(1) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, it is an implied term of every agreement entered into for the employment of a seaman in a Saint Lucian ship that, where the agreement terminates at a port other than the port of engagement of the seaman, the seaman will be returned to a proper return port at the expense of the master or owner of the ship.
(2) The owner, master or agent of the ship shall make such arrangements as are necessary to defray all expenses incurred for the return of a seaman under subsection (1).
(3) The responsibility of the owner, master or agent under this section includes an obligation—
(a) to pay the cost of maintenance and medical treatment that is necessary for the seaman until his or her arrival at his or her proper return port; and
(b) to ensure that the seaman does not become a charge upon the State.
(4) Subsection (1) applies whether an agreement terminates—
(a) by effluxion of time;
(b) by an act of the parties;
(c) by shipwreck;
(d) by sale of the ship;
(e) by the inability of the seaman to proceed in the ship by reason of sickness or injury; or
(f) by any other cause.