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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

103. Special provisions as to agreements with crew of foreign-going ships

 

The following provisions shall apply to agreements with the crew of a foreign-going South African ship:

(a) subject to the provisions of this Act as to substitutes, the agreement shall be signed by each seafarer in the presence of a witness;

[Section 103(a) substituted by section 29(i) of Act No. 12 of 2015]

(b) the master, owner or authorized agent of the owner shall cause the agreement to be read over and explained to each seafarer, or otherwise ascertain that each seafarer understands the same before he signs it in the presence of a witness, who shall attest each signature;

[Section 103(b) substituted by section 29(i) of Act No. 12 of 2015]

(c) when the crew is first engaged the agreement shall be signed in duplicate, and one agreement shall be delivered to the proper officer and the other shall be retained by the master, and shall contain a special place or form for the descriptions and signatures of substitutes or persons engaged subsequent to the first departure of the ship;

[Section 103(c) substituted by section 5(a) of Act No. 3 of 1982]

(d) if a substitute is engaged in the place of a seafarer who has duly signed the agreement and whose services are terminated, within twenty-four hours before the ship proceeds to sea, by death, desertion, absence without leave or other unforeseen cause, the engagement of the substitute shall be effected before the master, who shall before the ship proceeds to sea or as soon thereafter as is practicable, cause the agreement to be read over and explained to the substitute, and the substitute shall thereupon sign the same in the presence of a witness, who shall attest the signature;

[Section 103(d) substituted by section 29(i) of Act No. 12 of 2015]

(e) the master shall not proceed with the engagement of the crew until he is satisfied that the particulars required by paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 102 have been inserted in the agreement;

[Sectiofn 103(e) substituted by section 5(a) of Act No. 3 of 1982]

(f) separate agreements may be made for each single voyage, or an agreement (in this Act referred to as a running agreement) may be made to extend over two or more voyages;
(g) a running agreement shall not be for a longer period than one year, but if the period for which the agreement was entered into expires while the ship is not in a port in the Republic, the agreement shall continue in force until the ship is again in a port in the Republic: Provided that the agreement shall not continue for more than three months after the expiration of the period for which it was entered into unless the seafarers concerned agree thereto in writing;

[Section 103(g) substituted by section 29(k) of Act No. 12 of 2015]

(h) on every return to a port in the Republic before the final termination of a running agreement, the master shall endorse on the agreement particulars of the engagement or discharge of any seafarer, or that no engagement or discharges have been made or are intended to be made before the ship leaves port, and also that any engagements or discharges made have been according to law.

[Section 103(h) substituted by section 29(i) of Act No. 12 of 2015]