Section 586: Power to detain foreign ship that has occasioned damage

586. Power to detain foreign ship that has occasioned damage.—(1) Whenever any damage has in any part of the world been caused to property belonging to the Government, or to any citizen of Pakistan or a company, by a ship other than a Pakistani ship, and at any time thereafter that ship is found in any port or place in Pakistan including the territorial waters thereof, the High Court may, upon the application of any person who alleges that the damage was caused by the misconduct or want of skill of the master or any member of the crew of the ship, issue an order directed to any Principal Officer, officer of Customs or other person named in the order, requiring him to detain the ship until such time as the owner, master or consignee thereof has satisfied any claim in respect of the damage, or has given security to the satisfaction of the High Court to pay all costs and damages that may be awarded in any legal proceedings that may be instituted in respect of the damage, and the officer or person to whom the order is directed shall detain the ship accordingly. (2) Whenever it appears that, before an application can be made under this section, the ship in respect of which the application is to be made will have departed from Pakistan or the territorial waters thereof, any Principal Officer or officer of Customs may detain the ship for such time as to allow the application to be made and the result thereof to be communicated to the officer detaining the ship, and that officer shall not be liable for any costs or damages in respect of the detention unless the same is proved to have been made without reasonable grounds. (3) In any legal proceedings in relation to any such damage as aforesaid, the person giving security shall be made a defendant and shall, for the purpose of such proceedings, be deemed to be the owner of the ship that has occasioned the damage.

Effective date: 2001-01-01

Related sections