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Merchant Shipping Act, 1951 (Act No. 57 of 1951)

Chapter IX : Offences, Penal Provisions and Legal Procedure

323. Deduction from wages and payment to proper officers etc of fines

 

(1) Every fine imposed on a seafarer belonging to a South African ship for any act of misconduct for which his agreement prescribes a fine in accordance with the regulations shall be deducted as follows:
(a) if the seafarer is discharged in the Republic, and the act of misconduct and the entry in the log-book required by this Act in respect thereof are proved to the satisfaction of the proper officer before whom the discharge takes place, the master or owner shall deduct the fine from the wages of the seafarer concerned;
(b) if the seafarer is discharged outside the Republic, and the act of misconduct and the entry as aforesaid are proved to the satisfaction of the proper officer by whose sanction he is discharged, the master or owner shall deduct the fine as aforesaid,

and an entry shall be made in the official log-book of the ship and signed by the proper officer referred to, and the master or owner shall pay over the amount of the fine deducted to that proper officer.

[Section 323(1) substituted by section 29(i) of Act No. 12 of 2015]

 

(2) A proper officer shall remit any amounts received by him under this section to the Authority and render such accounts in respect thereof, as the Authority requires.

 

(3) The Authority, if it is satisfied that any such act of misconduct was committed and that the deduction of a fine was properly made, shall cause the amount of the fine to be paid into the Maritime Fund established by section 38 of the South African Maritime Safety Authority Act 5 of 1998; and if the Authority is not so satisfied, it shall cause the amount deducted to be refunded to the seafarer.

[Section 323(3) substituted by section 29(i) of Act No. 12 of 2015]

 

(4) If a master or owner fails without reasonable cause to pay over to the proper officer any fine as required by this section, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding six times the amount of the unpaid fine.

 

(5) An act of misconduct for which a fine has been imposed and deducted from the wages of the seafarer, shall not be otherwise punished under this Act.

[Section 323(5) substituted by section 29(i) of Act No. 12 of 2015]