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63 & 64 Vict. c. 32.

MERCHANT SHIPPING (LIABILITY OF SHIPOWNERS AND OTHERS) ACT, 1900. (63 & 64 VICT. c. 32.)

An Act to amend the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, with respect to the Liability of Shipowners and others.

[6th August, 1900.

Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

limitation of

1. The limitation of the liability of the owners (a) of any ship (b) set by section five hundred and three of the Merchant Further Shipping Act, 1894, in respect of loss of or damage to vessels, liability of goods, merchandise, or other things, shall extend and apply to shipowner. all cases where (without their actual fault or privity) (c) any [57 & 58 Vict. loss or damage is caused to property or rights of any kind, c. 60.] whether on land or on water, or whether fixed or moveable, by reason of the improper navigation (d) or management of the ship.

(a) "Owners."-For meaning see note (d) to s. 503, M. S. A. 1894.

(b) "Ship."-For definition see s. 742, M. S. A. 1894, and note (d) thereto, and The Brunel, 69 L. J. P. 8; [1900] P. 24; and as to exclusion of unrecognised British ships, see s. 508, as amended by Merchant Shipping (Liability of Shipowners) Act, 1898, ss. 1, 2.

(c)" Fault or privity."—See M. S. A. 1894, s. 503, note (d). (d)" Improper navigation."—See ibid. note (g).

conservancy

2. (1.) The owners () of any dock (b) or canal, or a harbour Limitation authority or a conservancy authority, as defined (c) by the of liability Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, shall not, where without their of harbour actual fault or privity (d) any loss or damage is caused to any authority. vessel or vessels, or to any goods, merchandise, or other things whatsoever on board any vessel or vessels, be liable to damages beyond an aggregate amount not exceeding eight pounds for each ton of the tonnage of the largest registered British ship which, at the time of such loss or damage occurring, is, or within the period of five years previous thereto has been, within the area over which such dock or canal owner, harbour authority, or conservancy authority, performs any duty or exercises any power (e). A ship shall not be deemed to have been within the area over which a harbour authority or a conservancy authority

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63 & 64 Vict. c. 32. performs any duty, or exercises any powers, by reason only that it has been built or fitted out within such area, or that it has taken shelter within or passed through such area on a voyage between two places both situate outside that area, or that it has loaded or unloaded mails or passengers within that area (ƒ).

Limitation of liability

where several claims arise on one

occasion.

(2.) For the purpose of this section the tonnage of ships shall be ascertained as provided by section five hundred and three, sub-section two (g), of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, and the register of any ship shall be sufficient evidence (h) that the gross tonnage and the deductions therefrom and the registered tonnage are as therein stated.

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(3.) Section five hundred and four (i) of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, shall apply to this section as if the words owner of a British or foreign ship" included a harbour authority, and a conservancy authority, and the owner of a canal or of a dock.

(4.) For the purpose of this section the term "dock" shall include wet docks and basins, tidal docks and basins, locks, cuts, entrances, dry docks, graving docks, gridirons, slips, quays, wharves, piers, stages, landing-places, and jetties.

(5.) For the purposes of this section the term "owners of a dock or canal" shall include any person or authority having the control and management of any dock or canal, as the case may be.

(6.) Nothing in this section shall impose any liability in respect of any such loss or damage on any such owners or authority in any case where no such liability would have existed if this Act had not passed.

(a) For meaning, see sub-s. (5).

(b) See sub-s. (4).

(c) For these definitions, see M. S. A. 1894, s. 742.

(d)" Fault or privity." See M. S. A. 1894, s. 503, note (d).

(e) Quare whether the owner of a quay, wharf, pier, stage, landing-place or jetty (see sub-s. (4)), can limit his liability in respect of damage to a ship in a berth alongside such wharf, &c., unless he performs some duty or exercises some power over the area of the berth. Cf. The Bearn, 75 L. J. Ad. 9; [1906] P. 48.

(f) It is to be observed that the latter part of this sub-section does not apply to docks and canals belonging to persons who are not a harbour or conservancy authority, as defined by M. S. A. 1894, s. 742.

(g) S. 503 (2), as applied to this Act, is amended by the M. S. A. 1906, s. 69, q.v. (h) Quare, whether "sufficient" is to be read as meaning "conclusive." See Board of Trade v. Sailing Ship Glenpack, [1904] 1 K. B. 682; 9 Asp. M. L. C. 550. (i) Giving the courts power to consolidate claims against owners.

3. The limitation of liability under this Act shall relate to the whole of any losses and damages which may arise upon any one distinct occasion, although such losses and damages may be sustained by more than one person, and shall apply whether the

liability arises at common law or under any general or private Act of Parliament, and notwithstanding anything contained in such Act.

63 & 64 Vict. c. 32.

4. This Act may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Liability Short title. of Shipowners and others) Act, 1900.

c. 60.

