194. (1) The master's authority on the ship shall be absolute, and no seaman or other person on board shall, at any time, challenge or otherwise question or undermine such authority. (2) The master shall have the power and authority to give any command or order to any seaman or other person on board which he considers to be necessary for the maintenance of discipline among seamen and on board generally or for any other purpose, and every such command or order shall be obeyed and carried out by the person to whom it is given. (3) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any other law for the time being in force, the master may arrest, detain or confine in a reasonable manner and for a reasonable time any person on board his ship if he has reasonable cause to believe that such arrest, detention or confinement is necessary for the preservation of order and discipline, for the navigation or safety of the vessel, or for safety of the person or property on board. (4) The master while in command of a Bangladesh ship shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860). (5) In a case where the master has died or left the vessel or is incapacitated, the mate next in seniority to the master shall function as master until a master is duly appointed, and all the provisions of this section shall apply to such mate as they apply to the master. (6) The master of any Bangladesh ship who, during the progress of voyage, is removed or for any reason quits the ship and is succeeded in the command by some other person, shall deliver to his successor all documents relating to the navigation of the ship, including the information required to be carried under section 302 and the crew thereof which are in his custody; and such successor shall, immediately on assuming the command of the ship, enter in the official log book a list of the document so delivered to him. (7) The master of a ship who fails to deliver the documents as required by sub-section (6) shall be punishable with fine which may extend to ten thousand Taka.

195. If a master, seaman or apprentice belonging to a Bangladesh ship, by wilful breach of duty or by neglect of duty or by reason of drunkenness, (a) does any act tending to the immediate loss, destruction or serious damage to the ship or tending immediately to endanger the life or limb of a person belonging to or on board the ship; or (b) refuses or omits to do any lawful act proper and requisite to be done by him for preserving the ship from immediate loss, destruction or serious damage or for preserving any person belonging to or on board the ship from immediate danger to life or limb; he shall, for each offence, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may extend to ten thousand Taka, or with both.

196. If a seaman lawfully engaged, or an apprentice, commits any of the following offences, he shall notwithstanding anything in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898), be liable to be tried in a summary manner and to be punished as follows, namely: (a) if he deserts from his ship, he shall be guilty of the offence of desertion, and shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to ¹[five years] and with fine, which may extend to ²[ten lakh taka] and shall also be liable to forfeit all or any part of the effects he leaves on board and of the wages which he has then earned and also, if the desertion takes place at any place not in Bangladesh, to forfeit all or any part of the wages which he may earn in any other ship in which he may be employed until his next return to Bangladesh, and to satisfy any excess of wages paid by the master or owner of the ship which he abandons to any substitute engaged in his place at a higher rate of wages than the rate stipulated to be repaid to him and he shall also be liable to refund the actual cost of his repatriation and the said amount shall be realised as a public demand;(b) if he neglects or refuses without reasonable cause to join his ship or proceed to sea in his ship or is absent without leave at any time within twenty four hours of the ship's sailing from a port either at the commencement or during the progress of a voyage, or is absent at any time without leave and without sufficient reason, from his ship or from his duty, he shall, if the offence does not amount to desertion or is not treated as such by the master, be guilty of the offence of absence without leave, and shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to ³[three years] and with fine, which may extend to ⁴[fifty thousand taka] and shall also be liable to forfeit out of his wages a sum not exceeding one month's pay and, in addition, for every twenty four hours of absence, either a sum not exceeding seven day's pay, or any expenses properly incurred in hiring a substitute.

197. If a Bangladeshi seaman or apprentice lawfully engaged on a foreign ship deserts or goes absent without leave from the ship in any port, he shall be deemed to have committed the same offence as laid down in section 196 and shall, on summary conviction, be liable to the same punishment in the same manner as laid down in that section.

