Merchant Shipping Act, 1894. (57 & 58 VICT. CH.60)

(Exemptions from registry) 　3. The following ships are exempted from registry under this Act:— (1)Ships not exceeding fifteen tons burden employed solely in navigation on the rivers or coasts of the United Kingdom, or on the rivers or coasts of some British possession within which the managing owners of the ships are resident: (2)Ships not exceeding thirty tons burden and not having a whole or fixed deck, and employed solely in fishing or trading coastwise on the shores of Newfoundland or parts adjacent thereto, or in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, or on such portions of the coasts of Canada as lie bordering on that gulf. (Transfer of ships or shares) 　24. (1)A registered ship or a share therein (when disposed of to a person qualified to own a British ship) shall be transferred by bill of sale. (2)The bill of sale shall contain such description of the ship as is contained in the surveyor's certificate, or some other description sufficient to identify the ship to the satisfaction of the registrar, and shall be in the form marked A in the first part of the First Schedule to this Act, or as near thereto as circumstances permit, and shall be executed by the transferor in the presence of, and be attested by, a witness or witnesses. (Declaration of transfer) 　25. Where a registered ship or a share therein is transferred, the transferee shall not be entitled to be registered as owner thereof until he, or, in the case of a corporation, the person authorised by this Act to make declarations on behalf of the corporation, has made and signed a declaration (in this Act called a declaration of transfer) referring to the ship, and containing— (a)a statement of the qualification of the transferee to own a British ship, or if the transferee is a corporation, of such circumstances of the constitution and business thereof as prove it to be qualified to own a British ship; and (b)a declaration that, to the best of his knowledge and belief, no unqualified person or body of persons is entitled as owner to any legal or beneficial interest in the ship or any share therein. (Registry of transfer) 　26. (1)Every bill of sale for the transfer of a registered ship or of a share therein, when duly executed, shall be produced to the registrar of her port of registry, with the declaration of transfer, and the registrar shall thereupon enter in the register book the name of the transferee as owner of the ship or share, and shall endorse on the bill of sale the fact of that entry having been made, with the clay and hour thereof. (2)Bills of sale of a ship or of a share therein shall be entered in the register book in the order of their production to the registrar. (Transmission of property in ship on death, bankruptcy, marriage, &c) 　27. (1)Where the property in a registered ship or share therein is transmitted to a person qualified to own a British ship on the marriage, death, or bankruptcy of any registered owner, or by any lawful means other than by a transfer under this Act— (a)That person shall authenticate the transmission by making, and signing a declaration (in this Act called a declaration of transmission) identifying the ship and containing the several statements herein-before required to be contained in a declaration of transfer, or as near thereto as circumstances admit, and also a statement of the manner in which and the person to whom the property has been transmitted. (b)If the transmission takes place by virtue of marriage, the declaration shall be accompanied by a copy of the register of the marriage or other legal evidence of the celebration thereof, and shall declare the identity of the female owner. (c)If the transmission is consequent on bankruptcy, the declaration of transmission shall be accompanied by such evidence as is for the time being receivable in courts of justice as proof of the title of persons claiming under a bankruptcy. (d)If the transmission is consequent on death, the declaration of transmission shall be a companied by the instrument of representation, or an official extract therefrom. (2)The registrar, on receipt of the declaration of transmission so accompanied, shall enter in the register book the name of the person entitled under the transmission as owner of the ship or share the property in which has been transmitted, and, where there is more than one such person, shall enter the names of all those persons, but those persons, however numerous, shall, for the purpose of the provision of this Act with respect to the number of persons entitled to be registered as owners, be considered as one person. (Order for sale on transmission to unqualified person) 　28. (1)Where the property in a registered ship or share therein is transmitted on marriage, death, bankruptcy, or otherwise to a person not qualified to own a British ship, then—if the ship is registered in England or Ireland, the High Court; or if the ship is registered in Scotland, the Court of Session; or if the ship is registered in any British possession, the court having the principal civil jurisdiction in that possession ; or if the ship is registered in a port of registry established by Order in Council under this Act, the