Merchant Shipping Act 1894

331 Provisions in case of an emigrant ship being wrecked or damaged in or near British Islands.

(1) When any emigrant ship—

(a) has, while in any port of the British Islands, or after the commencement of the voyage, been wrecked or otherwise rendered unfit to proceed on her intended voyage, and any steerage passengers have been brought back to any port in the British Islands; or

(b) has put into any port in the British Islands in a damaged state;

the master, charterer, or owner of-that ship shall, within forty-eight hours thereafter, give to the nearest emigration officer a written undertaking to the following effect; (that is to say,)

(i) If the ship has been wrecked or rendered unfit to proceed on her voyage, that the owner, charterer, or master thereof will embark and convey the steerage passengers in some other eligible ship, to sail within six weeks from the date of the undertaking, to the port for which their passage had been taken :

(ii) If the ship has put into port in a damaged state, that she will be made seaworthy and fit in all respects for her intended voyage, and will within six weeks from the date of the undertaking sail again with the steerage passengers.

(2) In either of the above cases, the owner, charterer, or master shall, until the steerage passengers proceed on their voyage, either lodge and maintain them on board in the same manner as if they were at sea, or pay either to the steerage passengers, or (if they are lodged and maintained in any hulk or establishment under the superintendence of the Board of Trade) to the emigration officer at the port, subsistence money at the rate of one shilling and sixpence a day for each statute adult.

(3) If the substituted ship, or the damaged ship, as the case may be, does not sail within the above-mentioned time, or if default is made in compliance with any requirement of this section, any steerage passenger or any emigration officer on his behalf may recover summarily all money paid by or on account of the passenger for the passage from the person to whom or on whose account the same was paid, or from the owner, charterer, or master of the ship, at the option of the passenger or emigration officer.

(4) The emigration officer may, if he thinks it necessary, direct that the steerage passengers be removed from any damaged emigrant ship at the expense of the master thereof, and if after that direction any steerage passenger refuses to leave the ship, he shall for each offence be liable to a fine not exceeding forty shillings, or to imprisonment not exceeding one month.