Seafarer awards are categorized into the following:
1. Appreciation
2. Merit.
3. Written commendation or medal.

Any seafarer that meets any of the following conditions shall be eligible for appreciation:
1. Outstanding achievement handling specific events.
2. At least three consecutive years of hard work with no negligence.

Any seafarer that has any one of the following circumstances shall be eligible for a merit award:
1. Special merit for ship maintenance and repair.
2. Rescue merit for a vessel in distress.
3. Protecting national interests without conceding to stress.
4. Supported various patriotic movements or started and promoted patriotic donation activities.
5. Provided marine knowledge and technology that made an important contribution toward developing the shipping field.
6. Promoted citizen diplomacy with specific results.
7. Other noteworthy achievements.

Any seafarer that meets any one of the following circumstances shall be eligible for a written commendation or medal:
1. Had excellent performance for more than ten years.
2. Special merit in rescuing the vessel or other vessels in danger.
3. Outstanding achievements in government loyalty.
4. Preemptively notified or assisted in a major accident to prevent damage to the ship.
5. Innovation or research that improved ship equipment.

Deleted

Any seafarer that meets any one of the following circumstances shall be subject to receiving a warning:
1. Failure to or undue report to the Maritime Administration as required by law.
2. Refusal to a request for assistance made by the Maritime Administration, R.O.C. embassies, representative offices, or other institutions authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs without a valid reason.
3. Non-compliance in daily life whether through word or deed.
4. Failure to comply with medical examination requirements.
5. Loss of Seafarer Service Book, certificate of competency, certificate of endorsement, or other important documents without a valid reason.
6. Relatively minor inappropriate conduct or an unauthorized undertaking pursuant to law or duty.

Any seafarer that meets any one of the following circumstances and that is confirmed to have done so by the Maritime Administration shall be subject to receiving a penalty point:
1. Insubordination to a superior’s orders or commands.
2. Absent without leave or absent beyond permitted leave.
3. Dereliction of duty.
4. Non-compliance with an employer’s instructions within the scope of business monitoring.
5. Non-compliance with provisions of the employment contract.
6. Negligence that results in vessel failure, sailing delay, or any damage to passengers or cargo.
7. Caused disaster or loss because of violating navigational safety regulations.
8. Mismanagement or dereliction of duty that results in damage to the ship’s machinery, equipment, or accessories.
9. Severe circumstances of default or an unauthorized undertaking pursuant to law or duty.

A seafarer that commits any one of the following offenses, as confirmed by the Maritime Administration, shall be punished with a demotion or withdrawal of Seafarer Service Book for a time period between three months and two years:
1. Severe insubordination toward a superior’s order or command.
2. Absent without leave, absent beyond the permitted leave, or absence without leave for the first time in a foreign country.
3. Severe dereliction of duty.
4. Severe non-compliance with an employer’s instructions within the scope of business monitoring.
5. Severe non-compliance with provisions of the employment contract.
6. Improper operation or use of the ship’s machinery, equipment, or facilities that results in casualties.
7. Instigates seafarers aboard the same ship to organize collective strikes or slowdowns that affect navigation safety.
8. Causes trouble to or wounds people on board.
9. Purposefully destroys relevant seafarer documents to destroy evidence, forges documents’ information, or possesses forged seafarer certificates.
10. Organizing a crowd for the purposes of gambling, which negatively affects work and disrupts the ship’s order.
11. Violates navigational safety regulations, resulting in severe losses.
12. Severely improper management of the ship’s machinery, equipment, or appliances or dereliction of duty that results in a shipwreck.
13. Coercing or forcing the master or other seafarers to not perform their duties according to law.
14. A master who changes the scheduled voyage for a reason other than incident, sea rescue, or force majeure.
15. A master that permits carrying passengers or cargo in excess and continues sailing without objection.
16. Any conduct that violates government ordinances or regulations related to navigation.
17. Inflicts violence on a seafarer on board, threatening personal safety.
18. Any misconduct that purposely destroys the ship or its equipment or accessories.
19. Severe circumstances of default or an unauthorized undertaking pursuant to law or duty.

