Section 19 in The Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour) Rules, 2016
19. The Liability of the Ship Owner.
(1)The ship owner shall ensure to provide seafarers employed on the ships with a right to material assistance and support with respect to the financial consequences of sickness, injury or death occurring while they are serving under a seafarers' employment agreement or arising from their employment under such agreement.(2)Nothing contained in sub-rule (1) shall affect any other legal remedy available to a seafarer under any law for the time being in force.(3)The ship owner shall be responsible for protection of health and medical care of all seafarers working on board the ship in accordance with the following minimum standards, namely.-(a)The ship owner shall be liable to bear the costs for seafarers working on their ship in respect of sickness and injury of the seafarers occurring between the date of commencing of the duty and the date upon which they are deemed duly repatriated, or arising from their employment between those dates;(b)The ship owner shall provide financial security to assure compensation in the event of the death or long-term disability of seafarers due to an occupational injury, illness or hazard, as set out in the seafarers' employment agreement or collective agreement;(c)The ship owner shall be liable to defray the expense of medical care, including medical treatment and the supply of the necessary medicines and therapeutic appliances, and boarding and lodging away from home until the sickness or incapacity has been declared to be of a permanent character; and(d)The ship owner shall be liable to pay the cost of funeral expenses in the case of death occurring on board or ashore during the period of engagement.(4)The Director General of Shipping may limit the liability of the ship owner to defray the expenses of medical care and aboard and lodging to a period which shall not be less than sixteen weeks from the day of the injury or the commencement of the sickness.(5)Where the sickness or injury results in incapacity for work, the ship owner shall be liable.-(a)to pay full wages till the sick or injured seafarers remain on board or until the seafarers have been repatriated in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement;(b)to pay wages in whole or in part in accordance with the provisions of law for the time being in force or as provided for in collective agreement from the time when the seafarers are repatriated or landed until their recovery or, if earlier, until they are entitled to cash benefit under the law for the time being in force.(6)The Director General of Shipping may limit the liability of the ship owner to pay wages in whole or in part in respect of a seafarers no longer on board to period which shall not be less than sixteen weeks from the days of the injury or the commencement of the sickness.(7)The Director General of Shipping may exclude the ship owner from liability in respect of-(a)injury, not sickness, incurred otherwise than in the service of the ship; injury or sickness due to the wilful misconduct of the sick, injured or deceased seafarers; and(b)sickness or infirmity intentionally concealed when the engagement is entered into.(8)The Director General of Shipping may exempt the ship owner from liability to defray the expense of medical care and board and lodging and funeral expenses in so far as such liability is assumed by the public authorities.(9)The ship owner or his representatives shall take measures for safeguarding property left on board by sick, injured or deceased seafarers and for returning it to them or to their next to kin.(10)The ship owner shall ensure that the system of financial security to assure compensation as provided in clause (b) of sub-rule (3) for contractual claims, meet the following minimum requirements, namely :-(a)the contractual compensation, as set out in the seafarers' employment agreement and without prejudice to clause (c) sub-rule (10), shall be paid in full and without delay;(b)there shall be no demand to accept a payment less than the contractual amount;(c)whereas the nature of the long-term disability of a seafarers makes it difficult to assess the full compensation to which the seafarers may be entitled, an interim payment shall be made to the seafarers so as to avoid undue hardship;(d)the seafarers shall receive payment in accordance with the provisions of sub-rule (3), without prejudice to other legal right, but such payment may other claim made by the seafarers against the ship owner and arising from the same incident; and(e)the claim for concerned compensation may be brought directly by the seafarers concerned, or their next of kin, or a representative of the seafarers or designated beneficiary.(f)the evidence of financial security shall be as per Form-2.(11)The ship owner shall not cancel or terminate the financial security without giving a notice in writing to the seafarer.(12)The ship owner shall ensure that no financial security shall be cancelled or terminated by the provider of the financial security without giving notice of atleast thirty days in advance, to the Director General of Shipping by the provider of financial security.(13)(a)The ship owner shall ensure that his ships carry on board a certificate or other documentary evidence of financial security issued by the financial security provider and copy of the same shall be posted in a conspicuous place on board where it is available to the seafarers;(b)Where more than one financial security provider provides the cover, the document provided by each provider shall be carried on board.(14)Financial security shall not cease before the end of the period of validity of the financial security unless the financial security providers has given prior notification of at least thirty days to the competent authority of the flag State.(15)Financial security shall provide for the payment of all contractual claims covered by it which arise during the period for which the document is valid.(16)The certificate, other documentary evidence of financial security shall contain the information specified in Form-1 and it shall be in English or accompanied by an English translation.(17)For the purposes of sub-rule (10), the term "contractual claim" means any claim which relates to death or long-term disability of seafarers due to an occupational injury, illness or hazard as set out in the seafarers' employment agreement or collective bargaining agreement.(18)The system of financial security, as provided in sub-rule (10), may be in the form of a social security scheme or insurance or fund or other similar arrangements. The form of the financial security shall be determined by the Director General of Shipping after consultation with the ship owners' and seafarers' organisations concerned.(19)The ship owner shall receive, deal with and impartially settle contractual claims relating to compensation referred to in this rule through expeditious and fair procedures.
