The measurement dues in Sweden at present fall, as a rule, upon the owner.
For bills of tonnage and some other shipping documents, stamp- and office-
fees are payable.
Abroad, Swedish vessels nowadays do not pay any other fees except, in Great
Britain, a fee to the Swedish Church in London, as well as such fees or dues
as have the character of office-fees to the consul. The fee to the Swedish
Church in London amounts to 0*6 penny per ton for vessels arriving in London,
and to 0*3 penny for vessels arriving at other ports in Great Britain and
Ireland.
Sailors.
On account of the peculiar nature of the sailor’s calling, the conditions under
which that profession is to be pursued have from ancient times been made the
subject of special legislation. The present regulations on the subject are contained
in the Maritime Law of 1891 with the statutes incorporated therewith. That
Act prescribes in detail the duties and rights of the crew and the master
reciprocally and in relation of the ship-owner, as well as the extent of the
master’s responsibility for the vessel. In order to maintain the rigorous discipline
which is so necessary on board ship, and to prevent the crew being ablelto
leave the ship then and there on the slightest occasion arising, the law has
deposited very extensive disciplinary powers in the hands of the Master, and
made the conditions of the seaman’s articles more rigorous, which has correspondingly
diminished the personal liberty and independence of the crew. (See
the section: Maritime Legislation).
As to the amount of the wages (hire) to be paid in different cases to the
master and crew, the law says nothing. This is a matter entirely dependent
on a free contract between the shipowner, the .master and the crew. The salary
of the Master, which, obviously, varies greatly according to the size of the ship
and the voyage on which she is bound, consists, as a rule partly of a fixed salary,
partly of a commission on the freight earned. This commission in Sweden is
called Tcapplahe. The masters of large steamships have as a rule from 5 000
to 6 000 kronor, those of smaller steamers from 2 000 to 4 000 kronor as a
total yearly income. According to data obtained from the Seamen Registry
Office, the average monthly wages in 1912 for different ratings of officers- and
crew in the Swedish merchant fleet was as follows:1
Kating Steamer Sailing-ship Kating Steamer Sailingkr.
kr. kr. kr.
First Mate. . . . . .1 3 0 90 Carpenter ................ . 70 65
Second Mate . . . . . 100 75 Able-bodied Seaman . 55 50
First Engineer . . . . 200 — Ordinary Seaman . . 45 25
Second Engineer . . . 125 I — S tew a rd ................ , 90 65
Quartermaster . . . . 80 — Cook........................ . 55 30
Boatswain . . / . . . 75 70 S to k e r.................... . 60 —
The hours of work on Swedish ships sailing to foreign countries are 12
hours a day (from 6 a. m. to 6 p. m.) with two hours’ interval; On coasting
vessels the working hours vary greatly owing to the shorter voyages and the
numerous stoppages; but they do not appear to exceed 12 hours on an average.
When the work is divided into “shifts watches”, the number of hours into
which a watch is divided varies.
Lodgings. Under the Royal Decree of 1894, a deduction may be made
for lodgings from the gross burden of the ship, provided that each room or
1 In the following two years the wages have been considerably raised.
cabin is exclusively appropriated to the Master or the crew, but subject to th e
stipulation that the room or cabin shall have a capacity of at least 2*04 cub. m
and a TrnrnmnTr. floor area of at least I ’ll sq. m per person accommodated,
and moreover come up to a certain minimum standard with respect to hygiene
and seaworthiness. The spaciousness of the lodgings on board Swedish merchant
ships, as a rule, far exceeds these minimum requirements, but the sanitary
arrangements and comfort are badly in need of improvement. The same may
be said of the scale of food prescribed by the Royal Decree of 1896 for th e
crews of Swedish vessels. The legislative proposals drafted by the Committee
on '¡Safety of Navigation, which, at the present moment of writing, have been,
passed by the Riksdag, also contain considerable ameliorations for the better
accommodation and the food on board. With a view to obtaining a foundation
on which to rear further reforms of the labour conditions of seafaring men, a
statistical investigation with respect to the sailor’s standard of life is at present
being made by the Royal Social Board.
The peculiar, the severe conditions under which the sailor exercises his
profession, have been deemed in Sweden, as in other countries, to call for
special sollicitude on the part of the body public. The State institutions for
this purpose are the Sjomanshus, Seamen Registry and Shipping Offices, and
Handelsflottans pensionsanstalt, the Mercantile Marine Pension Fund.
Sjomanshus, shortly Seamen Registry Offices, are found in 47 of the shipping
towns of Sweden. I t is part of their mission to afford relief to sailors of all
ratings in- distress or out of work, and to their widows and children. The costs
of these institutions are defrayed partly by the tonnage fees paid by the shipowners
and the sailor’s own shipping fees (hyresavgifter), paid by all Swedish
sailors on board ships sailing to foreign countries, inclusive of the masters,,
at sthe rate of 1 % of their wages* or salary, and thirdly by State subvention.
In 1912 the tonnage dues amounted to 192 916 kronor, the shipping
fees to 125 848 kronor, and the State grant to 40 000 kronor. In the same
year the sum expended in annual and occasional aid was 288 660 kronor, wages,
salaries and expenditure ran into 215 399 kronor; and the balance at the end
of (the year figured at 134 247 kronor. The aggregate balance of capital held
by the Sjomanshusen was 6 029 563 kronor, which sum also includes donations.
Each Sjomanshus is governed by a Board, consisting of elected members representing
the shipowners and sailors of various ratings. The Sjomanshus are subject
to the supervision of the Board of Trade, which, at the recommendation of
the Board, appoints their Commissioner, who is a salaried official, with fiscal duties.
The Mercantile Marine Pension Fund was founded in 1864 as a set-off to the
right enjoyed by sailors on board ships sailing to foreign countries to introduce
into Sweden free of duty a certain quantity of goods (known as foring'). The
State grant to this Fund was in 1912 174 075*36 kronor. Pensions are
granted to Swedish sailors who have been principally employed on board ships
sailing- to foreign countries after attaining the age of 55, provided they have
been entered for 25 years on the Seamen Registry Offices. The pensions are
divided into four classes, of which the two first are intended for certified
masters, the third for other masters as well as mates and engineer, and th e
fourth for other sailors and stokers on steamships. The number of pensioners
in 1912 was in
1st class 324 at the rate of 160 kr
2nd > 328 > » -> | 120 >
3rd » 233 »' » '> » 100 >
4th » 1140 » » » 1 60 »
Kr.
51840
28 560
23 300
68400
Total 172100