Merchant Shipping Act, 1951 (Act No. 57 of 1951)Chapter IV : Engagement, Discharge, Repatriation, Payment, Discipline and General Treatment of Seafarers and Cadets117. Discharge and leaving of seafarers behind |
[Section 117 heading substituted by section 29(k) of Act No. 12 of 2015]
| (1) | The master of a South African ship shall not— |
| (a) | discharge a seafarer before the expiration of the period for which he was engaged, unless the seafarer consents to his discharge; nor |
| (b) | except in circumstances beyond his control, leave a seafarer behind, |
without the authority of the proper officer, who shall certify on the agreement with the crew that he or she has granted such authority, and also the reason for the seafarer’s being discharged or being left behind.
[Section 117(1) substituted by section 29(d) & (i) of Act No. 12 of 2015]
| (2) | The proper officer to whom application is made for authority in terms of subsection (1) shall investigate the grounds on which the seafarer is to be discharged or the seafarer left behind and may in his discretion grant or refuse to grant such authority: Provided that he shall not refuse to grant his authority if he is satisfied that the seafarer has without reasonable cause— |
[Section 117(2) substituted by section 29(d) & (i) of Act No. 12 of 2015]
| (a) | failed or refused to join his ship or to proceed to sea therein; or |
| (b) | been absent from his ship without leave, either at the commencement or during the progress of a voyage for a period of more than forty-eight hours. |
| (3) | The proper officer shall keep a record in the prescribed form of all seafarers discharged or left behind in the Republic with his authority; and whenever any charge is made against a seafarer under section one hundred and seventy-five or one hundred and seventy-six the fact that no such authority is so recorded shall be prima facie evidence that it was not granted. |
[Section 117(3) substituted by section 29(d) & (f) of Act No. 12 of 2015]