LAWS AFFECTING THE DUTIES OF THE MASTER
The principal laws of the United States affecting the duties and
responsibilities of the Master are appended. Much of the bulk of the
law, having to do with the construction of vessels and their fitting,
and regulating the methods of inspection and control are omitted, and
only those parts are given that directly affect the Master himself.
Much of the law, to the mind of a sailor, could be boiled down and
simplified—perhaps some day sailors will go to Congress and do this—in
the mean time the best that can be done is to make an attempt to
unscramble the hodge-podge of rules, regulations, specifications,
penalties, and what not, that fill the bulky red volume issued by the
Bureau of Navigation, Department of Commerce.
Master's oath of citizenship. Upon making application for
registry of a vessel.
If the master of a vessel is within the district where a registry
thereof is to be made, when application is made for registering the
same, he shall himself, instead of the owner, or of the agent, or
attorney, as hereinafter mentioned, make oath touching his being a
citizen, and the means whereby or manner in which he is citizen; in
which case, if the master shall knowingly swear to anything untrue, no
forfeiture of the vessel, on account of such false oath, shall be
incurred, but the master shall be liable to a penalty of one thousand
dollars. (R. S., 4144.)
Change of master.
When the master or person having the charge or command of a registered
vessel is changed, the owner, or one of the owners, or the new master of
such vessel, shall report such change to the collector of the district
where the same has happened, or where the vessel shall first be after
the same has happened, and shall produce to him the certificate of
registry of such vessel, and shall make oath, showing that such new
master is a citizen of the United States, and the manner in which or
means whereby he is so a citizen. Thereupon the collector shall indorse
upon the certificate of registry a memorandum of such change, specifying
the name of such new master, and shall subscribe the memorandum with his
name; and if other than the collector of the district by whom the
certificate of registry was granted, shall transmit a copy of the
memorandum to him, with notice of the particular vessel to which it
relates; and the collector of the district, by whom the certificate
shall have been granted, shall make a like memorandum of such change in
his book of registers, and shall transmit a copy thereof to the
Commissioner of Navigation. If the change is not reported, or if the
oath is not taken, as above directed, the registry of such vessel shall
be void, and the master or person having the charge or command of her
shall be liable to a penalty of one hundred dollars. (R. S., 4171—July
5, 1884; sec. 2.)
Master must produce ship's register when entry is made.
The master or other person having the command or charge of any vessel,
recorded in pursuance of this Title [R. S., 4131-4305], shall, on entry
of such vessel, produce the certificate of such record to the collector
of the district where she is so entered; and in default thereof the
vessel shall not be entitled to the privileges of a recorded vessel. (R.
S., 4184.)
Offenses against the registry law.
Every collector or officer who knowingly makes, or is concerned in
making, any false register or record, or who knowingly grants or is
concerned in granting, any false certificate of registry or record of or
for any vessel, or any other false document whatever touching the same,
contrary to the true intent and meaning of this Title [R. S.,
4131-4305], or who designedly takes any other or greater fees than are
by this Title allowed, or who receives any voluntary reward or gratuity
for any of the services performed, pursuant thereto; and every surveyor
or other person appointed to measure any vessel, who willfully delivers
to any collector or naval officer a false description of such vessel, to
be registered or recorded, shall be punishable by a fine of one thousand
dollars, and be rendered incapable of serving in any office of trust or
profit under the United States. (R. S., 4187.)
If any person authorized and required by this Title [R. S., 4131-4305]
to perform, as an officer, any act or thing, willfully neglects to do or
perform the same, according to the true intent and meaning of this
Title, he shall, if not subject to the penalty and disqualification
prescribed in the preceding section, be punishable by a fine of five
hundred dollars for the first offense, and by a like fine for the second
offense, and shall thenceforth be rendered incapable of holding any
office of trust or profit under the United States. (R. S., 4188.)