British court having the principal civil jurisdiction there ; may on application by or on behalf of the unqualified person, order a sale of the property so transmitted, and direct that the proceeds of the sale, after deducting the expenses thereof, be paid to the person entitled under such transmission or otherwise as the court direct. (2)The court may require any evidence in support of the application they think requisite, and may make the order on any terms and conditions they think just, or may refuse to make the order, and generally may act in the case as the justice of the case requires. (3)Every such application for sale must be made within four weeks after the occurrence of the event on which the transmission has taken place, or within such further time (not exceeding in the whole one year from the date of the occurrence) as the court allow. (4)If such an application is not made within the time aforesaid, or if the court refuse an order for sale, the ship or share transmitted shall thereupon be subject to forfeiture under this Act. (Transfer of ship or sale by order of court) 　29. Where any court, whether under the preceding sections of this Act or otherwise, order the tale of any ship or share therein, the order of the court shall contain a declaration vesting in some person named by the court the right to transfer that ship or share, and that person shall thereupon be entitled to transfer the ship or share in the same manner and to the same extent as if he were the registered owner thereof; and every registrar shall obey the requisition of the person so named in respect of any such transfer to the same extent as if such person were the registered owner. (Power of court to prohibit transfer) 　30. Each of the following courts, namely :— (a)in England or Ireland the High Court, (b)in Scotland the Court of Session, (c)in any British possession the court having the principal civil jurisdiction in that possession ; and (d)in the case of a port of registry established by Order in Council under this Act, the British court having the principal civil jurisdiction there,may, if the court think fit (without prejudice to the exercise of any other power of the court), on the application of any interested person make an order prohibiting for a time specified any dealing with a ship or any share therein, and the court may make the order on any terms or conditions they think just, or may refuse to make the order, or may discharge the order when made, with or without costs, and generally may act in the case as the justice of the case requires; and every registrar, without being made a party to the proceeding, shall on being served with the order or an official copy thereof obey the same. (Mortgage of ship or share) 　31. (1)A registered ship or a share therein may be made a security for a loan or other valuable consideration, and the instrument creating the security (in this Act called a mortgage) shall be in the form marked B in the first part of the First Schedule to this Act, or as near thereto as circumstances permit, and on the production of such instrument the registrar of the ship's port of registry shall record it in the register book. (2)Mortgages shall be recorded by the registrar in the order in time in which they are produced to him for that purpose, and the registrar shall by memorandum under his hand notify on each mortgage that it has been recorded by him, stating the day and hour of that record. (Priority of mortgages) 　33. If there are more mortgages than one registered in respect of the same ship or share, the mortgagees shall, notwithstanding any express, implied, or constructive notice, be entitled in priority, one over the other, according to the date at which each mortgage is recorded in the register book, and not according to the date of each mortgage itself. (Mortgagee not treated as owner) 　34. Except as far as may be necessary for making a mortgaged ship or share available as a security for the mortgage debt, the mortgagee shall not by reason of the mortgage be deemed the owner of the ship or share, nor shall the mortgagor be deemed to have ceased to be owner thereof. (Ship's managing owner or manager to be registered) 　59. (1)The name and address of the managing owner for the time being of every ship registered at a port in the United Kingdom shall be registered at the custom house of that port. (2)Where there is not a managing owner there shall be so registered the name of the ship's husband or other person to whom the management of the ship is entrusted by or on behalf of the owner ; and any person whose name is so registered shall, for the purposes of this Act, be under the same obligations, and subject to the same liabilities, as if he were the managing owner. (3)If default is made in complying with this section the owner shall be liable, or if there are more owners than one each owner shall be liable in proportion to his interest in the ship, to a fine not exceeding in the whole one hundred pounds each time the ship leaves any port in the United Kingdom. (Deductions from wages of seamen) 　133. (1)A deduction from the wages of a seaman shall not be allowed unless it is included in the account delivered in pursuance of the last preceding