Malaysia legislation
Section 21
Section 21
The following provisions shall have effect with respect to the agreements with the crew made in North Borneo in the case of foreign-going ships –
(a)
the agreement shall, subject to the provisions of this Ordinance as to substitutes, be signed by each seaman in the presence of the Superintendent;
(b)
the Superintendent shall cause the agreement to be read over and explained to each seaman, or otherwise ascertain that each seaman understands the same before he signs it, and shall attest each signature;
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(c)
when the crew is first engaged the agreement shall be signed in duplicate, and one part shall be retained by the Superintendent, and the other shall be delivered to the master and shall contain a special place or form for the descriptions and signatures of substitutes or persons engaged subsequently to the first departure of the ship;
(d)
when a substitute is engaged in the place of a seaman who duly signed the agreement and whose services are, within twenty-four hours before the ship puts to sea, lost by death, desertion or other unforeseen cause, the engagement shall, when practicable, be made before the Superintendent and, when not practicable, the master shall, before the ship puts to sea, if practicable, and if not, as soon afterwards as possible, cause the agreement to be read over and explained to the substitute, and the substitute shall thereupon sign the same in the presence of a witness, and the witness shall attest the signature;
(e)
the agreement may be made for a voyage or, if the voyages of the ship average less than six months in duration, may be made to extend over two or more voyages, and agreements so made to extend over two or more voyages shall be known as “running agreements”;
(f)
running agreements shall not be for a longer period than six months, or the first arrival of the ship at her port of destination in North Borneo after the expiration of that period, or the discharge of cargo consequent on that arrival;
(g)
on every return to a port in North Borneo before the final termination of a running agreement the master shall make, on the agreement, an endorsement as to the engagement or discharge of seaman, either that no engagements or discharges have been made or are intended to be made before the ship leaves port, or that all those made have been made as required by law and, if a master wilfully makes a false statement in any such endorsement, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine of five hundred dollars;
(h)
the master shall deliver the running agreement so endorsed to the Superintendent and that officer shall, if the provisions of this Chapter relating to agreements have been complied with, sign the endorsement and return the agreement to the master.
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Special provisions as to agreement with crew of a ship other than a foreign-going ship.