Whenever any certificate of registry, enrollment, or license, or other
record or document granted in lieu thereof, to any vessel, is knowingly
and fraudulently obtained or used for any vessel not entitled to the
benefit thereof, such vessel, with her tackle, apparel, and furniture,
shall be liable to forfeiture. (R. S., 4187.)
No sea-letter or other document certifying or proving any vessel to be
the property of a citizen of the United States shall be issued, except
to vessels duly registered, or enrolled and licensed as vessels of the
United States, or to vessels which shall be wholly owned by citizens of
the United States, and furnished with or entitled to sea-letters or
other custom-house documents. (R. S., 4190.)
Every person who knowingly makes, utters, or publishes any false
sea-letter, Mediterranean passport, or certificate of registry, or who
knowingly avails himself of any such Mediterranean passport, sea-letter,
or certificate of registry, shall be liable to a penalty of not more
than five thousand dollars, and, if an officer of the United States,
shall thenceforth be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit
under the authority of the United States. (R. S., 4191.)
Provisions and water.
Should any master or owner of any merchant vessel of the United States
neglect to provide a sufficient quantity of stores to last for a voyage
of ordinary duration to the port of destination, and in consequence of
such neglect the crew are compelled to accept a reduced scale, such
master or owner shall be liable to a penalty as provided in section
forty-five hundred and sixty-eight of the Revised Statutes. (R. S.,
4564. Dec. 21, 1898; sec. 12.)
Any three or more of the crew of any merchant-vessel of the United
States bound from a port in the United States to any foreign port, or
being of the burden of seventy-five tons or upward, and bound from a
port on the Atlantic to a port on the Pacific, or vice versa, may
complain to any officer in command of any of the vessels of the United
States Navy, or consular officer of the United States, or
shipping-commissioner or chief officer of the customs, that the
provisions or water for the use of the crew are, at any time, of bad
quality, unfit for use, or deficient in quantity. Such officer shall
thereupon examine the provisions or water, or cause them to be examined;
and if, on examination, such provisions or water are found to be of bad
quality and unfit for use, or to be deficient in quantity, the person
making such examination shall certify the same in writing to the master
of the ship. If such master does not thereupon provide other proper
provisions or water, where the same can be had, in lieu of any so
certified to be of a bad quality and unfit for use, or does not procure
the requisite quantity of any so certified to be insufficient in
quantity, or uses any provisions or water which have been so certified
as aforesaid to be of bad quality and unfit for use, he shall, in every
such case, be liable to a penalty of not more than one hundred dollars;
and upon every such examination the officers making or directing the
same shall enter a statement of the result of the examination in the
log-book, and shall send a report thereof to the district judge for the
judicial district embracing the port to which such vessel is bound; and
such report shall be received in evidence in any legal proceedings. (R.
S., 4565.)
If the officer to whom any such complaint in regard to the provisions or
the water is made certifies in such statement that there was no
reasonable ground for such complaint, each of the parties so complaining
shall forfeit to the master or owner his share of the expense, if any,
of the survey. [This section shall not apply to fishing or whaling
vessels or yachts—Dec. 21, 1898, sec. 26.] (R. S., 4566. Dec. 21, 1898;
sec. 13.)
If any seamen, while on board any vessel, shall state to the master that
they desire to make complaint, in accordance with the two preceding
sections, in regard to the provisions or the water, to a competent
officer, against the master, the master shall, if the vessel is then at
a place where there is any such officer, so soon as the service of the
vessel will permit, and if the vessel is not then at such a place, so
soon after her first arrival at such place as the service of the vessel
will permit, allow such seamen, or any of them, to go ashore, or shall
send them ashore, in proper custody, so that they may be enabled to make
such complaint; and shall, in default, be liable to a penalty of not
more than one hundred dollars. (R. S., 4567.)
