The master or owner or any vessel making coasting voyages shall pay to every seaman his wages within two days after the termination of the agreement under which he was shipped, or at the time such seaman is discharged, whichever first happens; and in case of vessels making foreign voyages, or from a port on the Atlantic to a port on the Pacific, or vice versa, within twenty-four hours after the cargo has been discharged, or within four days after the seaman has been discharged, whichever first happens; and in all cases the seaman shall be entitled to be paid at the time of his discharge on account of wages a sum equal to one-third part of the balance due him. Every master or owner who refuses or neglects to make payment in the manner hereinbefore mentioned without sufficient cause shall pay to the seaman a sum equal to two days' pay for each and every day during which payment is delayed beyond the respective periods, which sum shall be recoverable as wages in any claim made before the court; but this section shall not apply to masters or owners of any vessel the seamen of which are entitled to share in the profits of the cruise or voyage. [This section shall not apply to fishing or whaling vessels or yachts—Dec. 21, 1898, sec. 26—but this section shall apply to all vessels engaged in the taking of oysters—June 28, 1906, sec. 4.] (R. S. 4529; Dec. 21, 1898; sec. 4; June 28, 1906; sec. 4. Mar. 4, 1915; sec. 3.) (Effective beginning Nov. 4, 1915.)
Every seaman on a vessel of the United States shall be entitled to receive on demand from the master of the vessel to which he belongs one-half part of the wages which he shall have then earned at every port where such vessel, after the voyage has been commenced, shall load or deliver cargo before the voyage is ended and all stipulations in the contract to the contrary shall be void: _Provided_, Such a demand shall not be made before the expiration of, nor oftener than once in five days. Any failure on the part of the master to comply with this demand shall release the seaman from his contract and he shall be entitled to full payment of wages earned. And when the voyage is ended every such seaman shall be entitled to the remainder of the wages which shall then be due him, as provided in section forty-five hundred and twenty-nine of the Revised Statutes: _Provided further_, That notwithstanding any release signed by any seaman under section forty-five hundred and fifty-two of the Revised Statutes any court having jurisdiction may upon good cause shown set aside such release and take such action as justice shall require: _And provided further_, That this section shall apply to seamen on foreign vessels while in harbors of the United States, and the courts of the United States shall be open to such seamen for its enforcement. [This section shall not apply to fishing or whaling vessels or yachts—Dec. 21, 1898, sec. 26.] (R. S., 4530; Dec. 21, 1898; sec. 5; Mar. 4, 1915, sec. 4.) (Effective on American vessels beginning Nov. 4, 1915; on vessels of foreign nations not covered by treaties Mar. 4, 1916; on vessels of other foreign nations after termination of treaties.)