Merchant Shipping Act 1894

Provisions, Health, and Accommodation.

198 Complaints as to provisions or water.

(1) If three or more of the crew of a British ship consider that the provisions or water for the use of the crew are at any time of bad quality, unfit for use, or deficient in quantity, they may complain thereof to any of the following officers, namely, an officer in command of one of Her Majesty's ships, a British consular officer, a superintendent, or a chief officer of customs, and the officer may either examine the provisions or water complained of or cause them to be examined.

(2) If the officer, or person making the examination, finds that the provisions or water are of bad quality and unfit for use, or deficient in quantity, he shall signify it in writing to the master of the ship, and if the master of the ship does not thereupon provide other proper provisions or water in lieu of any so signified to be of bad quality and unfit for use, or does not procure the requisite quantity of any provisions or water so signified to be deficient in quantity, or uses any provisions or water so signified to be of bad quality and unfit for use, he shall for each offence be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

(3) The officer directing, or the person making, the examination shall enter a statement of the result of the examination in the official log-book, and send a report thereof to the Board of Trade, and that report shall be admissible in evidence in manner provided by this Act.

(4) If the said officer certifies in that statement that there was no reasonable ground for the complaint, each of the complainants shall be liable to forfeit to the owner out of his wages a sum not exceeding one week's wages.

199 Allowance for short or bad provisions.

In either of the following cases ; (that is to say,)

(i) if during a voyage the allowance of any of the provisions for which a seaman has by his agreement stipulated is reduced (except in accordance with any regulations for reduction by way of punishment contained in the agreement with the crew, and also except for any time during which the seaman wilfully and without sufficient cause refuses or neglects to perform his duty, or is lawfully under confinement for misconduct either on board or on shore); or

(ii) if it is shown that any of those provisions are or have during the voyage been bad in quality and unfit for use;

the seaman shall receive, by way of compensation for that reduction, or bad quality, according to the time of its continuance, the following sums, to be paid to him in addition to, and to be recoverable as, wages; (that is to say,)

(a) if his allowance is reduced by not more than one third of the quantity specified in the agreement, a sum not exceeding fourpence a day :

(b) if his allowance is reduced by more than one third of that quantity, eightpence a day:

(c) in respect of bad quality as aforesaid, a sum not exceeding one shilling a day :

But if it is shown to the satisfaction of the court before whom the case is tried that any provisions, the allowance of which has been reduced, could not be procured or supplied in proper quantities, and that proper and equivalent substitutes were supplied in lieu thereof, the court shall take those circumstances into consideration, and shall modify or refuse compensation as the justice of the case requires.

200 Regulations respecting medicines, anti-scorbutics, &c.

(1) The Board of Trade shall issue scales of medicines and medical stores suitable for different classes of ships and voyages, and shall also prepare or sanction books containing instructions for dispensing the same.

(2) The owner of every ship navigating between the United Kingdom and any place out of the same shall provide and cause to be kept on board a supply of medicine and medical stores according to the scale appropriate to the ship, and also the said books or one of them.

(3) The master or owner of every such ship, except in the case of—

(a) ships bound to European ports or ports in the Mediterranean Sea; and

(b) such ships or classes of ships bound to ports on the eastern coast of America, north of the thirty-fifth degree of north latitude, and to any islands or places in the Atlantic Ocean north of the same limit as the Board of Trade may exempt;

shall provide and cause to be kept on board a sufficient quantity of anti-scorbutics in accordance with the regulations in the Fifth Schedule to this Act, and those regulations shall have effect as part of this section, and the master shall serve out the anti-scorbutics to the crew according to the said regulations, and if a seaman or apprentice refuses or neglects to take the anti-scorbutics when served out, that fact shall be entered in the official log-book, and the entry shall be signed by the master and by the mate or some other of the crew, and also by the medical practitioner on board if any.

(4) If any requirement of this section with respect to the provision of medicines, medical stores, book of instruction, or anti-scorbutics is not complied with in the case of any ship, the owner or master of that ship shall, for each offence, be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds, unless he can prove that the noncompliance was not caused through his inattention, neglect, or wilful default.

(5) If any requirement of this section with respect to the serving out of anti-scorbutics or making an entry in the official log-book is not complied with in the case of any ship to which the requirement applies, the master of the ship shall, for each offence, be liable to a fine not exceeding five pounds, unless he Can prove that the non-compliance did not arise through any neglect, omission, or wilful default on his part.

