3. Admiralty jurisdiction.—Subject to the provisions of sections 4 and 5, the jurisdiction in respect
of all maritime claims under this Act shall vest in the respective High Courts and be exercisable over the
waters up to and including the territorial waters of their respective jurisdictions in accordance with the
provisions contained in this Act:
Provided that the Central Government may, by notification, extend the jurisdiction of the High Court
up to the limit as defined in section 2 of the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic
Zone and Other Maritime Zones Act, 1976 (80 of 1976).
4. Maritime claim.—(1) The High Court may exercise jurisdiction to hear and determine any question
on a maritime claim, against any vessel, arising out of any—
(a) dispute regarding the possession or ownership of a vessel or the ownership of any share
therein;
(b) dispute between the co-owners of a vessel as to the employment or earnings of the vessel;
(c) mortgage or a charge of the same nature on a vessel;
(d) loss or damage caused by the operation of a vessel;
(e) loss of life or personal injury occurring whether on land or on water, in direct connection
with the operation of a vessel;
(f) loss or damage to or in connection with any goods;
(g) agreement relating to the carriage of goods or passengers on board a vessel, whether
contained in a charter party or otherwise;
(h) agreement relating to the use or hire of the vessel, whether contained in a charter party or
otherwise;
(i) salvage services, including, if applicable, special compensation relating to salvage services in
respect of a vessel which by itself or its cargo threatens damage to the environment;
(j) towage;
(k) pilotage;
(l) goods, materials, perishable or non-perishable provisions, bunker fuel, equipment (including
containers), supplied or services rendered to the vessel for its operation, management, preservation
or maintenance including any fee payable or leviable;
(m) construction, reconstruction, repair, converting or equipping of the vessel;
(n) dues in connection with any port, harbour, canal, dock or light tolls, other tolls, waterway or
any charges of similar kind chargeable under any law for the time being in force;
(o) claim by a master or member of the crew of a vessel or their heirs and dependents for wages or
any sum due out of wages or adjudged to be due which may be recoverable as wages or cost of
repatriation or social insurance contribution payable on their behalf or any amount an employer is
under an obligation to pay to a person as an employee, whether the obligation arose out of a contract
of employment or by operation of a law (including operation of a law of any country) for the time
being in force, and includes any claim arising under a manning and crew agreement relating to a
vessel, notwithstanding anything contained in the provisions of sections 150 and 151 of the Merchant
Shipping Act, 1958 (44 of 1958);
(p) disbursements incurred on behalf of the vessel or its owners;
(q) particular average or general average;
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(r) dispute arising out of a contract for the sale of the vessel;
(s) insurance premium (including mutual insurance calls) in respect of the vessel, payable by or
on behalf of the vessel owners or demise charterers;
(t) commission, brokerage or agency fees payable in respect of the vessel by or on behalf of the
vessel owner or demise charterer;
(u) damage or threat of damage caused by the vessel to the environment, coastline or related
interests; measures taken to prevent, minimise, or remove such damage; compensation for such
damage; costs of reasonable measures for the restoration of the environment actually undertaken or to
be undertaken; loss incurred or likely to be incurred by third parties in connection with such damage; or
any other damage, costs, or loss of a similar nature to those identified in this clause;
(v) costs or expenses relating to raising, removal, recovery, destruction or the rendering harmless of
a vessel which is sunk, wrecked, stranded or abandoned, including anything that is or has been on board
such vessel, and costs or expenses relating to the preservation of an abandoned vessel and maintenance
of its crew; and
(w) maritime lien.
Explanation.—For the purposes of clause (q), the expressions “particular average” and “general
average” shall have the same meanings as assigned to them in sub-section (1) of section 64 and
sub-section (2) of section 66 respectively of the Marine Insurance Act, 1963 (11 of 1963).
(2) While exercising jurisdiction under sub-section (1), the High Court may settle any account outstanding
and unsettled between the parties in relation to a vessel, and direct that the vessel, or any share thereof, shall
be sold, or make such other order as it may think fit.
(3) Where the High Court orders any vessel to be sold, it may hear and determine any question arising
as to the title to the proceeds of the sale.
(4) Any vessel ordered to be arrested or any proceeds of a vessel on sale under this Act shall be held as
security against any claim pending final outcome of the admiralty proceeding.
5. Arrest of vessel in rem.—(1) The High Court may order arrest of any vessel which is within its
jurisdiction for the purpose of providing security against a maritime claim which is the subject of an
admiralty proceeding, where the court has reason to believe that—
(a) the person who owned the vessel at the time when the maritime claim arose is liable for the claim
and is the owner of the vessel when the arrest is effected; or
(b) the demise charterer of the vessel at the time when the maritime claim arose is liable for the
claim and is the demise charterer or the owner of the vessel when the arrest is effected; or
(c) the claim is based on a mortgage or a charge of the similar nature on the vessel; or
(d) the claim relates to the ownership or possession of the vessel; or
(e) the claim is against the owner, demise charterer, manager or operator of the vessel and is
secured by a maritime lien as provided in section 9.
(2) The High Court may also order arrest of any other vessel for the purpose of providing security
against a maritime claim, in lieu of the vessel against which a maritime claim has been made under this
Act, subject to the provisions of sub-section (1):
Provided that no vessel shall be arrested under this sub-section in respect of a maritime claim under
clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 4.
6. Admiralty jurisdiction in personam.—Subject to section 7, the High Court may exercise
admiralty jurisdiction by action in personam in respect of any maritime claim referred to in clauses (a) to
(w) of sub-section (1) of section 4.