section, except in respect of a matter happening after the delivery. (2)The master shall during the voyage enter the various matters in respect of which the deductions are made, with the amounts of the respective deductions, as they occur, in a book to be kept for that purpose, and shall, if required, produce the book at the time of the payment of wages, and also upon the hearing before any competent authority of any complaint or question relating to that payment. (Wages not to depend on freight) 　157. (1)The right to wages shall not depend on the earning of freight; and every seaman and apprentice who would be entitled to demand and recover any wages, if the ship in which he has served had earned freight, shall, subject to all other rules of law and conditions applicable to the case, be entitled to demand and recover the same, notwithstanding that freight has not been earned ; but in all cases of wreck or loss of the ship, proof that the seaman has not exerted himself to the utmost to save the ship, cargo, and stores, shall bar his claim to wages. (2)Where a seaman or apprentice who would, but for death, be entitled by virtue of this section to demand and recover any wages, dies before the wages are paid, they shall be paid and applied in manner provided by this Act with respect to the wages of a seaman who dies during a voyage. (Wages on termination of service by wreck or illness) 　158. Where the service of a seaman terminates before the date contemplated in the agreement, by reason of the wreck or loss of the ship, or of his being left on shore at any place abroad under a certificate granted as provided by this Act of his unfitness or inability to proceed on the voyage, he shall be entitled to wages up to the time of such termination, but not for any longer period. (Forfeiture of wages, &c. of seaman when illness caused by his own default) 　160. Where a seaman is by reason of illness incapable of performing his duty, and it is proved that the illness has been caused by his own wilful act or default, he shall not be entitled to wages for the time during which he is by reason of the illness incapable of performing his duty. (Allowance for short or bad provisions) 　199. In either of the following cases ; (that is to say,) (i)if during a voyage the allowance of any of the provisions for which a seaman has by his agreement stipulated is reduced (except in accordance with any regulations for reduction by way of punishment contained in the agreement with the crew, and also except for any time during which the seaman wilfully and without sufficient cause refuses or neglects to perform his duty, or is lawfully under confinement for misconduct either on board or on shore); or (ii)if it is shown that any of those provisions are or have during the voyage been bad in quality and unfit for use;the seaman shall receive, by way of compensation for that reduction, or bad quality, according to the time of its continuance, the following sums, to be paid to him in addition to, and to be recoverable as, wages; (that is to say,) (a)if his allowance is reduced by not more than one third of the quantity specified in the agreement, a sum not exceeding fourpence a day : (b)if his allowance is reduced by more than one third of that quantity, eightpence a day: (c)in respect of bad quality as aforesaid, a sum not exceeding one shilling a day :But if it is shown to the satisfaction of the court before whom the case is tried that any provisions, the allowance of which has been reduced, could not be procured or supplied in proper quantities, and that proper and equivalent substitutes were supplied in lieu thereof, the court shall take those circumstances into consideration, and shall modify or refuse compensation as the justice of the case requires. (Expenses of medical attendance in case of illness) 　207. (1)If the master of, or a seaman or apprentice belonging to, a ship receives any hurt or injury in the service of the ship, the expense of providing the necessary surgical and medical advice and attendance and medicine, and also the expenses of the maintenance of the master, seaman, or apprentice until he is cured, or dies, or is brought back, if shipped in the United Kingdom, to a port of the United Kingdom, or if shipped in a British possession to a port of that possession, and of his conveyance to the port, and in case of death the expense (if any) of his burial, shall be defrayed by the owner of the ship, without any deduction on that account from his wages. (2)If the master or a seaman or apprentice is on account of any illness temporarily removed from his ship for the purpose of preventing infection, or otherwise for the convenience of the ship, and subsequently returns to his duty, the expense of the removal and of providing the necessary advice and attendance and medicine and of his maintenance while away from the ship shall be defrayed in like manner. (3)The expense of all medicines, surgical and medical advice, and attendance, given to a master, seaman, or apprentice whilst on board his ship shall be defrayed in like manner. (4)If a seaman or apprentice is ill and has, through the neglect of the master or owner of the ship, not been provided with proper provisions and water