In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) "agreement with the crew " means the agreement referred to in section 100 or, as the case may be, section 114 of the Merchant Shipping Act;

(b) "Board " means the Board of Trustees of the Seamen's Provident Fund constituted under section 5;

(c) "continuous discharge certificate " means the certificate referred to in section 99 of the Merchant Shipping Act;

(d) "contribution " means a contribution payable in respect of a member under the Scheme;

(e) "employer ", in relation to a seaman, means the owner of the ship on which the seaman is employed or engaged, or the agent of such owner or the master of the ship;

(f) "Fund " means the Seamen's Provident Fund established under the Scheme;

(g) "Government " means the Central Government;

(h) "master " and "ship " have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Merchant Shipping Act;

(i) "member " means a seaman who is in possession of a continuous discharge certificate and who is admitted as a member of the Fund;

(j) "Merchant Shipping Act " means the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 (44 of 1958);

(k) "Scheme " means the Seamen's Provident Fund Scheme framed under sub-section (1) of section 3;

(l) "seaman " means a person employed or engaged as a member of the crew of a ship under the Merchant Shipping Act but does not include 1[a welfare officer, nurse, musician, pilot or deck barber];

(m) "service " means the period of employment of a seaman under the agreement with the crew and includes any period in respect of which wages are paid or are payable to him;

(n) "wages " means the basic wages for the time being payable to a seaman under the agreement with the crew and includes-