A seafarer that commits any one of the following offenses, as confirmed by the Maritime Administration, shall be punished by Seafarer Service Book withdrawal for two to five years:
1. Assume other seafarer’s duty or have other seafarers assume one’s duty.
2. Violation of safety rules that results in serious disaster or losses.
3. Severely improper management of the ship’s machinery, equipment, or accessories or dereliction of duty that causes a shipwreck.
4. Severe consequences due to a seaman coercing or forcing the master or other seamen to not perform their duties according to law.
5. Causes severe harm to the national reputation and interests.
6. Harassing or wounding another, resulting in death and which shall result in a prison term of at least three years.
7. Failure to comply with provisions of the employment contract, resulting in disturbances that create hard times for the ship.
8. Severe instance of purposely destroying the ship or its equipment or accessories.
9. A master or department head fail to report their knowledge regarding a seaman’s conduct that threatens national security.
10. The second instance of disembarking without permission in a foreign country.
11. Severe instance of default or an unauthorized undertaking pursuant to law or duty.

Seafarers that smuggle cargo or people into or out of the country shall be punished as follows, in accordance with the frequency and circumstances of their acts:
1. Seafarers confirmed to have violated customs anti-smuggling regulations with a smuggled dutiable value of imported or exported goods more than the FOB value of NT$100,000 shall be punished by the withdrawal of Seafarer Services Book for three months for the first offense, six months for the second offense, one year for the third offense, two years for the fourth offense, and five years for the fifth offense and subsequent offenses.
2. A seafarer that has violated the “Punishment of Smuggling Act” and “Tobacco and Alcohol Administration Act” regulations and has been sentenced by the courts, regardless of whether said seafarer is on probation or not, shall have his Seafarer Service Book withdrawn for one year for the first offense, two years for the second offense, and five years for the third offense and subsequent offenses.
3. Department heads of a vessel, such as the master, chief mate, chief engineer officer, boatswain, chief mechanic head (including head of fuel and head of fire ignition), and purser (head of meal), that are found smuggling cargo or people into or out of the country shall receive double the punishments set forth in the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs.
4. Seafarers found to be transporting unauthorized guns, ammunition, or drugs or smuggling people into or out of the country shall have his Seafarer Service Book withdrawn for five years.
5. Seafarers who are aware of the four aforementioned circumstances and not only fail to identify and report it, but also help to conceal it, shall be punished by fine points in accordance with the seriousness of the misconduct or have his Seafarer Service Book withdrawn for three months.
A seafarer having committed the offense in the preceding paragraph who has been punished for less than three years shall not be permitted to work on the original route.

In order for the Maritime Administration to recover a Seafarer Service Book, the following regulations shall apply:
1. Prior to recovering the Seafarer Service Book, the Maritime Administration shall notify the seafarer in writing. Regarding a seafarer involved in committing a crime, said action shall be done after the court sentence.
2. The recovery period of the Seafarer Service Book shall start from the date that the seafarer has the book withdrawn. Such seafarers shall apply to the Maritime Administration to return his/her book after the withdrawal period expires; if they do not do so without a legitimate reason, the Maritime Administration may directly cancel the book.
3. If a seafarer is to be punished by Seafarer Service Book withdrawal but disembarks in a foreign country without approval and is subsequently repatriated by a foreign government or automatically returned to the Taiwan area, the Maritime Administration shall send a letter to the seafarer’s company to immediately recover his/her Seafarer Service Book.
4. When imposing Seafarer Service Book withdrawal punishment, any certificate of competency or certificate of endorsement shall also be revoked or canceled.

With the exceptions of penalties stipulated by regulation, regarding seafarers with conduct involving criminal accusations, the navigation agency shall transfer the case to a judicial organ to be processed according to law.

The Award and Punishment of seafarers will be designated by the Maritime and Port Bureau.

A seafarer who is either awarded or punished shall have such registered in the awards and punishment column of the Seafarer Service Book by the Maritime Administration for the purpose of future evaluation.
A punished seafarer whose warning has exceeded one year and fine points have exceeded three years shall be exempt from the possibility of re-registration in the Seafarer Service Book.
A seafarer punished with one year of Seafarer Service Book withdrawal and has not committed the same misconduct for seven years after recovering the book or a seafarer punished with more than one year of Seafarer Service Book withdrawal and has not committed the same misconduct for ten years after recovery of the book shall be exempt from recording the misconduct in the Seafarer Service Book.

Any application forms referred to in these regulations shall be separately stipulated by the relevant competent authorities.

These regulations shall take effect starting from the day of promulgation. However, Articles 36, 83-2, and 83-3, which have been amended, shall take effect on August 20, 2013.