(1) A seafarer serving in an Indian vessel shall, on termination of his engagement, be discharged in such manner as may be prescribed.
(2) If an Indian vessel is transferred or disposed of while she is at sea or on a voyage to any port outside India, every seafarer belonging to that vessel shall be discharged at that port, unless he consents in writing to complete the voyage in the vessel, if continued.
(3) If a seafarer is discharged from an Indian vessel without his consent and before the expiration of the period for which the seafarer was engaged, he shall be duly repatriated in accordance with the provisions of section 67.
(4) Every seafarer discharged in terms of sub-section (2) shall, if the voyage for which he was engaged is not continued, be entitled to the wages to which he would have been entitled had his service been wrongfully terminated by the ship owner before the expiration of the period for which the seafarer was engaged.
(5) The master of an Indian vessel shall not,---
(a) discharge a seafarer before the expiration of the period for which he was engaged, unless the seafarer consents to his discharge; or
(b) except in circumstances beyond his control, leave a seafarer behind, without the authority of the officer specified in this behalf by the Central Government and such officer shall certify on the agreement with seafarer that he has granted such authority, and also the reason for the seafarer being discharged or the seafarer being left behind:
Provided that such officer shall, before discharging or leaving behind such seafarer, investigate the grounds on which the seafarer is to be discharged or left behind and may in his discretion grant or refuse to grant such authority:
Provided further that he shall not refuse to grant his authority if he is satisfied that the seafarer, without reasonable cause,---
(a) has failed or refused to join his vessel or to proceed to sea therein; or
(b) has been absent from his vessel without leave, either at the commencement or during the progress of a voyage for a period of more than forty-eight hours.
(6) The officer referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (5) shall keep a record of all seafarers discharged or left behind with his authority and whenever any charge is made against a seafarer under section 98, the fact that no such authority is so recorded shall be prima facie evidence that it was not granted.