In case the service of a seaman terminates before the end of the engagement by reason of the loss or wreck of the vessel, the sea man is entitled to wages only up to the termination of his service.
However, under such circumstances he is entitled to transportation to the port of shipment as a destitute seaman. If a seaman has signed an agreement and he is discharged before the commence ment of the voyage or before one month's wages are earned without fault on his part or without his consent, he is entitled only to a sum equal in amount to one month's wages as compensation and may recover that compensation as if it were wages earned.
Wages of seamen engaged in coastal voyages must be paid within two days after the termination of the agreement or at the time such seaman is discharged, whichever happens first. In the case of vessels making foreign voyages or voyages between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States, wages must be paid within 24 hours after the cargo has been discharged or within four days after the seaman has been discharged, whichever hap pens first. The refusal or neglect on the part of the master to make such payment without sufficient cause makes the master and owner liable to the seaman for a sum equal to two days' pay for each and every day for which payment is delayed beyond the period due, which sum is recoverable as wages. A seaman is entitled to receive on demand from the master one-half of the balance of the wages earned and remaining unpaid at the time when such demand is made at any port where such vessel, after the voyage has been commenced, shall load or deliver cargo before the voyage is ended. A demand may not be made oftener than once in five days or more than once in the same harbour on the same entry. This section is applicable alike to seamen on American vessels and seamen on foreign vessels while the foreign vessels are in a U.S. port.
For the recovery of his wages, a seaman may sue the owner in personam at common law or in admiralty, and may also sue the vessel in rem in admiralty. For this purpose he has a lien which takes precedence over nearly every other lien against the vessel. In case the wages are not paid within ten days after they are due or any dispute arises between the master or seaman touching wages, the seaman may obtain the intervention of a district judge of the judicial district where the vessel is present, who may summon the master of the vessel to appear before him and show cause why the vessel should not be attached. It is a misdemeanour to pay a seaman wages in advance of the time when he has actually earned them or to pay such wages or make any evidence of indebtedness to any other person or to pay any person for the shipment of the seaman when the payment is deducted or to be deducted from a seaman's wages. In the case of American vessels, such advances in wages or allotment of wages whether made within or without the United States are illegal. In the case of foreign vessels they are illegal only when made in the United States. Moreover, the seaman may recover his wages in full without any deductions on account of advances. However, the seaman may stipulate in the "articles" for the allotment of a portion of his wages to his dependent relatives provided the allotment has the approval of the shipping commissioner. The wages of a seaman are not subject to attach ment.