55.—(1) A shipowner shall ensure that there are on board his ship appropriate procedures to allow seafarers to make a complaint against any person in connection with any possible breach of any provision under this Act or other relevant written law.
(2) The procedures referred to in subsection (1) shall include —
(a)
a right to lodge a complaint directly with the master of the ship;
(b)
a right to be represented or accompanied; and
(c)
adequate safeguards to ensure that the rights of the seafarers are not prejudiced by the making of complaints.
(3) Upon the receipt of a complaint, the master shall investigate the complaint.
(4) If a seafarer is not satisfied with the action taken by the master as a result of his investigation, or by his failure to take any action, the seafarer may state his dissatisfaction to the master and indicate that he wishes to lodge a complaint to the Director or if the ship is not in Singapore, to a port State authority.
(5) Upon being notified of the seafarer’s dissatisfaction under subsection (4), the master shall make adequate arrangements to enable the seafarer to lodge a complaint as soon as the service of the ship permits.
(6) The Director shall, upon receiving the complaint referred to in subsection (4), investigate the complaint.
(7) A master of a ship who fails, without reasonable cause, to comply with this section, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000.
Provision of complaint procedures and other information
56.—(1) A shipowner shall cause a copy of the procedures referred to in section 55 to be provided to each seafarer employed on his ship.
(2) The copy of the procedures provided to the seafarers shall be in English and, if the working language of the ship is not English, also be in the working language or languages of the ship, and shall include the following information:
(a)
contact information of the Authority;
(b)
contact information of the competent authority in the seafarer’s country of residence; and
(c)
the names of persons on board the ship who may assist any seafarer with and advise him on his complaint.