Merchant Shipping Act (Cap. 234), article 175

175. If any offence, within the meaning of this Act, of desertion or absence without leave or agai nst discipline is committed, or if any act of misconduct is committed for which the offender’s agreement imposes a fine and it is intende d to enforce the fine - (a) an entry of the offence or act shall be made in the official log book and signed by the master and also by the mate or one of the crew; (b) the offender, if still on the ship, shall before the next subsequent arrival of the ship at any port, or, if she is a t t h e t i m e i n p o r t , b e f o r e her departure therefrom, either be furnished with a copy of the entry or have the same read over distinctly and audibly to him, and may thereupon make such reply as he thinks fit; (c) a statement of a copy of the entry having been so 94 CAP. 234.] MERCHANT SHIPPING furnished or of the entry having been so read over and, in either case, of the reply (if any) made by the offender shall likewise be entered and signed in manner aforesaid; and (d) in any subsequent legal proceedings the entries by this article required shall, if practicable, be produced or proved, and in default of that production or proof the court hearing the case may, at its discretion, refuse to receive evidence of the off ence or act of misconduct. Entries and certificates of desertion abroad.