20. Special provisions relating to seamen
Feedback & supportLast amended by an amending law of 2008. 3 amendments in all.
This Act shall apply to seamen who are employees within the meaning of this Act, subject to the following modifications:
the notice of the accident and the claim for compensation may, except where the person injured is the master of the ship, be served on the master of the ship as if he were the employer, but where the accident happened and the incapacity commenced on board the ship, it shall not be necessary for any seaman to give any notice of the accident;
employer
“employer” includes —(a)the Government;(b)any statutory body or authority;(c)the legal personal representative of a deceased employer; and(d)in relation to a person employed for the purpose of any game or recreation and engaged or paid through a club, the manager or members of the managing committee of that club,and where the services of an employee are temporarily lent or let on hire to another person by the person with whom the employee has entered into a contract of service or apprenticeship, the latter shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to continue to be the employer of the employee whilst he is working for that other person;
in the case of the death of a master or seaman the claim for compensation shall be made within 6 months after the news of the death has been received by the claimant or, where the ship has been or is deemed to have been lost with all hands, within 18 months after the date on which the ship was or is deemed to have been so lost;
seaman
“seaman” means any person employed as part of the crew of any Singapore ship within the meaning of the Merchant Shipping Act and includes the master of any such ship;
where an injured master or seaman is discharged or left behind in any territory in the Commonwealth or in a foreign country, depositions respecting the circumstances and nature of the injury may be taken by any judge or magistrate in that territory or by a consular officer in the foreign country, and if so taken and transmitted by the person by whom they are taken to the Minister, they or certified copies thereof shall, in any proceedings for enforcing the claim, be admissible in evidence as provided by sections 184 and 186 of the Merchant Shipping Act (Cap. 179), and those sections shall apply accordingly;
no periodical payment for temporary incapacity shall be payable in respect of the period during which the owner of the ship is, under any law relating to shipping in force for the time being in Singapore or any part thereof, liable to defray the expenses of maintenance of the injured master or seaman.