except that in such cases as the Board of Trade may approve—

• (a) the agreements to be made under this section with the persons employed in a ship may be contained in more than one crew agreement; and

• (b) one crew agreement may relate to more than one ship.

• (3) The provisions and form of a crew agreement must be of a kind approved by the Board of Trade; and different provisions and forms may be so approved for different circumstances.

• (4) Subject to the following provisions of this section, a crew agreement shall be carried in the ship to which it relates whenever the ship goes to sea.

• (5) The Board of Trade may make regulations providing for exemptions from the requirements of this section—

• (a) with respect to such descriptions of ship as may be specified in the regulations or with respect to voyages in such areas or such description of voyages as may be so specified ; or

• (b) with respect to such descriptions of seamen as may be specified in the regulations ;

and the Board of Trade may grant other exemptions from those requirements (whether with respect to particular seamen or with respect to seamen employed by a specified person or in a specified ship or in the ships of a specified person) in cases where the Board are satisfied that the seamen to be employed otherwise than under a crew agreement will be adequately protected.

• (6) Where, but for an exemption granted by the Board of Trade, a crew agreement would be required to be carried in a ship or a crew agreement carried in a ship would be required to contain an agreement with a person employed in the ship, the ship shall carry such document evidencing the exemption as the Board of Trade may direct.

• (7) Regulations under this section may enable ships required under this section to carry a crew agreement to comply with the requirement by carrying a copy thereof, certified in such manner as may be provided by the regulations.

• (8) If a ship goes to sea or attempts to go to sea in contravention of the requirements of this section the master or the person employing the crew shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100 and the ship, if in the United Kingdom, may be detained.

Regulations relating to crew agreements

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• (1) The Board of Trade may make regulations—

• (a) requiring such notice as may be specified in the regulations to be given to a superintendent or proper officer, except in such circumstances as may be so specified, before a crew agreement is made or an agreement with any person is added to those contained in a crew agreement;

• (b) providing for the delivery to a superintendent or proper officer or the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen of crew agreements and agreements added to those contained in a crew agreement and of copies of crew agreements and of agreements so added ;

• (c) requiring the posting in ships of copies of or extracts from crew agreements;

• (d) requiring copies of or extracts from crew agreements to be supplied to members of the crew demanding them and requiring copies of or extracts from documents referred to in crew agreements to be made available, in such circumstances as may be specified in the regulations, for inspection by members of the crew ; and

• (e) requiring any document carried in a ship in pursuance of section 1 of this Act to be produced on demand to an officer of customs and excise.

• (2) Regulations under this section may make a contravention of any provision thereof an offence punishable on summary conviction with a fine not exceeding £50 or such less amount as may be specified in the regulations.

Discharge of seamen

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• (1) The Board of Trade may make regulations prescribing the procedure to be followed in connection with the discharge of seamen from ships registered in the United Kingdom.

• (2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, regulations under this section may make provision—

• (a) requiring notice of such a discharge to be given at such time as may be specified in the regulations to the superintendent or proper officer at a place specified in or determined under the regulations ;

• (b) requiring such a discharge to be recorded, whether by entries in the crew agreement and discharge book or otherwise, and requiring copies of any such entry to be given to a superintendent or proper officer or the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen.

• (3) Regulations under this section may provide that in such cases as may be specified in the regulations, or except in such cases as may be specified in or determined under the regulations, a seaman shall not be discharged outside the United Kingdom from a ship registered in the United Kingdom without the consent of the proper officer.

• (4) Regulations under this section may make a contravention of any provision thereof an offence punishable on summary conviction with a fine not exceeding £100 or such less amount as may be specified in the regulations.

Seamen left behind abroad otherwise than on discharge

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Regulations made under section 3 of this Act may apply any provision thereof, with such modifications as appear to the Board of Trade to be appropriate, to cases where a seaman employed in a ship registered in the United Kingdom is left behind outside the United Kingdom otherwise than on being discharged from the ship.

Discharge of seamen when ship ceases to be registered in U.K

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Where a ship registered in the United Kingdom ceases to be so registered, any seaman employed in the ship shall be discharged from the ship unless he consents in writing to continue his employment in the ship; and sections 7 to 10 of this Act shall apply in relation to his wages as if the ship had remained registered in the United Kingdom.

