Mail Ships Act, 1891

Exemption from seizure of exempted mail ship.

5.(1) An exempted mail ship to which this section applies shall not, subject as in this Act mentioned, be liable to be arrested or detained by any arresting authority either for the purpose of founding jurisdiction in any Court of Admiralty, or of enforcing the payment of any damages, fine, debt, or other claim or sum, or enforcing any forfeiture, whether arising from the misconduct of the master or any of the crew or otherwise, but every court of the United Kingdom by the process of which the ship could have been under the circumstances arrested or detained shall have the same jurisdiction as if the ship had been so arrested or detained, and any legal proceeding in relation to any such matter as aforesaid may be commenced by such service in the United Kingdom of any writ or process as may be prescribed by rules of court, and the High Court, on application, shall, in accordance with rules of court, cause the security to be applied in discharge of any such damages, fine, debt, claim, sum or forfeiture.

(2) Provided that nothing in this section shall render invalid the arrest or detention of a ship before the prescribed notice has been given to the arresting authority, but such authority, on proof that the ship is an exempted mail ship, shall release the ship. Where the Commissioners of Customs, in pursuance of any Act or as a condition of waiving any forfeiture, require a deposit to be made by any exempted mail ship to which this section applies, the amount of such deposit shall, on notice from the Commissioners of Customs, and without any further proceeding, be set apart out of the security as money belonging to the said Commissioners, and shall be paid and applied as they direct, and any rules of court relating to such notice, payment, or application shall be made with the consent of the Treasury.