Laws Relating to Seamen

However, in the case of all vessels not classified as above, the owner, master or consignee may perform the duties of a ship ping commissioner. Moreover, none of the above-mentioned pro visions with respect to the engagement of a crew is applicable to the coastwise trade (except the coastwise trade between the Atlantic and Pacific coast) or in the lakegoing trade touching at foreign ports or otherwise, or in the trade between the United States and the British North American possessions, or in any case where the seamen by custom or agreement are entitled to participate in the profits or result of a cruise or voyage.

However, shipping commissioners may at the request of the master or owner engage or discharge crews of vessels engaged in the coastwise trade or the trade between the United States and the Dominion of Canada, Newfoundland, the West Indies or the Republic of Mexico, and, when so doing, are required to observe many of the requirements of the statutes applicable to those vessels which must compulsorily engage seamen with the super vision of a shipping commissioner. Furthermore, vessels of a burden of 5o tons or upward, bound from a port in one State to a port in any other than an adjoining State, except vessels of a burden of 75 tons or upward, bound from a port on the Atlantic coast to ports on the Pacific coast or vice versa, are required in the engagement of seamen to make an agreement in writing declaring the voyage or term of time for which the seamen shall be shipped.

Where the contents of the written agreement are regulated by statute, it is required to show the nature and duration of the intended voyage, the port of termination, the number and descrip tion of the crew, the time at which each seaman is to be on board, the capacity in which each seaman is to serve, the wages, a scale of provisions which are to be furnished to each seaman, the re quirements as to conduct, the regulations as to fines or other lawful punishments, and stipulations as to allotment of wages.

Seamen may also be engaged in ports out of the United States in which there is a consular officer, provided the sanction of the consular officer be obtained and the seamen be engaged in his presence. In such cases the rules governing the employment of such seamen are the same as those governing the engagement of seamen in the United States before a shipping commissioner.

Discharge of Seamen.

The discharge of seamen in the United States from vessels engaged in foreign voyages, or, being of the burden of 75 tons or upward and engaged in voyages be tween the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States, must take place before a shipping commissioner, except where some competent court otherwise directs. In foreign ports, either the master or the seaman may apply to the consul for a discharge of the seaman, and if it appears to the consul that the shipping agreement is completed or that the seaman is entitled to his dis charge under an Act of Congress or the principles of the maritime law, the consul must discharge the seaman and require at the same time the payment of wages then due. If the discharge is not for neglect of duty, incompetency or injury incurred on the vessel, the master must provide the seaman with employment on another vessel agreed to by the seaman or provide him with one month's extra wages. If the discharge is by voluntary consent, the seaman is entitled only to wages up to the time of his dis charge. If the discharge is on account of injury or illness the expenses of the seaman's maintenance and transportation to the United States are paid from the fund for the maintenance and transportation of destitute American seamen. If the discharge takes place by reason of the vessel being sold in a foreign country, the master must provide the seaman with adequate employment on board some other vessel bound to the port of original shipment or to some other port agreed upon or must provide him with pas sage home or leave with the consul a sum of money sufficient to pay for the maintenance or passage home of the seaman.

Whenever the discharge of a seaman in a foreign country takes place by reason of the consul's finding that the voyage is con tinued contrary to the original agreement or that the vessel is badly provisioned and unseaworthy or that the officers have cruelly treated the seaman, the master is required to pay the seaman one month's extra wages and to provide him with employ ment on board some other vessel or with passage either to the port of original shipment or the most convenient port of entry in the United States or a port agreed to by the seaman.