THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 14TH FEBRUARY, 1874.
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14. If the owner of any ship surveyed under this Act is dissatisfied with any order of the Board of Appeal from decision Trade made upon such survey, he may apply to any of the following courts having jurisdiction in the place of Board of Trade. where such ship was surveyed, that is to say:
In England, to any court having Admiralty jurisdiction:
In Ireland, to any court having jurisdiction under the Court of Admiralty (Ireland) Act, 1867: In Scotland, to the court of the sheriff of the county.
The court may, upon such application, if they think fit, appoint one or more competent persons to survey the ship anew, and any surveyor so appointed shall have all the powers of the person by whom the original survey was made. Such survey anew shall, if so required by the Board of Trade or the shipowner, be made in the presence of any person or persons appointed by them respectively to attend at the survey.
The court to which such application is made may make such order as to the detention or release of the ship, as to the payment of any costs and damages which may have been occasioned by her detention, as to the payment of the expenses of the original survey, and of the survey anew, and otherwise as to the payment of any costs of and incident to the application, as to the court may seem just.
Where an application is made under this section to a county court, or in Ireland to a local court, the matter of the application shall be deemed to be an Admiralty cause within the meaning of the County Courts Admiralty Jurisdiction Act, 1868, and the Court of Admiralty (Ireland) Act, 1867.
15. In the case of any ship surveyed under the fourth part of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, the Power for Board of Board of Trade may at the request of the owner authorise the reduction of the number and the variation of Trade to vary require- the dimensions of the boats required for the ship by section two hundred and ninety-two of that Act, and ments as to boats. also the substitution of rafts or other appliances for saving life for any such boats, so nevertheless that the
boats so reduced or varied and the rafts or other appliances so substituted be sufficient for the persons carried on board the ship.
Section two hundred and ninety-three of the said Act shall extend to any such rafts or appliances in the same manner as if they were boats.
16. In every case of collision between two vessels it shall be the duty of the master or person in Duties of masters in charge of each vessel, if and so far as he can do so without danger to his own vessel, crew, and passengers case of collision. (if any), to stay by the other vessel until he has ascertained that she has no need of further assistance, and to render to the other vessel, her master, crew, and passengers (if any), such assistance as may be practi- cable and as may be necessary in order to save them from any danger caused by the collision; and also to give to the master or person in charge of the other vessel the name of his own vessel, and of her port of registry, or of the port or place to which she belongs, and also the names of the ports and places from which and to which she is bound.
If he fails so to do, and no reasonable cause for such failure is shown, the collision shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be deemed to have been caused by his wrongful act, neglect, or default.
Every master or person in charge of a British vessel who fails, without reasonable cause, to render such assistance or give such information as aforesaid shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and if he is a certificated officer an inquiry into his conduct may be held and his certificate may be cancelled or suspended.
cases of collision.
17. If in any case of collision it is proved to the court before which the case is tried that any of the Liability for infringe- regulations for preventing collision contained in or made under the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1854 to 1873, ment of regulations in has been infringed, the ship by which such regulation has been infringed shall be deemed to be in fault, unless it is shown to the satisfaction of the court that the circumstances of the case made departure from the regulation necessary.
18. The signals specified in the first shedule to this Act shall be deemed to be signals of distress. Any master of a vessel who uses or displays, or causes or permits any person under his authority to use or display, any of the said signals, except in the case of a vessel being in distress, shall be liable to pay compensation for any labour undertaken, risk incurred, or loss sustained in consequence of such signal having been supposed to be a signal of distress, and such compensation may, without prejudice to any other remedy, be recovered in the same manner in which salvage is recoverable.
Signals of distress.
19. If a vessel requires the services of a pilot, the signals to be used and displayed shall be those Signals for pilots. specified in the second schedule to this Act.
Any master of a vessel who uses or displays, or causes or permits any person under his authority to use or display, any of the said signals for any other purpose than that of summoning a pilot, or uses or causes or permits any person under his authority to use any other signal for a pilot, shall incur a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds.
20. Her Majesty may from time to time by Order in Council repeal or alter the rules as to signals Power to alter rules as contained in the schedules to this Act, or make new rules in addition thereto, or in substitution therefor, to signals. and any alterations in or additions to such rules made in manner aforesaid shall be of the same force as the rules in the said schedules.
21. Any shipowner who is desirous of using, for the purposes of a private code, any rockets, lights, or Private signals. other similar signals, may register such signals with the Board of Trade, and the Board shall give public notice of the signals so registered in such manner as they may think requisite for preventing such signals from being mistaken for signals of distress or signals for pilots.
The Board may refuse to register any signals which in their opinion cannot easily be distinguished from signals of distress or signals for pilots.
When any signal has been so registered the use or display thereof by any person acting under the authority of the shipowner in whose name it is registered shall not subject any person to any of the penalties or liabilities by this Act imposed upon persons using or displaying signals improperly.
22. If the managing owner, or, in the event of there being no managing owner, the ship's husband of Notice to be given of any British ship have reason, owing to the non-appearance of such ship, or to any other circumstance, to apprehended loss of apprehend that such ship has been wholly lost, he shall, as soon as conveniently may be, send to the Board ship.
of Trade notice in writing of such loss and of the probable occasion thereof, stating the name of the ship and her official number (if any), and the port to which she belongs, and if he neglect to do so within à reasonable time he shall incur a penalty not exceeding fifty pounds.
23. If any person sends or attempts to send by, or not being the master owner of the vessel carries or Restrictions on carriage attempts to carry in any vessel, British or foreign, any dangerous goods; (that is to say,) aquafortis, of daugerous goods. vitriol, naphtha, benzine, gunpowder, lucifer matches, nitro-glycerine, petroleum, or any other goods of a dangerous nature, without distinctly marking their nature on the outside of the package containing the same, and giving written notice of the nature of such goods and of the name and address of the sender or carrier thereof to the master or owner of the vessel at or before the time of sending the same to be shipped or taking the same on board the vessel, he shall for every such offence incur a penalty not exceeding one