Section 169: Stowaways

169. Stowaways (1) Where a person, referred to in this Act as a “stowaway”, without the consent of the master or of any other person authorised to give it, goes to sea or attempts to go to sea in a Mauritius ship, the master may— (a) where the stowaway is a Mauritius citizen— (i) detain him and hand him over to the police authorities on the ship’s arrival in Mauritius; or (ii) if the ship is not scheduled to call at a Port, after consultation with the proper officer at the next convenient foreign port of call, hand him over to the local immigration authorities for his repatriation to Mauritius; or (b) where the stowaway is not a Mauritius citizen— (i) hand him over to the immigration authorities of the port at which he embarked; or M62 – 81 [Issue 2] Merchant Shipping Act (ii) if he is discovered on the high seas or at a port other than that at which he embarked— (A) hand him over to the local immigration authorities at the next port of call or at the port at which he is discovered; or (B) if the ship is scheduled to arrive in Mauritius within a reasonable time after the stowaway is discovered, detain him on board and arrange for his repatriation at the ship’s expense. (2) A stowaway shall, for as long as he remains on board a Mauritius ship, belong to the ship and be subject to the law governing the conduct of the crew as if he were a member of the crew.