⁵[197A. (1) Whenever it becomes necessary, the Shipping Master shall-(a) take a bond the binding the guarantors of the seamen to pay 5 (five) lakh taka compensation, in the case of desertion by the seaman and it shall be payable to the concerned person or authority who incurred loss due to the desertion;(b) cancel the seamen's book of a deserted seaman;(c) enforce a ban on deserted seaman from entering into seafaring profession;(d) enforce a ban on the deserted seaman from entering into any Government service in Bangladesh. (2) The state may forfeit the properties of a deserted seaman excluding the inherited properties.]

198. (1) If a seaman or apprentice is guilty of the offence of desertion or of absence without leave or otherwise absents himself from his ship without leave, the master or any mate or the owner may convey him on board his ship, and may, for that purpose, use such force including police force as may be necessary; and every police officer shall render all such assistance as may be required of him. (2) If the seaman or apprentice so requires, he shall first be taken before a Court competent to take cognizance of the case to be dealt with according to law. (3) If it appears to the Court before whom the case is brought that the seaman or apprentice has been conveyed on board or taken before the Court on improper or insufficient ground, the Court may punish the master, mate or owner, as the case may be, with a fine which may extend to ten thousand Taka; and such punishment shall be a bar to any action for false imprisonment against the master, mate or owner. (4) If a seaman or apprentice is imprisoned for having been guilty of the offence of desertion or of absence without leave, or for having committed any other breach of discipline, and his services are required on board his ship during his imprisonment but before the expiration of the period of his engagement, any Magistrate may, on the application of the master or of the owner or his agent, notwithstanding that the period of his imprisonment has not terminated, cause the seaman or apprentice to be conveyed on board his ship for the purpose of proceeding on the voyage, or to be delivered to the master or any mate of the ship, or to the owner or his agent, to be by them so conveyed.

199. Where a seaman or apprentice is brought before a Court on the ground of the offence of desertion or of absence without leave or of otherwise absenting himself without leave and the master, or the owner or his agent so requests, the Court may, instead of committing the seaman or apprentice to prison, cause him to be conveyed on board his ship for the purpose of proceeding on the voyage, or to be delivered to the master or any mate of the ship or the owner or his agent, to be by them so conveyed and may in such case order any costs and expenses properly incurred by or on behalf of the master or owner by reason of the conveyance to be paid by the offender and, if necessary, to be deducted from any wages which he has then earned or may, by virtue of his then existing engagement, afterward earn.

200. If a seaman or an apprentice commits any of the following offences, in this Ordinance referred to as offences against discipline, he shall, notwithstanding anything in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (Act V of 1898), be liable to be tried in a summary way and to be punished as follows, namely:- (i) if he quits the ship without leave after her arrival at her port of delivery and before she is placed in security, he shall be liable to forfeit out of his wages a sum not exceeding one month's pay; (ii) if he is guilty of wilful disobedience to any lawful command, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two months, and shall also be liable to forfeit out of his wages a sum not exceeding seven day's pay; (iii) if he is guilty of continued wilful disobedience to lawful commands or continued wilful neglect of duty, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, and shall also be liable for every twenty four hours' continuance of such disobedience or neglect for a sum not exceeding twenty one days' pay or any expenses which may have been properly incurred in hiring a substitute; (iv) if he assaults the master or any mate or engineer of the ship, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to five thousand Taka or with both; (v) if he combines with any of the crew to disobey lawful commands or to neglect duty or to impede the navigation of the ship or the progress of the voyage, he shall 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; (vi) if he wilfully damages his ship or commits criminal misappropriation or breach of trust in respect of, or wilfully damages, any of her stores or cargo, he shall he 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, and shall also be liable to forfeit out of his wages a sum equal to the loss thereby sustained; (vii) if he is convicted of any act of smuggling whereby loss or damage is occasioned to the master or owner of the ship, he shall be liable to pay that master or owner a sum sufficient to reimburse the loss or damage, and the whole or a proportionate part of his wages may be retained in satisfaction on account of that liability without prejudice to any other remedy.

