Entitlement to annual leave
22.—(1)  A seafarer shall be entitled to paid annual leave, taken at such time as may be agreed between the seafarer and the shipowner in accordance with the terms of the seafarer’s employment agreement, of no less than 2.5 days per month of continuous service with the shipowner which shall be in addition to leave that the seafarer is entitled under subsection (4).
(2)  A seafarer shall be entitled to his gross rate of pay for every day of annual leave.
(3)  A seafarer who has served a shipowner for a period shorter than 12 months of continuous service in any year or in the event of termination of employment otherwise than for misconduct, shall be entitled to annual leave in proportion to the number of completed months of service in that year.
(4)  Leave of absence granted for the following purposes shall not be counted as part of a seafarer’s annual leave:
(a)seafarer in transit to or from a ship, or on active standby for immediate deployment;
(b)time-off for illness, injury or maternity;
(c)temporary shore leave by agreement between the shipowner and the seafarer under the seafarer’s employment agreement;
(d)public holidays designated under the Holidays Act (Cap. 126);
(e)absence from work to attend a maritime vocation training course that is approved by the Director;
(f)time spent awaiting repatriation and travel time during repatriation;
(g)leave granted under conditions that may be determined by the Director from time to time.
(5)  Where a seafarer is granted leave of absence without pay by the shipowner at the request of the seafarer, the period of the leave shall be disregarded for the purpose of computing continuous service under this section.
(6)  A seafarer shall be entitled to take annual leave in the place to which he has a substantial connection or is entitled to be repatriated.
(7)  No person shall require a seafarer to take annual leave in a place otherwise than that provided in the seafarer’s employment agreement unless —
(a)the seafarer gives his consent;
(b)the shipowner bears the costs of transporting the seafarer to the place where he was engaged or recruited, whichever is nearer his home; and
(c)the shipowner bears the subsistence and all other directly related costs.
(8)  No person shall recall a seafarer who is on paid annual leave except in cases of extreme emergency as may be determined by the Director from time to time and provided that the seafarer’s consent has been obtained.
(9)  The shipowner shall grant and the seafarer shall take annual leave not later than 12 months after the end of every 12 months of continuous service and any seafarer who fails to take that leave by the end of such period shall thereupon cease to be entitled thereto.
(10)  Subject to subsection (9) and unless otherwise provided in an agreement applicable to the shipowner and the seafarer concerned, the seafarer shall be entitled to an uninterrupted period of annual leave.
(11)  In calculating the proportionate annual leave under subsection (3), any fraction of a day which is less than one‑half of a day shall be disregarded and where the fraction of the day is one‑half or more it shall be regarded as one day.