If, during a voyage, the allowance of any of the provisions which any
seaman is entitled to under section forty-six hundred and twelve of the
Revised Statutes is reduced except for any time during which such seamen
willfully and without sufficient cause refuses or neglects to perform
his duty, or is lawfully under confinement for misconduct either on
board or on shore; or if it shall be shown that any of such provisions
are, or have been during the voyage, bad in quality or unfit for use,
the seaman shall receive, by way of compensation for such reduction or
bad quality, according to the time of its continuance, the following
sums, to be paid to him in addition to and to be recoverable as wages:
_First._ If his allowance is reduced by any quantity not exceeding
one-third of the quantity specified by law, a sum not exceeding fifty
cents a day.
_Second._ If his allowance is reduced by more than one-third of such
quantity, a sum not exceeding one dollar a day.
_Third._ In respect to bad quality, a sum not exceeding one dollar a
day.
But if it is shown to the satisfaction of the court before which the
case is tried that any provisions, the allowance of which has been
reduced, could not be procured or supplied in sufficient quantities, or
were unavoidably injured or lost, or if by reason of its innate
qualities any article becomes unfit for use and that proper and
equivalent substitutes were supplied in lieu thereof, the court shall
take such circumstances into consideration and shall modify or refuse
compensation, as the justice of the case may require. [This section
shall not apply to fishing or whaling vessels or yachts—Dec. 21, 1898,
sec. 26.] (R. S., 4568. Dec. 21, 1898; sec. 14.)
Weights and measures.
Every master shall keep on board proper weights and measures for the
purpose of determining the quantities of the several provisions and
articles served out, and shall allow the same to be used at the time of
serving out such provisions and articles, in the presence of a witness,
whenever any dispute arises about such quantities, and in default shall,
for every offense, be liable to a penalty of not more than fifty
dollars. (R. S., 4571.)
Medicines and anti-scorbutics.
Every vessel belonging to a citizen of the United States, bound from a
port in the United States to any foreign port, or being of the burden of
seventy-five tons or upward, and bound from a port on the Atlantic to a
port on the Pacific, or vice versa, shall be provided with a chest of
medicines; and every sailing-vessel bound on a voyage across the
Atlantic or Pacific Ocean, or around Cape Horn, or the Cape of Good
Hope, or engaged in the whale or other fisheries, or in sealing, shall
also be provided with, and cause to be kept, a sufficient quantity of
lime or lemon juice, and also sugar and vinegar or other
anti-scorbutics, to be served out to every seaman as follows: The master
of every such vessel shall serve the lime or lemon juice, and sugar and
vinegar, to the crew, within ten days after salt provisions mainly have
been served out to the crew, and so long afterward as such consumption
of salt provisions continues; the lime or lemon juice and sugar daily at
the rate of half an ounce each per day; and the vinegar weekly at the
rate of half a pint per week for each member of the crew. (R. S., 4569.)
If, on any such vessel, such medicines, medical stores, lime or lemon
juice, or other articles, sugar, and vinegar, as are required by the
preceding section, are not provided and kept on board, as required, the
master or owner shall be liable to a penalty of not more than five
hundred dollars; and if the master of any such vessel neglects to serve
out the lime or lemon juice, and sugar and vinegar in the case and
manner directed, he shall for each such offense be liable to a penalty
of not more than one hundred dollars; and if any master is convicted in
either of the offenses mentioned in this section, and it appears that
the offense is owing to the act or default of the owner, such master may
recover the amount of such penalty, and the costs incurred by him, from
the owner. (R. S., 4570.)
Slop chest.
Every such vessel [R. S., 4569] except vessels engaged in the whaling or
fishing business shall also be provided with a slop-chest, which shall
contain a complement of clothing for the intended voyage for each seaman
employed, including boots or shoes, hats, or caps, under clothing and
outer clothing, oiled clothing, and everything necessary for the wear of
a seaman; also a full supply of tobacco and blankets. Any of the
contents of the slop-chest shall be sold, from time to time, to any or
every seaman applying therefor, for his own use, at a profit not
exceeding ten per centum of the reasonable wholesale value of the same
at the port at which the voyage commenced. And if any such vessel is not
provided, before sailing, as herein required, the owner shall be liable
to a penalty of not more than five hundred dollars. The provisions of
this section shall not apply to vessels plying between the United States
and the Dominion of Canada, Newfoundland, the Bermuda Islands, the
Bahama Islands, the West Indies, Mexico and Central America. (June 26,
1884; sec. 11. June 19, 1886; sec. 13.)