201. (1) Whenever any seaman not shipped in Bangladesh deserts or otherwise absents himself in Bangladesh without leave from a Bangladesh ship ⁶[or a foreign ship] in which he is engaged to serve, the master of the ship shall, within forty-eight hours of discovering such desertion or absence, report the same to the Shipping Master or to such other Officer as the Government may appoint in this behalf, unless in the meantime the deserter or absentee returns. (2) Any master ⁷[on Bangladeshi ships and Bangladeshi masters on foreign ships] who wilfully neglects to comply with the provisions of sub section (1) shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month, or with fine which may extend to ⁸[fifty thousand] Taka, or with both.

202. (1) In every case of desertion from a Bangladesh ship whilst she is at any place outside Bangladesh, the master shall make in the official log book entry of the desertion which shall be signed by him and also by a mate and one of the crew and shall produce the entry ⁹[to the shipping master who shall thereupon make and certify a copy of the entry prior to departure from the port]. ¹⁰[(2) The copy of the official log book certified by the master shall constitute as prima facie evidence of desertion in any legal proceeding.] (3) Such copy, if purporting to be so made and certified as aforesaid, shall in any legal proceeding relating to such desertion, be admissible in evidence.

203. (1) Whenever a question arises whether the wage or effects of any seaman or apprentice are forfeited for desertion from a ship, it shall be sufficient for the person insisting on the forfeiture to show that the seaman or apprentice was duly engaged in or belonged to the ship, and either that he left the ship before the completion of the voyage or engagement or, if the voyage was to terminate in Bangladesh and the ship has not returned, that he is absent from her and that an entry of his desertion has been duly made in the official log-book. (2) The desertion shall thereupon, so far as relates to any forfeiture of wages under this Chapter, be deemed to be proved unless the seaman or apprentice can produce a proper certificate of discharge or can otherwise show to the satisfaction of the Court that he had sufficient reasons for leaving his ship.

204. (1) Where any wages or effects are forfeited under this Ordinance for desertion from a ship, they shall be applied towards reimbursing the expenses caused by the desertion to the master or the owner of the ship and, subject to that reimbursement, shall be paid into the public treasury and credited to the account of the Government. (2) For the purposes of such reimbursement, the master or the owner or his agent may, if the wages are earned subsequent to the desertion, recover them in the same manner as the deserter could have recovered them if not forfeited; and the Court in any legal proceeding relating to such wages may order them to be paid accordingly.

205. Any question concerning the forfeiture of, or deductions from, the wages of a seaman or apprentice may be determined in any proceeding lawfully instituted with respect to those wages notwithstanding that the offence in respect of which the question arises, though by this Ordinance made punishable by imprisonment as well as forfeiture, has not been made the subject of any criminal proceeding.

206. (1) Every fine imposed on a seaman for any act of misconduct for which his agreement imposes a fine shall be deducted and paid over as follows, namely: (a) if the offender is discharged at any port or place in Bangladesh and the offence and such entries in respect thereof as aforesaid are proved to the satisfaction of the Shipping Master before whom the offender is discharged, the master or owner shall deduct such fine from the wages of the offender and pay the same over to such Shipping Master; and(b) if the seaman is discharged at any port or place outside Bangladesh and the offence and such entries as aforesaid are proved to the satisfaction of the Bangladesh Consular Officer by whose sanction he is so discharged, the fine shall thereupon be deducted as aforesaid, and an entry of such deduction shall then be made in the official log book and signed by such officer and on the return of the ship to Bangladesh the master or owner shall pay over such fine to the Shipping Master before whom the crew is discharged. (2) If any master or owner neglects or refuses so to pay over the fine, he shall, for each offence, be punishable with fine which may extend to six times the amount not so paid over by him.

207. If a person by any means whatever persuades or attempts to persuade a seaman or apprentice to neglect or refuse to join or proceed to sea in or desert from his ship, or otherwise to absent himself from his duty, he shall, for each offence, be punishable with fine which may extend to five thousand Taka.