according to his agreement, or with such medicines, medical stores, anti-scorbutics, or accommodation, as are required by this Act, then the owner or master, unless it can be proved that the illness has been produced by other causes, shall be liable to pay all expenses (not exceeding on the whole three months wages) properly and necessarily incurred by reason of the illness either by the seaman himself or by the Crown or any parochial or local authority on his behalf, and those expenses may be recovered as if they were wages duly earned, but this provision shall not affect any further liability of the master or owner for the neglect, or any other remedies possessed by the seaman or apprentice. (5)In all other cases any reasonable expenses duly incurred by the owner for any seaman in respect of illness, and also any reasonable expenses duly incurred by the owner in respect of the burial of any seaman or apprentice who dies whilst on service, shall, if duly proved, be deducted from the wages of the seaman or apprentice. (Power of shipowner to enter and land goods on default by owner of goods) 　493. (1)Where the owner of any goods imported in any ship from foreign parts into the United Kingdom fails to make entry thereof, or, having made entry thereof, to land the same or take delivery thereof, and to proceed therewith with all convenient speed, by the times severally herein-after mentioned, the shipowner may make entry of and land or unship the goods at the following times:— (a)If a time for the delivery of the goods is expressed in the charter party, bill of lading, or agreement, then at any time after the time so expressed: (b)If no time for the delivery of the goods is expressed in the charter party, bill of lading, or agreement, then at any time after the expiration of seventy-two hours, exclusive of a Sunday or holiday, from the time of the report of the ship. (2)Where a shipowner lands goods in pursuance of this section he shall place them, or cause them to be placed— (a)if any wharf or warehouse is named in the charter party, bill of lading, or agreement, as the wharf or warehouse where the goods are to be placed and if they can be conveniently there received, on that wharf or in that warehouse ; and (b)in any other case on some wharf or in some warehouse on or in which goods of a like nature are usually placed; the wharf or warehouse being, if the goods are dutiable, a wharf or warehouse duly approved by the Commissioners of Customs for the landing of dutiable goods. (3)If at any time before the goods are landed or unshipped the owner of the goods is ready and offers to land or take delivery of the same, he shall be allowed to do so, and his entry shall in that case be preferred to any entry which may have been made by the shipowner. (4)If any goods are, for the purpose of convenience in assorting the same, landed at the wharf where the ship is discharged, and the owner of the goods at the time of that landing has made entry and is ready and offers to take delivery thereof, and to convey the same to some other wharf or warehouse, the goods shall be assorted at landing, and shall, if demanded, be delivered to the owner thereof within twenty-four hours after assortment; and the expense of and consequent on that landing and assortment shall be borne by the shipowner. (5)If at any time before the goods are landed or unshipped the owner thereof has made entry for the landing and warehousing thereof at any particular wharf or warehouse other than that at which the ship is discharging, and has offered and been ready to take delivery thereof, and the shipowner has failed to make that delivery, and has also failed at the time of that offer to give the owner of the goods correct information of the time at which the goods can be delivered, then the shipowner shall, before landing or unshipping the goods, in pursuance of this section, give to the owner of the goods or of such wharf or warehouse as last aforesaid twenty-four hours notice in writing of his readiness to deliver the goods, and shall, if he lands or unships the same without that notice, do so at his own risk and expense. (Lien for freight on landing goods) 　494. If at the time when any goods are landed from any ship, and placed in the custody of any person as a wharfinger or warehouseman, the shipowner gives to the wharfinger or warehouseman notice in writing that the goods are to remain subject to a lien for freight or other charges payable to the shipowner to an amount mentioned in the notice, the goods so landed shall, in the hands of the wharfinger or warehouseman, continue subject to the same lien, if any, for such charges as they were subject to before the landing thereof; and the wharfinger or warehouseman receiving those goods shall retain them until the lien is discharged as herein-after mentioned, and shall, if he fails so to do, make good to the shipowner any loss thereby occasioned to him. (Discharge of lien) 　495. The said lien for freight and other charges shall be discharged— (1)upon the production to the wharfinger or warehouseman of a receipt for the amount claimed as due, and delivery to the wharfinger or warehouseman of a copy thereof or of a release of freight from the shipowner, and (2)upon the deposit by the owner of the goods with the wharfinger or warehouseman of a sum of money equal in amount to the sum claimed as aforesaid by the shipowner;but in the latter case the lien shall be discharged without prejudice to any other remedy which the shipowner may have for the recovery of the freight. (Provisions as to deposits by owners of goods) 　496. (1)When a deposit as aforesaid is made with the wharfinger or warehouseman, the person making the same may, within fifteen days after making it, give to the wharfinger or warehouseman notice in writing to retain it, stating in the notice the sums, if any, which lie admits to be payable to the shipowner, or, as the case may be, that he does not admit any sum to be so payable, but if no such notice is given, the wharfinger or warehouseman may, at the expiration of the fifteen days, pay the sum deposited over to the shipowner. (2)If a notice is given as aforesaid the wharfinger or warehouseman shall immediately apprize the shipowner of it, and shall pay or tender to him out of the sum deposited the sum, if any, admitted by the notice to be payable, and shall retain the balance, or, if no sum is admitted to be payable, the whole of the sum deposited, for thirty days from the date of the notice. (3)At the expiration of those thirty days unless legal proceedings have in the meantime been instituted by the shipowner against the owner of the goods to recover the said balance or sum, or otherwise for the settlement of any disputes which may have arisen between them concerning the freight or other charges as aforesaid, and notice in writing of those proceedings has been served on the wharfinger or warehouseman, the wharfinger or warehouseman shall pay the balance or sum to the owner of the goods. (4)A wharfinger or warehouseman shall by any payment under this section be discharged from all liability in respect thereof. (Sale of goods by warehouseman) 　497. —If the lien is not discharged, and no deposit is made as aforesaid, the wharfinger or warehouseman may, and, if required by the shipowner, shall, at the expiration of ninety days from the time when the goods were placed in his custody, or, if the goods are of a perishable nature, at such earlier period as in his discretion he thinks fit, sell by public auction, either for home use or for exportation, the goods or so much thereof as may be necessary to satisfy the charges herein-after mentioned. (2)Before making the sale the wharfinger or warehouseman shall give notice thereof by advertisement in two local newspapers circulating in the neighbourhood, or in one daily newspaper published in London, and in one local newspaper, and also, if the address of the owner of the goods has been stated on the manifest of the cargo, or on any of the documents which have come into the possession of the wharfinger or warehouseman, or is otherwise known to him, send notice of the sale to the owner of the goods by post. (3)The title of a bona fide purchaser of the goods shall not be invalidated by reason of the omission to send the notice required by this section, nor shall any such purchaser be bound to inquire whether the notice has been sent. (Application of proceeds of sale) 　498. The proceeds of sale shall be applied by the wharfinger or warehouseman as follows, and in the following order:— (i)First, if the goods are sold for home use, in payment of any customs or excise duties owing in respect thereof; then (ii)In payment of the expenses of the sale; then (iii)In payment of the charges of the wharfinger or warehouseman and the shipowner according to such priority as may be determined by the terms of the agreement (if any) in that behalf between them; or, if there is no such agreement— (a)in payment of the rent, rates, and other charges due to the wharfinger or warehouseman in respect of the said goods; and then (b)in payment of the amount claimed by the shipowner as due for freight or other charges in respect of the said goods;and the surplus, if any, shall be paid to the owner of the goods. (Limitation of shipowner's liability in certain cases of loss of, or damage to, goods) 　502. The owner of a British sea-going ship, or any share therein, shall not be liable to make good to any extent whatever any loss or damage happening without his actual fault or privity in the following cases ; namely,— (i)Where any goods, merchandise, or other things whatsoever taken in or put on board his ship are lost or damaged by reason of fire on board the ship ; or (ii)Where any gold, silver, diamonds, watches, jewels, or precious stones taken in or put on board his ship, the true nature and value of which have not at the time of shipment been declared by the owner or shipper thereof to the owner or master of the ship in the bills of lading or otherwise in writing, are lost or damaged by reason of any robbery, embezzlement, making away with, or secreting thereof. (Limitation of owner's liability in certain cases of loss of life, injury, or damage) 　503. (1)The owners of a ship, British or foreign, shall not, where all or any of the following occurrences take place without their actual fault or privity; (that is to say,) (a)Where any loss of life or personal injury is caused to any