(1) Where during the currency of his or her agreement the service of a seaman belonging to a Saint Lucian ship terminates otherwise than by the consent of the seaman, the master of the ship shall, in additition to—
(a) giving the seaman a certificate of discharge required by this Act; and
(b) paying to the seaman the wages to which the seaman is entitled,
make adequate provision in accordance with this Act for the maintenance and return of the seaman to a proper return port; and the master shall record the details of these provisions in the official log book.
(2) Where a master fails without reasonable cause to comply with subsection (1), the expenses of maintenance and of the journey to the proper return port—
(a) if defrayed by the seaman, are recoverable as wages due to the seaman; and
(b) if defrayed by the Registrar of Seamen or proper officer or any other person, are a charge upon the ship to which the seaman belonged.
(3) A charge upon a ship under subsection (2)(b) may also be recovered—
(a) from the person who is the owner of the ship;
(b) if the ship has been lost, from the person who was the owner of the ship at the time of the loss;
(c) if the ship has been transferred to some person, from the owner; or
(d) from the person who was the owner of the ship at the time of the transfer of the ship,
at the suit of the Registrar of Seamen or proper officer or other person defraying the expenses, or, if the expenses, have been defrayed out of public moneys, as a debt to the State, by ordinary process of law and in the manner in which wages are recoverable by a seaman.