USC Chapter 105

in effect

46 U.S.C. § 10501 Application

(a) Except for a vessel to which chapter 103 of this title applies, this chapter applies to a vessel of at least 50 gross tons as measured under section 14502 of this title, or an alternate tonnage measured under section 14302 of this title as prescribed by the Secretary under section 14104 of this title on a voyage between a port in one State and a port in another State (except an adjoining State). (b) This chapter does not apply to a vessel on which the seamen are entitled by custom or agreement to share in the profit or result of a voyage. (c) Unless otherwise provided, this chapter does not apply to a foreign vessel.

46 U.S.C. § 10502 Shipping articles agreements

(a) The owner, charterer, managing operator, master, or individual in charge shall make a shipping agreement in writing with each seaman before the seaman commences employment. (b) The agreement shall include the date and hour on which the seaman must be on board to begin the voyage. (c) The agreement may not contain a provision on the allotment of wages or a scale of provisions. (d) Each shipping agreement must be signed by the master or individual in charge or a representative of the owner, charterer, or managing operator, and by each seaman employed. (e) The owner, charterer, managing operator, master, or individual in charge shall maintain the shipping agreement and make the shipping agreement available to the seaman. (f) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations requiring shipping companies to maintain records of seamen on matters of engagement, discharge, and service. The shipping companies shall make these records available to the seaman and the Coast Guard on request.

46 U.S.C. § 10503 Exhibiting merchant mariners’ documents

Before signing the agreement required by section 10502 of this title, a seaman required by section 8701 of this title to have a merchant mariner’s document shall exhibit to the master a document issued to the seaman and appropriately endorsed for the capacity in which the seaman is to serve.

46 U.S.C. § 10504 Wages

(a) After the beginning of a voyage, a seaman is entitled to receive from the master, on demand, one-half of the balance of wages earned and unpaid at each port at which the vessel loads or delivers cargo during the voyage. A demand may not be made before the expiration of 5 days from the beginning of the voyage, not more than once in 5 days, and not more than once in the same port on the same entry. If a master does not comply with this subsection, the seaman is released from the agreement required by section 10502 of this title and is entitled to payment of all wages earned. Notwithstanding a release signed by a seaman under section 10312 of this title, a court having jurisdiction may set aside, for good cause shown, the release and take action that justice requires. This subsection does not apply to a fishing or whaling vessel or a yacht. (b) The master shall pay a seaman the balance of wages due the seaman within 2 days after the termination of the agreement required by section 10502 of this title or when the seaman is discharged, whichever is earlier. (c)(1) Subject to subsection (d), and except as provided in paragraph (2), when payment is not made as provided under subsection (b) of this section without sufficient cause, the master or owner shall pay to the seaman 2 days’ wages for each day payment is delayed. (2) The total amount required to be paid under paragraph (1) with respect to all claims in a class action suit by seamen on a passenger vessel capable of carrying more than 500 passengers for wages under this section against a vessel master, owner, or operator or the employer of the seamen shall not exceed ten times the unpaid wages that are the subject of the claims. (3) A class action suit for wages under this subsection must be commenced within three years after the later of—(A) the date of the end of the last voyage for which the wages are claimed; or (B) the receipt, by a seaman who is a claimant in the suit, of a payment of wages that are the subject of the suit that is made in the ordinary course of employment. (d) Subsections (b) and (c) of this section do not apply to:(1) a vessel engaged in coastwise commerce. (2) a yacht. (3) a fishing vessel. (4) a whaling vessel. (e) This section applies to a seaman on a foreign vessel when in harbor of the United States. The courts are available to the seaman for the enforcement of this section. (f) Deposits in Seaman Account.—On written request signed by the seaman, a seaman employed on a passenger vessel capable of carrying more than 500 passengers may authorize, the master, owner, or operator of the vessel, or the employer of the seaman, to make deposits of wages of the seaman into a checking, savings, investment, or retirement account, or other account to secure a payroll or debit card for the seaman if—(1) the wages designated by the seaman for such deposit are deposited in a United States or international financial institution designated by the seaman; (2) such deposits in the financial institution are fully guaranteed under commonly accepted international standards by the government of the country in which the financial institution is licensed; (3) a written wage statement or pay stub, including an accounting of any direct deposit, is delivered to the seaman no less often than monthly; and (4) while on board the vessel on which the seaman is employed, the seaman is able to arrange for withdrawal of all funds on deposit in the account in which the wages are deposited.

46 U.S.C. § 10505 Advances

(a)(1) A person may not—(A) pay a seaman wages in advance of the time when the seaman has earned the wages; (B) pay advance wages of the seaman to another person; or (C) make to another person an order, note, or other evidence of indebtedness of the wages, or pay another person, for the engagement of seamen when payment is deducted or to be deducted from the seaman’s wage. (2) A person violating this subsection is liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty of not more than $5,000. A payment made in violation of this subsection does not relieve the vessel or the master from the duty to pay all wages after they have been earned. (b) A person demanding or receiving from a seaman or an individual seeking employment as a seaman, remuneration for providing the seaman or individual with employment, is liable to the Government for a civil penalty of not more than $5,000. (c) The owner, charterer, managing operator, agent, or master of a vessel seeking clearance from a port of the United States shall present the agreement required by section 10502 of this title at the office of clearance. Clearance may be granted to a vessel only if this section has been complied with. (d) This section does not apply to a fishing or whaling vessel or a yacht.

46 U.S.C. § 10506 Trusts

Section 10505 of this title does not prevent an employer from making deductions from the wages of a seaman, with the written consent of the seaman, if— (1) the deductions are paid into a trust fund established only for the benefit of seamen employed by that employer, and the families and dependents of those seamen (or of those seamen, families, and dependents jointly with other seamen employed by other employers, and the families and dependents of the other seamen); and (2) the payments are held in trust to provide, from principal or interest, or both, any of the following benefits for those seamen and their families and dependents:(A) medical or hospital care, or both. (B) pensions on retirement or death of the seaman. (C) life insurance. (D) unemployment benefits. (E) compensation for illness or injuries resulting from occupational activity. (F) sickness, accident, and disability compensation. (G) purchasing insurance to provide any of the benefits specified in this section.

46 U.S.C. § 10508 General penalties

(a) A master who carries a seaman on a voyage without first making the agreement required by section 10502 of this title shall pay to the seaman the highest wage that was paid for a similar voyage within the 3 months before the time of engagement at the port or place at which the seaman was engaged. A seaman who has not signed an agreement is not bound by the applicable regulations, penalties, or forfeitures. (b) A master engaging a seaman in violation of this chapter or a regulation prescribed under this chapter is liable to the United States Government for a civil penalty of not more than $5,000. The vessel also is liable in rem for the penalty.

46 U.S.C. § 10509 Penalty for failing to begin voyage

(a) A seaman who fails to be on board at the time contained in the agreement required by section 10502 of this title, without having given 24 hours’ notice of inability to do so, shall forfeit, for each hour’s lateness, one-half of one day’s pay to be deducted from the seaman’s wages if the lateness is recorded in the official logbook on the date of the violation. (b) A seaman who does not report at all or subsequently deserts forfeits all wages. (c) This section does not apply to a fishing or whaling vessel or a yacht.