Merchant Shipping Act, 1906

Application by British consular officer of payments on account of wages of seamen left behind.

39. Where the amount of wages due to a seaman left behind on the ground of his unfitness or inability to proceed to sea is so paid to a British consular officer, that officer shall deal with the sum so paid to him in the following manner, namely:—

(1) If the seaman subsequently obtains employment at or quits the port at which the payment has been made, he shall deduct out of the sum any expenses incurred by him in respect of the maintenance of the seaman under the Merchant Shipping Acts, except such as the owner or master is by the Merchant Shipping Acts required to defray, and shall pay the remainder to the seaman, and deliver to him an account of the sums so received and expended on his behalf;

(2) If the seaman dies before his ship quits the port, he shall deal with the sum as part of the property of a deceased seaman; and

(3) If the seaman is sent to a proper return port at the public expense under the Merchant Shipping Acts, he shall account for the sum to the Board of Trade; and the sum, after deducting any expenses duly incurred in respect of the seaman, except such expenses as the master or owner of the ship is required by the Merchant Shipping Acts to pay, shall be dealt with as wages of the seaman.