(1) Any person who—
(a) serves as an officer or seaman on board a Saint Lucian ship without being in possession of a valid certificate appropriate to the capacity in which he or she is engaged to serve; or
(b) either on his or her own account or acting as an agent, engages any person as an officer or seaman without taking all necessary steps to ascertain whether such person possesses an appropriate valid certificate,
commits an offence under this Act and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to both such fine and imprisonment.
(2) For the purpose of subsection (1)(b), where it is established that an officer or seaman has been engaged to serve in any capacity without a valid certificate appropriate to that capacity, the onus shall be on the person who engages that seafarer to prove that he or she has taken all necessary steps to ascertain that the officer or seaman possessed, at the time the seafarer was engaged, a valid certificate appropriate to the capacity in which the seafarer was engaged to serve.
(3) Any person who—
(a) makes or procures or assists in making any false representation for the purpose of obtaining for himself or herself, or for any other person any certificate or any certified copy thereof;
(b) forges, assists in forging or procures the forging of such certificate or copy aforesaid;
(c) fraudulently alters or assists in the fraudulent alteration of, such certificate or copy, or procures it to be fraudulently altered;
(d) fraudulently makes use of any such certificate or copy aforesaid that is forged, altered, cancelled, or suspended or to which he or she is not entitled;
(e) fraudulently lends his or her certificate to, or allows it to be used by, any other person; or
(f) makes or has in his or her possession any document so closely resembling such certificates as to be calculated to deceive,
commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, or to both such fine and imprisonment.
(4) Any person who—
(a) not being the holder of a valid certificate or licence; or
(b) during a period when, under section 115, his or her certificate or licence is suspended or cancelled, as the case may be,
takes or uses any title, addition or description implying or calculated to lead persons to believe that he or she is entitled to serve as an officer or seaman on a Saint Lucian ship commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both such fine and imprisonment.
(5) Any officer or seaman who, without reasonable cause, fails to comply with a direction of the Minister under section 115 to surrender his or her certificate or licence commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months, or to both such fine and imprisonment.