Merchant Shipping Act 1906

32 Repatriation of seamen on termination of service at foreign port

(1) Where the service of a seaman belonging to a British ship terminates at a port out of His Majesty's dominions otherwise than by the consent of the seaman to be discharged during the currency of the agreement, the master of the ship shall, besides giving the certificate of discharge required under this Part of this Act, and besides paying the wages to which the seaman is entitled, make adequate provision in accordance with this Act for his maintenance and for his return to a proper return port, and the proper authority as defined for the purpose in this Part of this Act shall endorse upon the agreement with the crew of the ship which the seaman is leaving the particulars of any provision so made.

(2) If the master fails, without reasonable cause, to comply with this section, the expenses of maintenance and of the journey to the proper return port,—

(a) if defrayed by the seaman, shall be recoverable as wages due to him ; and

(b) if defrayed by the proper authority or by any other person, shall (unless the seaman has been guilty of barratry) be a charge upon the ship to which the seaman belonged, and may also be recovered against the person who is the owner of the ship for the time being, or, where the ship has been lost, against the person who was the owner of the ship at the time of the loss, or, where the ship has been transferred to some person not being a British subject, either against the owner for the time being or against the person "who was the owner of the ship at the time of the transfer, at the suit of the proper authority or other person, defraying the expenses, or, in case they have been allowed to the authority or person out of public money, as a debt to the Crown, either by ordinary process of law or in the court and in the manner in which wages may be recovered by seamen.

(3) This section shall not apply in the case of a foreign seaman who has been shipped at a port out of the United Kingdom and discharged at a port out of the United Kingdom.