(6) If it is proved that some person, other than the master or owner, is in default in any case under this section, that person shall, for each offence, be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

(7) If any person manufactures, sells, or keeps, or offers for sale any medicines or medical stores for use on board ship which are of bad quality, he shall, for each offence, be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

201 Weights and measures on board.

(1) The master of a ship shall keep on board proper weights and measures for determining the quantities of the several provisions and articles served out, and shall allow the same to be used at the time of serving out the provisions and articles in the presence of a witness whenever any dispute arises about the quantities.

(2) If the master of a ship fails without reasonable cause to comply with this section, he shall for each offence be liable to a fine not exceeding ten pounds.

202 Inspection of medicines, medical stores, and anti-scorbutics.

(1) It shall be the duty of the medical inspector of ships for the port appointed under this Part of this Act to inspect the medicines, medical stores, and anti-scorbutics with which a ship is required by this Part of this Act to be provided.

(2) For the purpose of that inspection a medical inspector of ships shall have all the powers of a Board of Trade inspector under this Act, and shall act, if appointed by a local marine board, under the direction of that board (except in special cases in which the Board of Trade require an inspection to be made), and, if appointed by the Board of Trade, under the direction of the Board of 1'rade.

(3) The medical inspector of ships shall make his inspection three clear days at least before the ship proceeds to sea, if reasonable notice in writing for the purpose is given to him by the master, owner, or consignee, and, where the result of the inspection is satisfactory, shall not make another inspection before the ship proceeds to sea, unless he has reason to suspect that any of the articles inspected have been subsequently removed, injured, or destroyed.

(4) If the medical inspector of ships is of opinion that the articles inspected are deficient in quantity or quality, or are placed in improper vessels, he shall give notice in writing to the chief officer of customs of the port where the ship is lying, and also to the master, owner, or consignee thereof, and the master of the ship before proceeding to sea shall produce to the chief officer of customs a certificate under the hand of the same or some other medical inspector of ships, that the default found by the inspector has been remedied, and if that certificate is not so produced, the ship shall be detained until the certificate is produced and if the ship proceeds to sea, the owner, master, or consignee of the ship shall, for each offence, be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

203 Medical inspection of seamen.

(1) A medical inspector of seamen appointed under this Part of this Act shall, on application by the owner or master of any ship, examine any seaman applying for employment in that ship, and give to the superintendent a report under his hand stating whether the seaman is in a fit state for duty at sea, and a copy of the report shall be given to the master or owner.

(2) The applicant for that medical examination shall pay to the superintendent such fees as the Board of Trade direct, and those fees shall be paid into the Mercantile Marine Fund.

204 Appointment of medical inspector.

(1) The local marine board at a port may, upon being required by the Board of Trade to do so, appoint and remove a medical inspector of ships for the port, and subject to the control of the Board of Trade may fix his remuneration, and at any port where there is no local marine board, the Board of Trade may appoint and remove a medical inspector of ships and may fix his remuneration.

(2) The local marine board and at a port where there is no such local marine board the Board of Trade, may appoint and remove a medical inspector of seamen, and that inspector shall be paid out of the mercantile marine fund such remuneration as the Board of Trade direct.

205 Appointment of medical inspector, and regulations as to supply of anti-scorbutics in colonies.

The governor of a British possession shall have the power in that possession—

(a) of appointing medical inspectors of seamen, of charging fees for medical examinations by those inspectors, and of determining the remuneration to be paid to those inspectors; and,

(b) subject to the laws of that possession, to make regulations concerning the supply in that possession of anti-scorbutics for the use of ships, and anti-scorbutics duly supplied in accordance with those regulations shall be deemed to be fit and proper for the use of ships.

206 Inspection of provisions and water for crew of certain ships.

(1) In the case of ships trading or going from any port of the United Kingdom through the Suez Canal, or round the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn, the barrels of beef and pork, the preserved meat and vegetables in tins, and the casks of flour or biscuits, intended for the use of the crew of any such ship shall be inspected by such officer and in such manner as rules under this section direct, but before shipment whenever practicable, and, if in the opinion of the inspecting officer they are fit for that use, that officer shall certify the same accordingly in manner directed by such rules.

(2) The inspecting officer may at any time proceed on board any such ship to ascertain whether the stores and water provided have been duly inspected, or, if not, whether they are of a quality fit for the use of the crew of the ship, and if he finds the same not to have been inspected, and to be deficient in quality, the ship shall be detained until the defects are remedied to his satisfaction.

(3) No fee for an inspection under this section shall be levied on the ship.

(4) The Board of Trade may make rules for carrying into effect this section, but all such rules shall be laid before Parliament within three weeks after they are made, if Parliament be then sitting, and if Parliament be not then sitting, within three weeks after the beginning of the then next meeting of Parliament, and shall not come into operation until they have lain for forty days before both Houses of Parliament during the session of Parliament.

