Specifics on Marine Labor Contracts in KSA

https://www.saudiembassy.net/labor-and-workmen-law#Chapter%20V:%20Marine%20Labor
%20Contract

Chapter V: Marine Labor Contract

Article 99:

Any contract of employment made between the owner or financier of a Saudi Arabian ship of not less than
500 tons, or between the representative of either, and a seaman or master to perform work on board ship,
or for a sea voyage, is a marine labor contract to which the provisions of this law shall apply when they are
not inconsistent with the provisions of this Chapter and the decisions issued pursuant thereto.

Article 100:

In the application of the provisions of this Chapter, the term "financier of ship" shall mean any natural
person, any company, or any public or private organization for whose account the ship is fitted out.

Article 101:

In the application of (the provisions of) this Chapter, the term "seamen" shall mean any person, male or
female, who undertakes to the financier of the ship or his representative to work on board ship.

Article 102:

All persons working on board ship shall be subject to the authority and orders of the master of the ship.

Article 103:

The labor contracts of all seamen working on a ship shall be entered in the ship's records or appended
thereto, under pain of nullity and liability. These contracts shall be written in a clear language, leaving no
room for doubt or controversy as to the rights and duties stipulated therein.

These contracts shall indicate whether they are made for an unspecified term or for one voyage. If the
contract is made for a specified term, this term must be clearly indicated. If it is made for one voyage, it
must specify the town or seaport at which the voyage shall end, and at what stage of unloading the ship at
the said port the contract shall terminate.

Article 104:
A marine labor contract must specify the kind of work assigned to the seaman, the method of performing
it, the amount of wages and wage supplements to be paid to him, and other details of the contract.

Article 105:

The work rules and conditions on board ship shall be posted in the ship and in the section reserved for the
crew. These conditions and rules must specify:

 The seaman's obligations and duties towards the ship's financier and the work organization
rules on board ship.
 The obligations of the ship's financier towards the seaman as regards their fixed wages,
rewards, and other forms of pay.
 The method of suspending the payment of wages, or of making deduction therefrom, as
well as of payment of advances on wages.
 The place and time of settlement of accounts and final payment of wages.
 The rules and principles governing the supply of food and sleeping accommodations on
board ship.
 The illness and injuries of seamen.
 The conduct of seamen and the conditions governing their repatriation.
 The seamen's paid annual vacations.
 The end-of-service award and other indemnities payable in connection with the termination
or expiration of the labor contract.

Article 106:

The marine labor contract must be in writing and in quadruplicate, one copy to be delivered to the master,
the second to the seaman, the third copy shall be filed with the Coast Guards and the fourth with the Office
of the Deputy Minister for Labor. The contract shall indicate the date and place of its execution, the
seaman's name, surname, age, nationality, domicile, the work he is bound to perform, his wages, the
certificate permitting him to work in sea navigation, and his marine identification card. If the contract is for
a single voyage, the date and point of departure shall be indicated.

Article 107:

A person who works as a seaman must satisfy the following requirements:

 He must have completed eighteen years of age.

 He must be in possession of a certificate permitting him to work in marine service.
Article 108:

All the seaman's entitlements shall be paid in the official currency, and they may be paid in foreign
currency if they fall due while the ship is outside the territorial waters and the seaman so agrees in writing.

The seaman may request his employer to pay the cash wages due to him to whomever he shall designate.

Article 109:

The employer shall deposit the amounts due to the decedent or lost seaman, or to the seaman who is unable
to receive them, with the Chairman of the appropriate Primary Commission.

Article 110:

The seamen shall be provided with food and sleeping accommodations at the expense of the employer, and
this matter shall be regulated by decisions to be issued by the Minister of Labor.

Article 111:

Any seaman who participates in helping or rescuing another ship shall have a share of the reward to which
the ship on which he is working is entitled, regardless of the kind of his wages.

Article 112:

The employer may terminate the contract without prior notice, and without award or indemnity, if the ship
sinks, or if it is confiscated or lost.

Where the wage is on a single voyage basis, the employer may also terminate the contract without prior
notice and without award or indemnity if the voyage is canceled at the outset for a reason beyond the
employer's control, unless otherwise stipulated in the contract.

Article 113:

In case of expiration or cancellation of the contract, the employer shall be under obligation to:

 Return the seaman to the port from which he departed at the beginning of the performance
of the contract.
 Provide him with food and sleeping accommodations until he reaches that port.

Article 114:
Working hours on board ship while it is on the high seas must not exceed twenty-four hours in two
consecutive days, or 112 hours in a period of 14 consecutive days. Working hours while the ship is in port
shall not exceed eight hours a day. If the ship is in port the seaman may be put to work on routine and
cleaning jobs during his weekly rest days for a period not exceeding two hours.