208. If a person wilfully harbours or secrets a seaman or apprentice who has wilfully neglected or refused to join or has deserted from his ship, knowing or having reason to believe the seaman or apprentice to have so done, he shall, for each offence, be punishable with fine which may extend to five thousand Taka.

209. (1) If a person secrets himself and goes to sea in a ship without the consent of the master, or of the person in charge of the ship, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, and also be liable to fine, which may extend to five thousand Taka. (2) Every person who goes to sea in a ship without such consent as aforesaid and every sea faring person whom the master of a ship is under this Ordinance or any other law compelled to take on board and convey, shall, so long as he remains in the ship, be subject to the same laws and regulations for preserving discipline and to the same fines and punishments for offences constituting or tending to a breach of discipline as if he were a member of, and had signed the agreement as, the crew. (3) The master of any Bangladesh ship arriving at any port or place in or outside Bangladesh and the master of any ship other than a Bangladesh ship arriving at any port or place in Bangladesh shall, if any person has gone to sea on that ship without the consent referred to in sub section (1), report the fact in writing to the Shipping Master or the Bangladesh Consular Officer as soon as may be after the arrival of the Ship.

210. (1) If any seaman or apprentice who is not shipped in Bangladesh is imprisoned on complain made by or on behalf of the master or owner of the ship or for any offence for which he has been sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month then- (a) while such imprisonment lasts, no person shall, without the previous sanction in writing of the Government or of such officer as it may specify in this behalf, engage any citizen of Bangladesh to serve as substitute for such seaman on board such ship; and (b) the Government or such officer as it may specify in this behalf may tender such seaman or apprentice to the master or owner of the ship in which he is engaged to serve, and may, if such master or owner, without assigning reasons satisfactory to the Government or to such officer as aforesaid, refuses to receive on board the seaman or apprentice so tendered, require the master or owner to deposit in the local Shipping Office- (i) the wages due to such seaman or apprentice and his money and effects; and (ii) such sum as may, in the opinion of the Government or such officer as aforesaid, be sufficient to defray the cost of the passage of such seaman or apprentice to the port at which he was shipped according to the scale of costs usual in the case of distressed seamen. (2) If any person wilfully disobeys the prohibition contained in clause (a) of sub section (1), he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to five thousand Taka, or with both. (3) If any master or owner refuses or neglects to deposit any wages, money, effects or sum when so required under clause (b) of sub section (1), he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five thousand Taka.

211. If any seaman or apprentice who is not shipped in Bangladesh is imprisoned for any offence for which he has been sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month, and his services are required on board his ship during his imprisonment but before the expiration of the period of his engagement, any Magistrate may, on the application of the master or owner or his agent, notwithstanding that the period of his imprisonment has not terminated, cause the seaman or apprentice to be conveyed on board the ship for the purpose of proceeding on the voyage, or to be delivered to the master or any mate of the ship, or to the owner or his agent to be by them so conveyed.

212. (1) Where it appears to the Government that due facilities are or will be given by the Government of any country outside Bangladesh for recovering and apprehending seamen or apprentices who desert from Bangladesh ships in that country, the Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, stating that such facilities are or will be given, declare that this section shall apply to seamen belonging to ships of such country, subject to such limitations or conditions as may be specified in the notification. (2) Where this section applies to seamen or apprentices belonging to ships of any country and a seaman or apprentice deserts from any such ship, when within Bangladesh, any Court that would have had cognizance of the matter if the seaman or apprentice had deserted from a Bangladesh ship shall, on the application of a Consular Officer of that country, aid in apprehending the deserter and for that purpose may, on information given on oath, issue a warrant for his apprehension and on proof of the desertion order him to be conveyed on board his ship or delivered to the master or mate of his ship or to the owner of the ship or his agent to be so conveyed and any such warrant or order may be executed accordingly.

213. Without prejudice to any other power to make rules contained in this Chapter, the Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Chapter.