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The Bangladesh Merchant Shipping Ordinance, 1983

( Ordinance NO. XXVI OF 1983 )

Chapter 11

DISCHARGE OF SEAMEN

Discharge of seamen to be before Shipping Master
130. (1) When a seaman serving in a foreign going ship or home trade ship is, on the termination of his engagement, discharged in Bangladesh, he shall, whether the agreement with the crew be an agreement for the voyage or a running agreement, be discharged in the manner provided by this Ordinance in the presence of a Shipping Master.
 
 
 
 
(2) The provisions of sub section (1) shall apply in relation to the discharge of seamen serving in any Bangladesh coasting ship for which an agreement is required under this Ordinance as they apply in relation to the discharge of seamen serving in foreign going ship or home trade ship:
 
 
 
 
Provided that this sub section shall not apply where a seaman is discharged from a ship under an agreement made in accordance with section 117 for service in two or more ships for the purpose of being engaged in another ship to which the agreement related.
 
 
(3) If the master or owner of a Bangladesh coasting ship for which an agreement with the crew is not required under this Ordinance so desires, the seamen of that ship may be discharged in the same manner as seamen discharged from a foreign going ship or home trade ship.
 
 
 
 
(4) If any master, owner or owners' agent acts in contravention of any of the provisions of this section, he shall, for each offence, be punishable with fine which may extend to five thousand Taka.
Entries to be made in Continuous Discharge Certificate and return of Certificates of Competency to officers on discharge
131. (1) If a seaman is discharged from a ship in Bangladesh, either on his discharge or on payment of his wages, the master shall enter in the Continuous Discharge Certificate of the seaman, under his signature, particulars specifying the period of the seaman's service and the date and place of his discharge.
 
 
 
 
(2) The master shall, upon the discharge of every Certificated Officer whose Certificate of Competency has been delivered to and retained by him, return the Certificate to the officer.
 
 
 
 
(3) If a master acts in contravention of sub section (1), or fails, without reasonable cause, to return the Certificate of Competency to the officer concerned as required by sub section (2), he shall, for each offence, be punishable with fine which may, in the former case, extend to one thousand Taka and in the latter to five hundred Taka.
Report to Shipping Master as to work of seamen, etc.
132. (1) When a seaman is discharged from a ship in Bangladesh, the master shall furnish to the Shipping Master before whom the discharge is made a report in the prescribed form stating -
 
 
 
 
(a) the quality of the work of the seaman,
 
 
 
 
(b) his conduct and character on board,
 
 
 
 
(c) whether the seaman has fulfilled his obligation under the agreement with the crew,
 
 
 
 
(d) that he declines to express an opinion on all or any of these particulars,
 
 
and the master shall, if the seaman so desires, endorse on his Continuous Discharge Certificate a copy of such report which shall be verified by the Shipping Master.
 
 
 
 
(2) If the master states that he declines to express an opinion on all or any of the particulars mentioned in sub section (1), he shall enter in the official log book in the presence of a Certificated Officer, his reasons for so declining.
 
 
 
 
(3) If the master fails to comply with the provisions of this section, he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five thousand Taka.
Discharge of seamen abroad
133. (1) When the master of a Bangladesh ship discharges a seaman at any port or place outside Bangladesh, except at a port or place in a country in which the seaman was engaged, the provisions of this Ordinance respecting the discharge of seamen in Bangladesh shall apply subject to the following modifications, that is to say-
 
 
 
 
(a) at a port or place having a Bangladesh Consular Officer,-
 
 
 
 
(i) the master shall not discharge a seaman except with the previous sanction of the Bangladesh Consular Officer endorsed on the agreement with the crew, nor, unless the law in force at such port or place prohibits it, otherwise than in the presence of that officer;
 
 
 
 
(ii) the Bangladesh Consular Officer to whom an application is made for sanction under sub clause (i) shall examine the grounds on which the seaman is proposed to be discharged, and may grant or refuse sanction as he thinks just, but shall not unreasonably refuse such sanction; and
 
 
 
 
(iii) if a copy of the report referred to in sub section (1) of section 132 is endorsed on the seaman's Continuous Discharge Certificate, the Bangladesh Consular Officer shall verify the same; and
 
 
 
 
(b) at a port or place where there is no Bangladesh Consular Officer, the master may himself, if not contrary to any law in force in such port or place, discharge a seaman
 
 
and, shall, if the seaman so desires, endorse on his Continuous Discharge Certificate the report referred to in sub section (1) of section 132.
 
 
 
 
(2) As soon as may be after a seaman has been discharged under sub section (1), the master shall sign and send to the Shipping Master before whom the crew was engaged a full and accurate statement of the seaman so discharged in the form sanctioned by the Government.
 
 
 
 
(3) If a master acts in contravention of this section, he shall, for each offence, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, which may extend to ten thousand Taka or with both.
Discharge of seamen and apprentices on charge of owner ship
134. (1) Where a Bangladesh ship is transferred or disposed of at any port or place outside Bangladesh, every seaman and apprentice belonging to that ship shall be discharged at that port or place, unless the seaman or apprentice consents in writing in the presence of the Bangladesh Consular Officer to complete the voyage of the ship, if continued.
 
