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where he may find employment on a vessel of the United States or passage to the United States. The consular officer is the proper judge as to the vessel on which the seaman should be placed for his return to the United States. A seaman must, if he is able to travel, accept the first offer of repatriation whether as a workaway or otherwise. Refusal to accept passage deprives the seaman of his right to further assistance.

§ 84.12 Repatriation of seamen without consular authorization.

(a) Authorized expenditures. Whenever distressed or destitute American seamen are transported from foreign ports where there is no United States consular officer, or from points on the high seas, to ports of the United States; or from such foreign ports or points on the high seas to a port accessible to a United States consular officer for the further relief and repatriation of such seamen, the master or owner of the transporting vessel shall be allowed such compensation as the Secretary of State determines is equitable.

(b) Transportation direct to the United States. Accounts and claims for

transporting direct to a port of the United States distressed or destitute seamen picked up at sea or at some foreign port where there is no United States consular officer should be submitted to the Secretary of State for consideration and transmittal to the Comptroller General. Such claims should be accompanied by satisfactory evidence as to the services rendered, the length of time the seamen were on board the transporting vessel, and the arrival of the seamen in the United States.

(c) Transportation to Foreign Service office. When distressed or destitute American seamen picked up at sea or at a foreign port where there is no United States consular officer are transported to a port where there is a consular officer or to a port accessible to his office, the consular officer is authorized to pay the master of the transporting vessel an amount not exceeding 60 cents a day for each seaman. The master may, if he does not consider such compensation adequate, submit his claim direct to the Secretary of State. The claim will receive the administrative consideration of the Secretary of State, and will then be sent to the Comptroller General for settlement.

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§ 85.1

Financial responsibility for burial of seamen.

(a) Owners or operators of vessels of the United States. The owner of a vessel of the United States is responsible for the payment of burial expenses of a seaman from the vessel, if such owner would have been liable for the seaman's care, subsistence and repatriation but for the seaman's death. The burial expenses are properly chargeable to the ship and may not be deducted from the seaman's wages.

(b) United States Government. Burial expenses are paid by the Government only in cases where the circumstances would have warranted expenditure of Government funds for the seaman's maintenance and repatriation if he had not died. The expenses chargeable to the Government are for preparation of the remains and ordinary expenses of interment in foreign countries or in territories and possessions of the United States. A United States flag may be used to drape the casket. Although charges for flowers, religious services, and other similar items, which are not necessary for interment, are not allowable, the service should be conducted with dignity. Vouchers covering burial expenses must be fully itemized to show the cost of each item.

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ship.

(a) Seamen dying aboard When any American seaman, belonging to or sent home on any merchant vessel whose voyage is to terminate in the United States, dies during such voyage, the master should take charge of all monies, clothes, and effects left on board by the seaman. If the ship touches or remains at a foreign port before coming to any port of the United States, the master should report the case to the consular officer there, and give such officer any information he requires as to the destination of the ship and the length of the voyage. Thereupon such officer may, if he considers it expedient, require the said effects, money and wages to be delivered and paid to him. Upon that being done he shall give the master a receipt therefor on Form FS-85. The consular officer shall also endorse and certify upon the agreement with the crew the particulars of such delivery and payment. If he does not require the delivery and payment, he shall obtain from the master a statement of the seaman's account with the vessel, and transmit a copy thereof to the Department. If the ship is sold in a foreign port and the master has in his possession the effects, money, and wages of a deceased seaman, the consular officer may require them to be delivered to him.

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The consular officer shall, if he thinks fit, sell all or any of such effects of any seaman as may be delivered to him under the provisions of law.

§ 85.6 Disposition of proceeds of sale and of unsold effects.

If effects are sold, the consular officer shall monthly remit to the responsible district court all moneys belonging to or arising from the sale of the effects or paid as the wages of any deceased seaman which have come into his hands and shall render such accounts thereof on the reverse side of Form FS-85 as the district court requires. The effects of deceased American seamen not sold and all wages or moneys coming into the possession of a consular officer under any of the foregoing provisions shall likewise be remitted to the district court for administration. However, certificates and identification papers issued by Government agencies should be transmitted to the Department for return to the issuing agency.