Warmth and clothing.
Every vessel bound on any foreign voyage exceeding in length fourteen
days shall also be provided with at least one suit of woolen clothing
for each seaman, and every vessel in the foreign or domestic trade shall
provide a safe and warm room for the use of seamen in cold weather.
Failure to make such provision shall subject the owner or master to a
penalty of not less than one hundred dollars. [This section shall not
apply to fishing or whaling vessels or yachts—Dec. 21, 1898, sec. 26.]
(R. S., 4572; Dec. 21, 1898; sec. 15.)
Log-book.
Every vessel making voyages from a port in the United States to any
foreign port, or being of the burden of seventy-five tons, or upward,
from a port on the Atlantic to a port on the Pacific, or vice versa,
shall have an official log-book; and every master of such vessel shall
make, or cause to be made therein, entries of the following matters,
that is to say:
_First._ Every legal conviction of any member of his crew, and the
punishment inflicted.
_Second._ Every offense committed by any member of his crew for which
it is intended to prosecute, or to enforce a forfeiture, together with
such statement concerning the reading over such entry, and concerning
the reply, if any, made to the charge, as is required by the provisions
of section forty-five hundred and ninety-seven.
_Third._ Every offense for which punishment is inflicted on board, and
the punishment inflicted.
_Fourth._ A statement of the conduct, character, and qualifications of
each of his crew; or a statement that he declines to give an opinion of
such particulars.
_Fifth._ Every case of illness or injury happening to any member of the
crew, with the nature thereof, and the medical treatment.
_Sixth._ Every case of death happening on board, with the cause thereof.
_Seventh._ Every birth happening on board, with the sex of the infant,
and the names of the parents.
_Eighth._ Every marriage taking place on board, with the names and ages
of the parties.
_Ninth._ The name of every seaman or apprentice who ceases to be a
member of the crew otherwise than by death, with the place, time,
manner, and cause thereof.
_Tenth._ The wages due to any seaman or apprentice who dies during the
voyage, and the gross amount of all deductions to be made therefrom.
_Eleventh._ The sale of the effects of any seaman or apprentice who
dies during the voyage, including a statement of each article sold, and
the sum received for it.
_Twelfth._ In every case of collision in which it is practicable so to
do, the master shall, immediately after the occurrence, cause a
statement thereof, and of the circumstances under which the same
occurred, to be entered in the official log-book. Such entry shall be
made in the manner prescribed in section forty-two hundred and
ninety-one, and failure to make such entry shall subject the offender
to the penalties prescribed by section forty-two hundred and
ninety-two. (R. S., 4290; Feb. 14, 1900.)
Every entry hereby required to be made in the official log-book shall be
signed by the master and by the mate, or some other one of the crew, and
every entry in the official log-book shall be made as soon as possible
after the occurrence to which it relates, and, if not made on the same
day as the occurrence to which it relates, shall be made and dated so as
to show the date of the occurrence, and of the entry respecting it; and
in no case shall any entry therein, in respect of any occurrence
happening previously to the arrival of the vessel at her final port, be
made more than twenty-four hours after such arrival. (R. S., 4291.)
If in any case the official log-book is not kept in the manner hereby
required, or if any entry hereby directed to be made in any such
log-book is not made at the time and in the manner hereby directed, the
master shall, for each such offense, be liable to a penalty of not more
than twenty-five dollars; and every person who makes, or procures to be
made, or assists in making, any entry in any official log-book in
respect of any occurrence happening previously to the arrival of the
vessel at her final port of discharge, more than twenty-four hours after
such arrival, shall, for each offense, be liable to a penalty of not
more than one hundred and fifty dollars. (R. S., 4292.)