(5) The Board of Trade may appoint officers for the purposes of any inspection under this section, and may, with the concurrence of the Treasury, assign them remuneration to be paid out of moneys provided by Parliament.

207 Expenses of medical attendance in case of illness.

(1) If the master of, or a seaman or apprentice belonging to, a ship receives any hurt or injury in the service of the ship, the expense of providing the necessary surgical and medical advice and attendance and medicine, and also the expenses of the maintenance of the master, seaman, or apprentice until he is cured, or dies, or is brought back, if shipped in the United Kingdom, to a port of the United Kingdom, or if shipped in a British possession to a port of that possession, and of his conveyance to the port, and in case of death the expense (if any) of his burial, shall be defrayed by the owner of the ship, without any deduction on that account from his wages.

(2) If the master or a seaman or apprentice is on account of any illness temporarily removed from his ship for the purpose of preventing infection, or otherwise for the convenience of the ship, and subsequently returns to his duty, the expense of the removal and of providing the necessary advice and attendance and medicine and of his maintenance while away from the ship shall be defrayed in like manner.

(3) The expense of all medicines, surgical and medical advice, and attendance, given to a master, seaman, or apprentice whilst on board his ship shall be defrayed in like manner.

(4) If a seaman or apprentice is ill and has, through the neglect of the master or owner of the ship, not been provided with proper provisions and water according to his agreement, or with such medicines, medical stores, anti-scorbutics, or accommodation, as are required by this Act, then the owner or master, unless it can be proved that the illness has been produced by other causes, shall be liable to pay all expenses (not exceeding on the whole three months wages) properly and necessarily incurred by reason of the illness either by the seaman himself or by the Crown or any parochial or local authority on his behalf, and those expenses may be recovered as if they were wages duly earned, but this provision shall not affect any further liability of the master or owner for the neglect, or any other remedies possessed by the seaman or apprentice.

(5) In all other cases any reasonable expenses duly incurred by the owner for any seaman in respect of illness, and also any reasonable expenses duly incurred by the owner in respect of the burial of any seaman or apprentice who dies whilst on service, shall, if duly proved, be deducted from the wages of the seaman or apprentice.

208 Recovery of expenses from owner.

(1) If any of the expenses attendant on the illness, hurt, or injury of a seaman or apprentice, which are to be paid under this Act by the master or owner, are paid by any British consular officer or other person on behalf of the Crown, or if any other expenses in respect of the illness, hurt, or injury of any seaman or apprentice whose wages are not accounted for under this Act to that officer, are so paid, those expenses shall be repaid to the officer or other person by the master of the ship.

(2) If the expenses are not so repaid, the amount thereof shall with costs be a charge upon the ship, and be recoverable from the master or from the owner of the ship for the time being, as a debt to the Crown, either by ordinary process of law or in the same court and manner as wages due to seamen.

(3) In any proceeding for such recovery, a certificate of the facts, signed by the said officer or other person, together with such vouchers (if any) as the case requires, shall be sufficient proof that the said expenses were duly paid by that officer or other person.

209 Certain ships to carry medical practitioners.

(1) Every foreign-going ship, having one hundred persons or upwards on board, shall carry on board as part of her complement some duly qualified medical practitioner, and if she does not the owner shall for every voyage of the ship made without a duly qualified medical practitioner be liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.

(2) Nothing in this section shall apply to an emigrant ship within the meaning of the Third Part of this Act.

210 Accommodation for seamen.

(1) Every place in any British ship occupied by seamen or apprentices, and appropriated to their use, shall have for each of those seamen or apprentices a space of not less than seventy-two cubic feet, and of not less than twelve superficial feet measured on the deck or floor of that place, and shall be subject to the regulations in the Sixth Schedule to this Act, and those regulations shall have effect as part of this section, and if any of the foregoing requirements of this section is not complied with in the case of any ship, the owner of the ship shall for each offence be liable to a fine not exceeding twenty pounds.

(2) Every place so occupied and appropriated shall be kept free from goods and stores of any kind not being the personal property of the crew in use during the voyage, and if any such place is not so kept free, the master shall forfeit and pay to each seaman or apprentice lodged in that place the sum of one shilling for each day during which, after complaint has been made to him by any two or more of the seamen so lodged, it is not so kept free.

(3) Such fees as the Board of Trade fix shall be paid in respect of an inspection for the purposes of this section, not exceeding the fees specified in the Sixth Schedule to this Act.