(R. S. 4541 as amended; 46 U. S. C. 624)

§ 85.7 Defrayal of expenses.

Costs arising in connection with transmittal to the court of the monies and effects of a deceased seaman, such as a bank draft or transportation charges, are properly chargeable to the estate of the seaman and should be defrayed from such funds as are contained therein. § 85.8

Effects of alien seamen.

If a deceased seaman of foreign nationality was not an American seaman as defined in § 81.1(j) of this chapter, and the wages and effects are delivered to the

consular officer, the latter should make proper inquiries to find the relatives of the deceased and may determine for himself to whom the wages and effects should be given. If no relatives are found or if the officer cannot satisfactorily determine the relatives entitled to the wages and money arising from the sale of the effects, they should be remitted to the district court as provided in § 85.6. A consular officer may not deliver the wages and effects of such a deceased seaman to an official of the foreign government of which the deceased was citizen or subject unless such official holds a valid appointment to represent the heirs. [1 Comp. Gen. 621]

§ 85.9 Accounting for effects.

(a) Statement of details to district court. Consular officers are required, in rendering the accounts provided for by law, to make a statement of details, namely:

(1) A statement of the amount of money left by the deceased and any of his effects unsold;

(2) A description of each article sold, and the sum received for each;

(3) The sum due the deceased for wages, with dates, and the items of deduction, if any, to be made therefromno such deductions being allowed to the master unless verified by an entry in the official log book.

(b) Wage account to district court. The master shall be required to give full particulars of the wage account of the seaman, including the date of shipment, rate of wages, and time of discharge, and any deductions therefrom, to be verified by entry in the official log; such account to be verified before the consular officer by the master, and a certified copy thereof to be sent with the account to the district court, together with information regarding the names and addresses of the next of kin, or other interested persons, of the decedent.

(c) Receipts from court. Consular officers shall be careful to obtain from the court receipts in duplicate for all monies, wages, and effects transmitted by the Foreign Service office.

PART 86-MARITIME DISASTERS, AWARDS AND SEIZURES

Sec.

86.1 Reports on disasters.

86.2

86.3

Consular authority over wrecked, lost, or stranded vessels of the United States.

Consular authority when interested party is present.

86.4 Consular jurisdiction in salvage cases. 86.5 Consular duties when assuming jurisdiction.

86.6 Reports on rescues and heroic conduct. 86.7 Seizures of vessels.

86.8 Claims arising out of seizures of vessels. 86.9 Certification of claim to Treasury De.. partment.

AUTHORITY: The provisions of this Part 86 issued under sec. 302, 60 Stat. 1001; 22 U.S.C. 842, except as otherwise noted.

SOURCE: The provisions of this Part 86 appear at 22 F.R. 10856, Dec. 27, 1957, unless otherwise noted.

§ 86.1 Reports on disasters.

When a vessel of the United States is wrecked, lost, or stranded within the jurisdiction of a United States consular officer, or when such a vessel, its cargo, or passengers and crew, are brought into his jurisdiction after a disaster at sea, the consular officer shall immediately transmit a telegraphic report to the Department of State, giving the name of the vessel, its owner and home port, the voyage on which it was bound, the circumstances attending the disaster including a statement of the nature of the disaster, the date of occurrence, and the exact location, and information concerning the safety of passengers and crew. Names of those known to be killed, injured or missing should be listed with indication concerning others known to be safe. The report shall, if possible, include information as to whether the vessel is an actual or constructive total loss. The telegraphic report should be followed by a detailed air mail report which shall state whether the ship's papers have been saved.

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been brought into his district after having suffered a disaster at sea; and over any cargo or effects belonging to United States citizens which have been brought into the officer's district from a wrecked or lost vessel of the United States: Provided, That the captain or owner of the vessel, or the owner or consignee of the cargo, or the owner of the effects, is absent or incapable of taking possession of the property concerned: And provided, That no salvage claim has attached to the property.

