Merchant Shipping Act (Cap. 234), article 129A

129A. (1) Except as hereinafter pro vided, every agreement with the crew shall be deemed to prov ide that the seaman or apprenti ce, if the agreement terminates at a port other than the port of engagement (whether by effluxion of time, or by any act of the parties, or by shipwreck or sale of the ship, or by the inabili ty of the seaman or apprentice to proceed in the ship by reason of sickness or injury or any other cause whatsoever) be returned to a proper return port at the expense of the master or owner of the ship, and such master or owner, whethe r principal or agent, shall mak e such arrangements as may be necessary and defray all expenses incurred for the return of such seaman or apprentice and such liability shall include the cost of any maintenance and medical treatment which is necessary for the seaman or apprentice until his 74 CAP. 234.] MERCHANT SHIPPING arrival at a proper return port, and such seaman or apprentice shall not become a charge upon the Government of Malta. (2) A seaman or an apprentice who has been left behind or discharged from his ship as a result of his desertion, or his imprisonment, or his inability to proceed i n the ship owing to sickness or infirmity wilfully concealed at the time of the engagement, shall not be entitled to be returned at the expense of the owner or master under sub-ar ticle (1) but such master or ow ner, whether principal or agent, shall make all arrangements necessa ry and defray all expenses incurred for the return of the seaman o r apprentice to a proper return port as if he was so entitled, an d such master or owner may be reimbursed his expenses out of any wages owing to the seaman or apprentice at the time he left the ship or out of the proceeds from the sale of any of his effects left on boa rd or, if this should not prove sufficient by ordinary process of law, but such seaman or apprentice shall not become a charge upon the Government. (3) A registrar or a Maltese co nsular officer may demand a guarantee from the master or own er (whether principal or agent) of a ship from which a seaman or an apprentice is to be discharged or left behind, for the proper discharge of any obligations impose d by this article, and if this is refused he may withhold his consen t to the discharge. (4) Where a seaman or an appr entice becomes eligible to receive, and receives, medical aid or periodical payments at th e expense of his employer under the terms of any law providing fo r compensation to injured or sick workmen such receipt shall be i n full or part payment as the case may be of the entitlement unde r this article and not in addition thereto. (5) This article shall also apply in respect of a foreign ship t hat engages a seaman or an apprenti ce in Malta; and ''owner'' in su ch a case includes any person appointed or nominated by the owner or the charterer if the ship is on demise charter, to act as his a gent and who was so acting at the time the seaman or apprentice was engaged. Repatriation of seamen on termination of service at foreign port. Amended by: XXII. 2000. 64.