 
 
 
(2) Where a seaman or apprentice is so discharged, the provisions of this Ordinance as to Continuous Discharge Certificate and the repatriation of the seaman or apprentice to a proper return port shall apply as if the service of the seaman or apprentice had terminated otherwise than by the consent of the seaman to be discharged during the currency of the agreement.
Transmission of documents on transfer of seaman from one ship to another
135. (1) Where a seaman is transferred under his agreement from one ship to another, the master of the ship from which the seaman is transferred shall, as soon as practicable, transmit to the master of the other ship all documents in his possession relating to the seaman.
 
 
 
 
(2) If the master fails without reasonable cause to comply with sub section (1), he shall, for each offence, be punishable with fine which may extend to five thousand Taka.
Repatriation of seaman and apprentice on termination of service abroad
136. (1) When the service of a seaman or apprentice terminates, without the consent of the seaman or apprentice, at a port or place outside Bangladesh, and before the expiration of the period for which the seaman was engaged or the apprentice was bound, the master or owner of the ship shall, in addition to any
 
 
other relative obligation imposed on either of them by this Ordinance, make adequate provision for the maintenance of the seaman or apprentice according to his rank or rating, and for the return of that seaman or apprentice to a proper return port.
 
 
 
 
(2) If the master or owner fails without reasonable cause, to comply with sub section (1), the expenses of maintenance and of the journey to the proper return port shall, if defrayed by the seaman or apprentice, be recoverable as wages due to him and if defrayed by a Bangladesh Consular Officer, be regarded as expenses falling within the provisions of sub section (2) of section 175:
 
 
 
 
Provided that inability to provide the said expenses shall not, for the purposes of this sub section, be regarded as reasonable cause.
Leaving behind in Bangladesh of seaman or apprentice shipped abroad
137. (1) The master of a ship shall not discharge at any port or place in Bangladesh a seaman or apprentice shipped outside Bangladesh, unless he previously obtains sanction in writing of a Shipping Master, but such sanction shall not be refused when the seaman or apprentice is discharged on the expiration of the period for which the seaman was engaged or the apprentice was bound.
 
 
 
 
(2) Subject to the provisions of sub section (1), the sanction under that sub-section may be given or refused at the discretion of the Shipping Master, but whenever it is refused, the reasons for so refusing it shall be recorded by him.
Leaving behind seaman or apprentice by masters of Bangladesh ships abroad

138. (1) The master of a Bangladesh ship shall not leave a seaman or apprentice behind at any port or place outside Bangladesh, except where the seaman or apprentice is discharged in accordance with this Ordinance unless he previously obtains from the Bangladesh Consular Officer a certificate endorsed on the agreement with the crew and stating the cause of the seaman or a apprentice being left behind.

 
 
 
 

(2) The Bangladesh Consular Officer to whom an application is made for a certificate under sub section (1) shall examine the grounds on which the seaman or apprentice is to be left behind, and may grant or refuse the certificate as he thinks just, but shall not unreasonably refuse such certificate.

 
 
 
 

(3) As soon as may be after a seaman or apprentice is left behind under sub-section (1),the master shall sign and send to the Shipping Master before whom the crew was engaged a full and accurate statement of the seaman or apprentice so left behind in the form sanctioned by the Government.

 
 
 
 

(4) If a master acts in contravention of any of the provisions of this section, he shall, for each offence, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to ten thousand Taka, or with both.

Wages and other property of seaman or apprentice left behind by Bangladesh ships abroad
139. (1) If a seaman or apprentice belonging to a Bangladesh ship is left behind at any port or place outside Bangladesh, the master of the ship shall enter in the official log book a statement of the amount due to the seaman or apprentice in respect of wages at the time when he was left behind and of all property left on board by him, and shall take such property into his charge.
 
 
 
 
(2) Within forty eight hours after the arrival of the ship at the port in Bangladesh at which the voyage terminates, the master shall deliver to the Shipping Master-
 
 
 
 
(a) a statement of the amount due to the seaman or apprentice in respect of wages, and of all property left on board by him, and
 
 
 
 
(b) a statement, with full particulars, of any expenses that may have been caused to the master or owner of the ship by the absence of the seaman or apprentice, where the absence is an offence punishable under section 196,
 
 
 
 
and if required by the Shipping Master to do so, shall furnish such vouchers as are reasonably required to verify the statements.
 
 
 
 
(3) The master shall, at the time when he delivers the statements referred to in sub section (2) to the Shipping Master, also deliver to him the amount due to the seaman or apprentice in respect of wages and the property that was left on board by him and the Shipping Master shall give to the master a receipt therefore in the prescribed form.
 
 
(4) The master shall be entitled to be reimbursed out of the wages or property referred to in clause (a) of sub section (2) such expenses shown in the statement referred to in clause (b) of that sub section as appear to the Shipping Master to be property chargeable.
Power to make rules
140. The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Chapter.
 
 

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