Collapse to view only § 10303. Provisions
- § 10301. Application
- § 10302. Shipping articles agreements
- § 10303. Provisions
- § 10304. Form of agreement
- § 10305. Manner of signing agreement
- § 10306. Exhibiting merchant mariners’ documents
- § 10307. Posting agreements
- § 10308. Foreign engagements
- § 10309. Engaging seamen to replace those lost by desertion or casualty
- § 10310. Discharge
- § 10311. Certificates of discharge
- § 10312. Settlements on discharge
- § 10313. Wages
- § 10314. Advances
- § 10315. Allotments
- § 10316. Trusts
- § 10317. Loss of lien and right to wages
- § 10318. Wages on discharge in foreign ports
- § 10319. Costs of a criminal conviction
- § 10320. Records of seamen
- § 10321. General penalty
The form of the agreement required by section 10302 of this title shall be in substance as follows:
United States of America
(Date and place of first signature of agreement):
It is agreed between the master and seamen of the , of which is at present master, or whoever shall go for master, now bound from the port of to (here the voyage is to be described, and the places named at which the vessel is to touch, or if that cannot be done, the general nature and probable length of the voyage is to be stated).
The seamen agree to conduct themselves in an orderly, faithful, honest, and sober manner, and to be at all times diligent in their respective duties, and to be obedient to the lawful commands of the master, or of an individual who lawfully succeeds the master, and of their superior officers in everything related to the vessel, and the stores and cargo of the vessel, whether on board, in boats, or on shore. In consideration of this service by the seamen to be performed, the master agrees to pay the crew, as wages, the amounts beside their names respectively expressed, and to supply them with provisions according to the annexed scale.
It is agreed that any embezzlement, or willful or negligent destruction of any part of the vessel’s cargo or stores, shall be made good to the owner out of the wages of the person guilty of the embezzlement or destruction.
If an individual holds himself or herself out as qualified for a duty which the individual proves incompetent to perform, the individual’s wages shall be reduced in proportion to the incompetency.
It also is agreed that if a seaman considers himself or herself to be aggrieved by any breach of this agreement or otherwise, the seaman shall present the complaint to the master or officer in charge of the vessel, in a quiet and orderly manner, who shall take steps that the case requires.
It also is agreed that (here any other stipulations may be inserted to which the parties agree, and that are not contrary to law).
In witness whereof, the parties have subscribed their names to this agreement, on the dates beside their respective signatures.
Signed by , master, on the day of , nineteen hundred and .
Signature of seaman | Time of service: | Birthplace | Months | Age | Days | Height: | Hospital money | Feet | Whole wages | Inches | Wages due | Description: | Place and time of entry | Complexion | Time at which seaman is to | Hair | be on board | Wages each month | In what capacity | Wages each voyage | Allotment payable to | Advance wages | Conduct qualifications | Amount of monthly | allotment |
Note.—In the place for signature and descriptions of individuals engaged after the first departure of the vessel, the entries are to be made as above, except that the signature of the consul or vice consul, customs officer, or witness before whom the individual is engaged, is to be entered.
Before signing the agreement required by section 10302 of this title, each individual required by section 8701 of this title to have a merchant mariner’s document shall exhibit to the master or individual in charge a document issued to the individual, appropriately endorsed for the capacity in which the individual is to serve.
At the beginning of a voyage, the master shall have a legible copy of the agreement required by section 10302 of this title, omitting signatures, exhibited in a part of the vessel accessible to the crew.
When a seaman is engaged outside the United States, the agreement required by section 10302 of this title shall be signed in the presence of a consular officer. If a consular officer is not available at the port of engagement, the seaman may be engaged, and the agreement shall be signed in the next port at which a consular officer is available.
A master shall deliver to a seaman a full and true account of the seaman’s wages and all deductions at least 48 hours before paying off or discharging the seaman.
When discharge and settlement are completed, the master, individual in charge, or owner and each seaman shall sign the agreement required by section 10302 of this title.
A master or seaman by any agreement other than one provided for in this chapter may not forfeit the master’s or seaman’s lien on the vessel or be deprived of a remedy to which the master or seaman otherwise would be entitled for the recovery of wages. A stipulation in an agreement inconsistent with this chapter, or a stipulation by which a seaman consents to abandon a right to wages if the vessel is lost, or to abandon a right the seaman may have or obtain in the nature of salvage, is void.
In a proceeding about a seaman’s wages, if it is shown that the seaman was convicted during the voyage of an offense by a competent tribunal and sentenced by the tribunal, the court hearing the case may direct that a part of the wages due the seaman, but not more than $15, be applied to reimburse the master for costs properly incurred in procuring the conviction and sentence.
The Secretary shall prescribe regulations requiring vessel owners to maintain records of seamen on matters of engagement, discharge, and service. A vessel owner shall make these records available to the seaman and the Coast Guard on request.