Merchant Shipping Act (Cap. 234), article 156

156. If any seaman or apprentice b elonging to a Maltese ship dies while he belongs to that ship, the following provisions sh all have effect with respect to any money or effects belonging to t he seaman or apprentice and to any wages due to him: (a) the master of the ship shall take charge of any moneys or effects belonging to the seaman or apprentice which are on board; (b) if the seaman or apprentice dies while the ship is in Malta, the shipping master, and in any other case, the Maltese consular officer at or near the place of the occurrence, shall claim and take charge of any such money or effects which are at such place and not on board the ship; (c) the shipping master or the Maltese consular officer may, if he thinks fit, sell any of the property delivered to him, or of which he takes charge, under this article, and the proceeds of any such sale shall be deemed to form part of the said property; (d) the master of the ship shall enter in the official log book: (i) a statement of the amount of the money and a description of the effects; (ii) a statement of the sum due to the deceased for wages and the amount of deduction, if any, to be made from the wages, and the entry shall be signed by the master and attested by a mate and some other member of the crew; (e) the master shall pay and deliver all such property and 84 CAP. 234.] MERCHANT SHIPPING wages to the shipping master, if his port of destination is in Malta, within forty-eight hours after his arrival at that port, and in any other case, to the Maltese consular officer of the first port, at which the ship touches and remains for forty-eight hours, in which there is such an officer; (f) a consular officer taking charge or receiving any such property and wages shall remit the same to the Minister or shall deal with such property and wages as the Minister directs; (g) in all cases in which a seaman or apprentice dies during the progress of a voyage or engagement, the m a s t e r s h a l l g i v e t o t h e s h i p p i n g m a s t e r o r c o n s u l a r officer to whom payment a nd delivery are made as aforesaid, such account and in such form as they may require of the property of the deceased and of any wages due to him, and no deduction claimed by the master shall be allowed unless claimed in such account and unless verified by an entry in the official log book made and attested as required by this Act; (h) if the master of the ship fails to comply with this article, he shall be accountable for the property to the M i n i s t e r a n d s h a l l d e l i v e r a n d p a y t h e s a m e accordingly, and shall in a ddition be liable for each offence to a fine ( multa) not exceeding treble the value of the property not accounted for or, if such value is not ascertained, not exceeding fifty units. Effects and wages of seamen left behind.  Amended by: XIII.1983.5; XXII. 2000.2.