5. This Act shall be construed as one with the Merchant Construction. Shipping Act, 1894, and that Act and the Merchant Shipping [57 & 58 Vict. Act, 1897, the Merchant Shipping (Exemption from Pilotage) 60 & 61 Vict. Act, 1897, the Merchant Shipping (Liability of Shipowners) c. 59. Act, 1898, the Merchant Shipping (Mercantile Marine Fund) 60 & 61 Vict. Act, 1898, and this Act, may be cited together as the Merchant 61 & 62 Vict. Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1900.

c. 61.

c. 14.
61 & 62 Vict.
c. 44.]

Pt. I. 1-2.

Application of British load-line

provisions to foreign ships.

Detention of foreign ships

when unsafe

owing to defective equipment, &c.

MERCHANT SHIPPING ACT, 1906.

(6 Edw. 7, c. 48.)

An Act to amend the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to
1900.
[21st December, 1906.

BE it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and
with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Tem-
poral, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and
by the authority of the same, as follows:-

PART I.-SAFETY (a).

1. Sections four hundred and thirty-seven to four hundred and forty-three of the principal Act (which relate to loadline) except sub-sections (3) and (4) of section four hundred and forty, shall after the appointed day (b), apply to all foreign ships (c) while they are within any port (d) in the United Kingdom, as they apply to British ships, without prejudice—

(a.) to the power (e) of His Majesty previously to apply those provisions to the ships of any foreign country, if the Government of that country so desire, under section seven hundred and thirty-four of the principal Act; and

(b.) to any direction of His Majesty in Council given under section four hundred and forty-five of the principal Act in the case of ships of any foreign country in which the regulations in force relating to overloading and improper loading are equally effective with the provisions of the principal Act.

(a) For the law on this subject generally, see Part V. (i.e. ss. 418–491) of M. S. A. 1894.

(b) For the appointed day, see s. 5, post.

(c) For exceptions to this provision, see s. 6, post; for definition of "ship," see M. S. A. 1894, s. 742.

(d) “ Port” includes place. See M. S. A. 1894, s. 742.

(e) As to meaning of British ship, see M. S. A. 1894, ss. 1, 2 and 72, and notes thereon.

2. Section four hundred and sixty-two of the principal Act (which relates to the detention of foreign ships)

(1.) shall apply in the case of a ship which is unsafe by reason of the defective condition of her hull, equipments, or

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machinery, and accordingly that section shall be con-
strued as if the words "by reason of the defective
condition of her hull, equipments, or machinery, or
were inserted before the words "by reason of over-
loading or improper loading;" and

(2.) shall apply with respect to any foreign ships (a) being at
any port in the United Kingdom, whether those ships
take on board any cargo at that port or not.

(a) For exceptions to the provisions of this section, see s. 6, post.

Pt. I.

3-4.

3. (1.) After the first day of October, one thousand nine Loading of hundred and seven, sections four hundred and fifty-two and four grain cargoes hundred and fifty-five of the principal Act shall apply to a ships. on foreign foreign ship which loads a grain cargo (a) in the United Kingdom so long as the ship is within a port (b) in the United Kingdom. (2.) If, after the first day of October, one thousand nine hundred and seven, a foreign ship laden with grain cargo (c) arrives at any port in the United Kingdom, having the grain cargo so loaded that the master of the ship, if the ship were a British ship, would be liable to a penalty under the provisions of Part V. of the principal Act relating to the carriage of grain, the master of that foreign ship shall be liable to a fine not exceeding three hundred pounds.

(3.) After the first day of October one thousand nine hundred and seven section four hundred and fifty-five of the principal Act shall apply to a foreign ship laden with grain which discharges all or any part of her cargo at any port in the United Kingdom so long as the ship is within a port in the United Kingdom.

(4.) The provisions of section four hundred and fifty-four of the principal Act, so far as that section provides for the delivery of the notice mentioned therein to the proper officer of customs (d) in the United Kingdom, shall apply to all foreign ships laden with grain cargo arriving at a port in the United Kingdom after the date aforesaid, and the master of the ship shall be liable accordingly (e).

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(a) "Grain means any corn, rice, paddy, pulse, seeds, nuts or nut kernels.

See M. S. A. 1894, s. 456.

(b)" Port" includes place. See M. S. A. 1894, s. 742.

(c) For meaning of "ship laden with grain cargo," see M. S. A. 1894, s. 456.

(d) "Proper officer of customs" means the officer able to grant a clearance or transire. See M. S. A. 1894, s. 692 (4).

(e) He is liable to a fine not exceeding 1007., which may be recovered by summary procedure (see M. S. A. 1894, s. 680), and by distress on ship. See ibid. s. 693.

4. Sections four hundred and twenty-seven to four hundred Power to apand thirty-one of the principal Act, relating to life-saving ply rules as appliances shall, after the appointed day (a), apply to all foreign appliances to

to life-saving

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