Restrictions on making arrangements for employment of seamen

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• (1) A person shall not for reward make arrangements for finding seamen for persons seeking to employ seamen or for finding employment for seamen, unless—

• (a) he is the holder of a licence under this section authorising him to do so or is in the regular employment of the holder of such a licence ; or

• (b) he is in the regular employment of the persons seeking to employ the seamen or makes the arrangements in the course of acting as ship's agent for those persons or is the master of the ship in which the seamen are to serve or an officer acting under his authority; or

• (c) the employment is such as is exempted from the pro visions of this subsection by regulations made by the Board of Trade.

• (2) A person shall not demand or directly or indirectly receive from any person any remuneration for providing him with employment as a seaman.

• (3) The Board of Trade may grant licences for the purposes of this section for such periods, on such terms and subject to such conditions, including conditions providing for revocation, as they think fit.

• (4) If a person acts in contravention of subsection (1) of this section he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £50 and if a person acts in contravention of subsection (2) of this section he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £20.

Wages, etc.

Payment of seamen's wages

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• (1) Except as provided by or under this Act or any other enactment, the wages due to a seaman under a crew agreement relating to a ship shall be paid to him in full at the time when he leaves the ship on being discharged therefrom (in this section and section 8 of this Act referred to as the time of discharge).

• (2) If the amount shown in the account delivered to a seaman under section 8(1) of this Act as being the amount payable to him under subsection (1) of this section is replaced by an increased amount shown in a further account delivered to him under section 8(3) of this Act, the balance shall be paid to him within seven days of the time of discharge ; and if the amount so shown in the account delivered to him under section 8(1) of this Act exceeds £50 and it is not practicable to pay the whole of it at the time of discharge, not less than £50 nor less than one-quarter of the amount so shown shall be paid to him at that time and the balance within seven days of that time.

• (3) If any amount which, under the preceding provisions of this section, is payable to a seaman is not paid at the time at which it is so payable the seaman shall be entitled to wages at the rate last payable under the crew agreement for every day on which it remains unpaid during the period of fifty-six days following the time of discharge; and if any such amount or any amount payable by virtue of this subsection remains unpaid after the end of that period it shall carry interest at the rate of 20 per cent, per annum.

• (4) Subsection (3) of this section does not apply if the failure to pay was due to a mistake, to a reasonable dispute as to liability or to the act or default of the seaman or to any other cause, not being the wrongful act or default of the persons liable to pay his wages or of their servants or agents; and so much of that subsection as relates to interest on the amount due shall not apply if a court in proceedings for its recovery so directs.

• (5) Where a seaman is employed under a crew agreement relating to more than one ship the preceding provisions of this section shall have effect, in relation to wages due to him under the agreement, as if for any reference to the time of discharge there were substituted a reference to the termination of his employment under the crew agreement.

• (6) Where a seaman, in pursuance of section 5 of this Act, is discharged from a ship outside the United Kingdom but returns to the United Kingdom under arrangements made by the persons who employed him, the preceding provisions of this section shall have effect, in relation to the wages due to him under a crew agreement relating to the ship, as if for the references in subsections (1) to (3) to the time of discharge there were substituted references to the time of his return to the United Kingdom, and subsection (5) were omitted.

Account of seaman's wages

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• (1) Subject to subsection (4) of this section and to regulations made under section 9 or 62 of this Act, the master of every ship registered in the United Kingdom shall deliver to every seaman employed in the ship under a crew agreement an account of the wages due to him under that crew agreement and of the deductions subject to which the wages are payable.

• (2) The account shall indicate that the amounts stated therein are subject to any later adjustment that may be found necessary and shall be delivered not later than twenty-four hours before the time of discharge or, if the seaman is discharged without notice or at less than twenty-four hours' notice, at the time of discharge.

• (3) If the amounts stated in the account require adjustment the persons who employed the seaman shall deliver to him a further account stating the adjusted amounts ; and that account shall be delivered not later than the time at which the balance of his wages is payable to the seaman.

• (4) Where a seaman is employed under a crew agreement relating to more than one ship any account which under the preceding provisions of this section would be required to be delivered to him by the master shall instead be delivered to him by the persons employing him and shall be so delivered on or before the termination of his employment under the crew agreement.

• (5) If a person fails without reasonable cause to comply with the preceding provisions of this section he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £20.