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(b) Under treaties ΟΤ custom. consular officer shall familiarize himself with the treaty or treaties in force between the United States and the country of assignment regarding the jurisdiction of a United States consular officer over wrecked or stranded vessels of the United States, their cargoes, and effects; and shall exercise such authority as has been granted to him to its fullest extent in the interest of those concerned. In the absence of a specific treaty provision on this subject, the consular officer shall be guided by the generally conceded custom in the country of assignment. In the case of cargo of foreign origin which is brought into a country from a wrecked or stranded vessel, the rule in the United States is that such cargo is exempt from customs duties if it is transshipped or reloaded under customs supervision and taken out of the country. Officers shall endeavor to have similar treatment accorded in a foreign country with reference to cargo belonging to United States citizens, which is brought into the country from a wrecked or stranded vessel. If rights granted by treaty or acquired by established usage are denied ignored, the consular officer shall submit an immediate report in the premises to the Department of State, the diplomatic mission of the United States in the country of assignment, and to the supervising consulate general, if there is one.

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(c) Under local laws. In the absence of a treaty or an established custom giving a United States consular officer jurisdiction over wrecked or stranded vessels of the United States, their cargoes, and effects, the consular officer shall conform to local laws and regulations on this subject. However, if, under local laws, the magistrate or some other official is vested with jurisdiction over the property in question, the consular officer shall request permission to assist in proceedings relating to its disposition. If the con

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As a rule, when a lien for salvage has attached to a wrecked vessel, its cargo, or effects the consular officer has no jurisdiction over the vessel, cargo, or effects until the salvage claim has been adjudicated. § 86.5

Consular duties when assuming jurisdiction.

(a) Request for instruction. In the few countries where a United States consular officer is empowered to assume jurisdiction over a salvaged vessel or cargo, he shall immediately telegraph the Department of State for authority to assume jurisdiction, request that instructions be obtained from the owners if possible relative to his course of action, and furnish an estimate of funds needed to be deposited with the Department for expenses necessarily incurred in carrying out instructions.

(b) Safeguarding of vessel and cargo. Pending receipt of instructions from the owners or from the Department, a consular officer may, for his own protection, post a guard at the wrecked or stranded vessel, or over the cargo and effects brought into his district from a vessel which has been wrecked or stranded at sea, to prevent pilferage. Any expenses necessarily expended in employing a guard for this purpose are chargeable against the property in question.

(c) Collection and disposal of papers. The consular officer will endeavor to collect the ship's papers and documents relating to the vessel, its cargo, and passengers, and, if possible, deliver them to

the proper persons. In the event of the death or nonappearance of such persons, the consular officer shall transmit the papers to the Department.

(d) Disposition of unclaimed property. If the owners of the vessel, cargo, or effects are unknown, the consular officer shall submit a full report to the Department and await instructions before taking further action. Upon receipt of necessary authorization from the Department, a consular officer may dispose of unclaimed merchandise and effects in the manner set forth for the disposition of effects of a citizen of the United States dying abroad.

(R. S. 4238; 46 U. S. C. 721)

§ 86.6 Reports on rescues and heroic conduct.

When a consular officer receives authentic information that the master or crew of any vessel, American or foreign, or that any person, has rescued seamen or citizens of the United States from drowning, shipwreck or some other catastrophe at sea, he shall immediately transmit to the Department a detailed report concerning the rescue and shall make recommendations with reference to the giving of rewards to persons who have distinguished themselves in effecting the rescue.

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When a private vessel documented or certificated under the laws of the United States is seized by a foreign country on the basis or rights or claims in territorial waters or the high seas which are not recognized by the United States, and there is no dispute of material facts with respect to the location or activity of such vessel at the time of the seizure, the Secretary of State shall take as soon as practicable such action as he deems appropriate to attend to the welfare of such vessel and its crew while it is held by such country and to secure the release of such vessel and crew. When a vessel is seized under the above conditions and a fine must be paid in order to secure the prompt release of the vessel and crew, the owners shall be reimbursed by the Secretary of the Treasury in the amount certified to him by the Legal Adviser and Deputy Legal Adviser of the Department of State as being the amount of the fine actually paid. These provisions are not applicable with respect to

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