The Sealink, (Transfer of Newhaven Harbour) Harbour Revision Order 1991

Protection of Crown interests in wrecks

26.—(1) Without prejudice to section 741 of the Act of 1894 (which relates to the exemption from provisions of that Act of vessels belonging to Her Majesty), as modified by any Order in Council made under section 80 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1906(1) the powers conferred on the Company by sections 530 and 532 of the Act of 1894 with respect to, and with respect to anything in or on, any vessel sunk, stranded or abandoned in such matter as to be an obstruction or ganger to navigation in the transferred harbour or the approaches thereto shall not be exerciseable—

(a) in relation to any vessel sunk, stranded or abandoned by design by or under the orders of a person acting on behalf of Her Majesty or an officer or servant of the Crown acting in the course of his duty as such;

(b) except with the consent of the Secretary of State (which may be given with or without such a direction as is referred to in subparagraph (b) of paragraph (20 of this article) in relation to any vessel which is not excluded from the exercise of those powers by virtue of being a vessel belonging to her Majesty but which at the time the vessel was sunk, stranded or abandoned—

(i) had been required to be placed at the disposal of Her Majesty or of a government department; and

(ii) was appropriated to the service, under the direction and control of the Secretary of State, of Her Majesty’s ships of war.

(2) The Company shall give notice in writing to the Secretary of State of any decision of the company to exercise in relation to any vessel any of the powers aforesaid, other than the power of lighting and buoying, and, except in a case which is in the opinion of the Company a case of emergency, shall not proceed with the exercise thereof—

(a) except with the consent of the Secretary of State before the expiration of a period of 14 days from the giving of the notice; or

(b) if, before the expiration of the said period, there is served on the Company a direction by the Secretary of State that those powers shall not be exercised in relation to that vessel, except in such a case as aforesaid;

and, where in any such case as aforesaid the Company proceeds to exercise those powers withouit the consent and before the expiration of the said period of 14 days or after a direction has been served on it as aforesaid, it shall not in the exercise of those powers use any explosives and, if before the expiration of the said period such a direction as aforesaid is served on it, shall not be entitled to exercise the power of sale conferred by section 530 of the Act of 1894, or the power conferred by paragraph (2) of article 25 of this Order:

• Provided that—

  (i)

  the Company shall not be required to give notice under this paragraph in respect of any vessel in respect of which it has received a consent under subparagraph (b) of paragraph (1) of this article, but any direction such as is refferred to in subparagraph (b) of this paragraph accompanying that consent shall be deemed, for the purposes of this paragraph and of paragraph (3) of the said article 25 to have been duly served under paragraph (b) of this paragraph;

  (ii)

  the prohibition on the use of explosives imposed by this paragraph shall not apply to the use for cutting away the superstructure of a vessel of such small explosive charges as may for the time being be approved by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this proviso.

(3) Without prejudice to the power of sale conferred on the Company by the said section 530 of the Act of 1894 the Company shall hold and dispose of any wreck within the meaning of Part IX of the Act of 1894 raised, removed or recovered under that section in the transferred harbour or in or near any approach thereto and any surplus proceeds for sale within the meaning of that section in accordance with such directions (if any) as may be given to it by the receiver of the wreck and, on exercising the said power of sale in the case of any property, the Company shall discharge any sums payable in respect of that property by way of duties of customs or excise, value added tax or surcharge in respect of sugar or molasses and any sums so discharged shall be deemed to be expenses incurred by the Company under that section.

(4) Any limitation on the powers of the Company in relation to any vessel arising by virtue of paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) of this artiv=cle shall not operate to authorise the exercise in relation to that vessel of the powers conferred on Trinity House by section 531 of the Act of 1894.

(1)

1906 c. 48.