person being carried in the ship; (b)Where any damage or loss is caused to any goods, merchandise, or other things whatsoever on board the ship; (c)Where any loss of life or personal injury is caused to any person carried in any other vessel by reason of the improper navigation of the ship ; (d)Where any loss or damage is caused to any other vessel, or to any goods, merchandise, or other things whatsoever on board any other vessel, by reason of the improper navigation of the ship;be liable to damages beyond the following amounts; (that is to say,) (i)In respect of loss of life or personal injury, either alone or together with loss of or damage to vessels, goods, merchandise, or other things, an aggregate amount not exceeding fifteen pounds for each ton of their ship's tonnage ; and (ii)In respect of loss of, or damage to, vessels, goods, merchandise, or other things, whether there be in addition loss of life or personal injury or not, an aggregate amount not exceeding eight pounds for each ton of their ship's tonnage. (2)For the purposes of this section— (a)The tonnage of a steam ship shall be her gross tonnage without deduction on account of engine room; and the tonnage of a sailing ship shall be her registered tonnage:Provided that there shall rot be included in such tonnage any space occupied by seamen or apprentices and appropriated to their use which is certified under the regulations scheduled to this Act with regard thereto. (b)Where a foreign ship has been or car be measured according to British law, her tonnage, as ascertained by that measurement shall, for the purpose of this section, be deemed to be her tonnage. (c)Where a foreign ship has not been and cannot be measured according to British law, the surveyor-general of ships in the United Kingdom, or the chief measuring officer of any British possession abroad, shall, on receiving from or by the direction of the court hearing the case, in which the tonnage of the ship is in question, such evidence concerning the dimensions of the ship as it may be practicable to furnish, give a certificate under his hand stating what would in his opinion have been the tonnage of the ship if she had been duly measured according to British law, and the tonnage so stated in that certificate shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be the tonnage of the ship. (3)The owner of every sea-going ship or share therein shall be liable in respect of every such loss of life, personal injury, loss of or damage to vessels, goods, merchandise, or things as aforesaid arising on distinct occasions to the same extent as if no other loss, injury, or damage had arisen. (Power of courts to consolidate claims against owners, &c) 　504. Where any liability is alleged to have been incurred by the owner of a British or foreign ship in respect of loss of life, personal injury, or loss of or damage to vessels or goods, and several claims are made or apprehended in respect of that liability, then, the owner may apply in England and Ireland to the High Court, or in Scotland to the Court of Session, or in a British possession to any competent court, and that court may determine the amount of the owner's liability and may distribute that amount rateably among the several claimants, and may stay any proceedings pending in any other court in relation to the same master, and may proceed in such manner and subject to such regulations as to making persons interested parties to the proceedings, and as to the exclusion of any claimants who do not come in within a certain time, and as to requiring security from the owner, and as to payment of any costs, as the court thinks just. (Part owners to account in respect of damages) 　505. All sums paid for or on account of any loss or damage in respect whereof the liability of owners is limited under the provisions of this Part of the Act, and all costs incurred in relation thereto, may be brought into account among part owners of the same ship in the same manner as money disbursed for the use thereof. (Insurances of certain risks not invalid) 　506. An insurance effected against the happening, without the owner's actual fault or privity, of any or all of the events in respect of which the liability of owners is limited under this Part of this Act shall not be invalid by reason of the nature of the risk. (Proof of passengers on board ship) 　507. In any proceeding under this Part of this Act against the owner of a ship or share therein with respect to loss of life, the passenger lists under the Third Part of this Act shall be received as evidence that the person upon whose death proceedings are taken under this Part of this Act was a passenger on board the ship at the time of death. (Liability in certain cases not affected) 　508. Nothing in this Part of this Act shall be construed to lessen or take away any liability to which any master or seaman, being also owner or part owner of the ship to which he belongs, is subject in his capacity of master or seaman, or to extend to any British ship which is not recognised as a British ship within the meaning of this Act. (Extent of Part VIII) 　509. This Part of this Act; shall, unless the context otherwise requires, extend to the whole of Her Majesty's dominions.