Mr Cortazzi
CONFIDENTIAL
HKK 24311
782
RECEIVED IN REGISTEN NO. 5]
311
DESK OF INDEX
REFUGEES FOUND AT SEA: LEGAL OBLIGATIONS
1.
The basic international legal obligation is in Article 11 of the Brussels Convention of 1910 in the Unification of Certain Rules of Law respecting Assistance and Salvage at Sea. This reads as follows:
"Every master is bound, so far as he can do so without serious danger to his vessel, her crew and her passen- gers, to render assistance to everybody, even though an enemy, found at sea in danger of being lost.
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The owner of a vessel incurs no liability by reason of contravention of the above provision."
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2.
The parties to this Convention are, in addition to our- selves, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, France, Federal Republic of Germany and German Democratic Republic, Greece, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Rumania, Sweden, United States, Uruguay, Poland, Argentina, Finland, Spain, Yugoslavia, Soviet Union, Egypt, Haiti, Switzerland, Turkey, Dominican Republic, Algeria, Iran, Zaire, Portugal, Fiji, Singapore, Syria, Oman, Tonga.
3. In addition, para (a) of Regulation 10 of Chap V of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1960, provides as follows:
"(a) The master of a ship at sea, on receiving a signal from any source that a ship or aircraft or survival craft thereof is in distress, is bound to proceed with all speed to the assistance of the person in distress informing them if possible that he is doing so. If he is unable or, in the special circumstances of the case, considers it unreasonable or unnecessary to proceed to their assistance, he must enter in the logbook the reason for failing to proceed to the assistance of the persons in distress."
The full text of Regulation 10 is attached.
4.
So far as the UK is concerned, the obligation under Article 11 of the 1910 Brussels Convention is reflected in Section 6 of the Maritime Conventions Act 1911. This reads as follows:
"(1) The master or person in charge of a vessel shall, so far as he can do so without serious danger to his own vessel, her crew and passengers (if any), render assistance to every person, even if such person be a subject of a foreign State at war with His Majesty who is found at sea in danger of being lost, and, if he fails to do so, he shall be guilty of a misdemeanour.
(2) Compliance by the master or person in charge of a vessel with the provisions of this section shall not affect his right or the right of any other person to salvage.
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