Regulations relating to wages and accounts

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The Board of Trade may make regulations—

• (a) authorising deductions to be made from the wages due to a seaman under a crew agreement (in addition to any authorised by any provision of this Act or of any other enactment for the time being in force) in cases where a breach of his obligations under the agreement is alleged against him and such conditions, if any, as may be specified in the regulations are complied with, or in such other cases as may be specified in the regulations;

• (b) regulating the manner in which any amounts deducted under the regulations are to be dealt with;

• (c) prescribing the manner in which wages due to a seaman under a crew agreement are to be or may be paid;

• (d) regulating the manner in which such wages are to be dealt with and accounted for in circumstances where a seaman leaves his ship in the United Kingdom otherwise than on being discharged therefrom;

• (e) prescribing the form and manner in which any account required to be delivered by section 8 of this Act is to be prepared and the particulars to be contained therein (which may include estimated amounts).

Power of superintendent or proper officer to decide disputes about wages

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• (1) Any dispute relating to the amount payable to a : seaman employed under a crew agreement may be submitted by' the parties to a superintendent or proper officer for decision; but the superintendent or proper officer shall not be bound to accept the submission or, if he has accepted it, to decide the dispute, if he is of opinion that the dispute, whether by reason of the amount involved or for any other reason, ought not to be decided by him.

• (2) The decision of a superintendent or proper officer on a dispute submitted to him under this section shall be final.

Restriction on assignment of and charge upon wages

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• (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3) of this section, the following provisions shall have effect with respect to the wages due or accruing to a seaman employed in a ship registered in the United Kingdom, that is to say.—

• (a) the wages shall not be subject to attachment or arrestment ;

• (b) an assignment thereof before they have accrued shall not bind the seaman and the payment of the wages to the seaman shall be valid notwithstanding any previous assignment or charge; and

• (c) a power of attorney or authority for the receipt of the wages shall not be irrevocable.

• (2) Nothing in this section shall affect the provisions of this Act with respect to allotment notes.

• (3) Nothing in this section applies to any disposition relating to the application of wages—

• (a) in the payment of contributions to a fund declared by regulations made by the Board of Trade to be a fund to which this section applies ; or

• (b) in the payment of contributions in respect of the membership of a body declared by regulations made by the Board of Trade to be a body to which this section applies;

or to anything done or to be done for giving effect to such a disposition.

Power of court to award interest on wages due otherwise than under crew agreement

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In any proceedings by the master of a ship or a person employed in a ship otherwise than under a crew agreement for the recovery of any sum due to him as wages the court, unless it appears to it that the delay in paying the sum was due to a mistake, to a reasonable dispute as to liability or to the act or default of the person claiming the amount or to any other cause, not being the wrongful act or default of the persons liable to make the payment or their servants or agents, may order them to pay, in addition to the sum due, interest on it at the rate of twenty per cent, per annum or such lower rate as the court may specify, for the period beginning seven days after the sum became due and ending when the sum is paid.

Allotment notes

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• (1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, a seaman may, by means of an allotment note issued in accordance with regulations made by the Board of Trade, allot to any person or persons part of the wages to which he will become entitled in the course of his employment in a ship or ships registered in the United Kingdom.

• (2) A seaman's right to make an allotment under this section shall be subject to such limitations as may, by virtue of the following provisions of this section, be imposed by regulations made by the Board of Trade.

• (3) Regulations made by the Board of Trade for the purposes of this section may prescribe the form of allotment notes and—

• (a) may limit the circumstances in which allotments may be made ;

• (b) may limit (whether by reference to an amount or by reference to a proportion) the part of the wages that may be allotted and the number of persons to whom it may be allotted and may prescribe the method by which that part is to be calculated ;

• (c) may limit the persons to whom allotments may be made by a seaman to persons of such descriptions or persons standing to him in such relationships as may be prescribed by the regulations;

• (d) may prescribe the times and the intervals at which payments under allotment notes are to be made.

• (4) Regulations under this section may make different provision in relation to different descriptions of seamen and different circumstances.

Right of person named in allotment note to sue in own name

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• (1) A person to whom any part of a seaman's wages has been allotted by an allotment note issued in accordance with regulations made under section 13 of this Act shall have the right to recover that part in his own name and for that purpose shall have the same remedies as the seaman has for the recovery of his wages.

• (2) In any proceedings brought by a person named in such an allotment note as the person to whom any part of a seaman's wages has been allotted it shall be presumed, unless the contrary is shown, that the seaman is entitled to the wages specified in the note and that the allotment has not been varied or cancelled.

Right, or loss of right, to wages in certain circumstances

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