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Enlargement of remedy by action for injuries caused by negligence of a shipowner.
57 & 58 Vict. c. 60.
60 & 61 Vict. c. 37.
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1.—(1) If it is alleged that the owners of any ship are liable to pay damages in respect of personal injuries, including fatal injuries, caused by the ship, or sustained on, in, or about the ship, in any port or harbour in the United Kingdom, in consequence of the wrongful act, neglect, or default of the owners of the ship, or the master or officers or crew thereof, or any other person in the employment of the owners of the ship, or of any defect in the ship or its apparel or equipment, and at any time that ship is found in any port or river of England or Ireland, or within three miles of the coast thereof, a judge of any court of record in England or Ireland may, upon its being shown to him, by any person applying in accordance with rules of court, that the owners are probably liable to pay damages in respect of such injuries, and that none of the owners reside in the United Kingdom, issue an order, directed to any officer of customs or other officer named by the judge, requiring him to detain the ship until such time as the owners, agent, master, or consignee thereof have made satisfaction in respect of the injuries, or have given security, to be approved by the judge, to abide the event of any action, suit, or other legal proceeding that may be instituted in respect of the injuries, and to pay all costs and damages that may be awarded thereon; and any officer of customs or other officer to whom the order is directed shall detain the ship accordingly.
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(2) In any legal proceeding in relation to such injuries as aforesaid, the person giving security shall be made defendant, and shall be stated to be the owner of the ship which has caused the injuries, or on, in, or about which the injuries were sustained, and the production of the order of the judge, made in relation to the security, shall be conclusive evidence of the liability of the defendant to the proceeding.
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(3) Section six hundred and ninety-two of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, shall apply to the detention of a ship under this Act as it applies to the detention of a ship under that Act, and the expressions “port” and “harbour” have the same meaning as in that Act, and, if the owner of a ship is a corporation, it shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to reside in the United Kingdom if it has an office in the United Kingdom at which service of writs can be effected.
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(4) The words “person applying” in this section shall include an employer who has paid compensation, or against whom a claim for compensation has been made, under the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1897, as amended by any subsequent enactment, if he shows the judge that he probably is or will become entitled to be indemnified under that Act, and in such case this section shall apply as if the employer were a person claiming damages in respect of personal injuries.
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