7. Restrictions on actions in personam in certain cases.—(1) Where any maritime claim arising in
respect of a damage or loss of life or personal injury arising out of any—
(i) collision between vessels,
(ii) the carrying out of or omission to carry out, a manoeuvre in the case of one or more vessels,
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(iii) non-compliance, on the part of one or more vessels, with the collision regulations made in
pursuance of section 285 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 (44 of 1958),
the High Court shall not entertain any action under this section against any defendant unless—
(a) the cause of action, wholly or in part, arises in India; or
(b) the defendant, at the time of commencement of the action by the High Court, actually and
voluntarily resides or carries on business or personally works for gain in India:
Provided that an action may be entertained in a case, where there are more defendants than one and
where one of the defendants who does not actually and voluntarily reside or carry on business or
personally work for gain in India is made a party to such action either with the leave of the court, or
each of the defendants acquiesces in such action.
(2) The High Court shall not entertain any action in personam to enforce a claim to which this section
applies until any proceedings previously brought by the plaintiff in any court outside India against the
same defendant in respect of the same incident or series of incidents have been discontinued or have
otherwise come to an end.
(3) The provisions of sub-section (2) shall apply to counter-claims as they apply to actions except
counter-claims in proceedings arising out of the same incident or series of incidents.
(4) A reference to the plaintiff and the defendant for the purpose of sub-section (3) shall be construed
as reference to the plaintiff in the counter-claim and the defendant in the counter-claim respectively.
(5) The provisions of sub-sections (2) and (3) shall not apply to any action or counter-claim if the
defendant submits or agrees to submit to the jurisdiction of the High Court.
(6) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), the High Court shall have jurisdiction to entertain an
action in personam to enforce a claim to which this section applies whenever any of the conditions
specified, in clauses (a) and (b) of sub-section (1) is satisfied and any law for the time being in force relating
to the service of process outside the jurisdiction shall apply.
8. Vesting of rights on sale of vessels.—On the sale of a vessel under this Act by the High Court in
exercise of its admiralty jurisdiction, the vessel shall vest in the purchaser free from all encumbrances,
liens, attachments, registered mortgages and charges of the same nature on the vessel.
9. Inter se priority on maritime lien.—(1) Every maritime lien shall have the following order of inter se
priority, namely
(a) claims for wages and other sums due to the master, officers and other members of the vessel's
complement in respect of their employment on the vessel, including costs of repatriation and social insurance
contributions payable on their behalf;
(b) claims in respect of loss of life or personal injury occurring, whether on land or on water, in
direct connection with the operation of the vessel;
(c) claims for reward for salvage services including special compensation relating thereto;
(d) claims for port, canal, and other waterway dues and pilotage dues and any other statutory dues
related to the vessel;
(e) claims based on tort arising out of loss or damage caused by the operation of the vessel other than
loss or damage to cargo and containers carried on the vessel.
(2) The maritime lien specified in sub-section (1) shall continue to exist on the vessel notwithstanding any
change of ownership or of registration or of flag and shall be extinguished after expiry of a period of one year
unless, prior to the expiry of such period, the vessel has been arrested or seized and such arrest or seizure has led
to a forced sale by the High Court:
Provided that for a claim under clause (a) of sub-section (1), the period shall be two years from the
date on which the wage, sum, cost of repatriation or social insurance contribution, falls due or becomes
payable.
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(3) The maritime lien referred to in this section shall commence—
(a) in relation to the maritime lien under clause (a) of sub-section (1), upon the claimant's discharge
from the vessel;
(b) in relation to the maritime liens under clauses (b) to (e) of sub-section (1), when the claim
arises,
and shall run continuously without any suspension or interruption:
Provided that the period during which the vessel was under arrest or seizure shall be excluded.
(4) No maritime lien shall attach to a vessel to secure a claim which arises out of or results from—
(a) damage in connection with the carriage of oil or other hazardous or noxious substances by sea
for which compensation is payable to the claimants pursuant to any law for the time being in force;
(b) the radioactive properties or a combination of radioactive properties with toxic, explosive or
other hazardous properties of nuclear fuel or of radioactive products or waste.
10. Order of priority of maritime claims.—(1) The order of maritime claims determining the
inter se priority in an admiralty proceeding shall be as follows:—
(a) a claim on the vessel where there is a maritime lien;
(b) registered mortgages and charges of same nature on the vessel;
(c) all other claims.
(2) The following principles shall apply in determining the priority of claims inter se—
(a) if there are more claims than one in any single category of priority, they shall rank equally;
(b) claims for various salvages shall rank in inverse order of time when the claims thereto
accrue.
11. Protection of owner, demise charterer, manager or operator or crew of vessel
arrested.—(1) The High Court may, as a condition of arrest of a vessel, or for permitting an arrest
already effected to be maintained, impose upon the claimant who seeks to arrest or who has procured the
arrest of the vessel, an obligation to provide an unconditional undertaking to pay such sums of money as
damages or such security of a kind for an amount and upon such terms as may be determined by the High
Court, for any loss or damage which may be incurred by the defendant as a result of the arrest, and for
which the claimant may be found liable, including but not restricted to the following, namely:—
(a) the arrest having been wrongful or unjustified; or
(b) excessive security having been demanded and provided.
(2) Where pursuant to sub-section (1), the person providing the security may at any time, apply to the
High Court to have the security reduced, modified or cancelled for sufficient reasons as may be stated in
the application.
(3) If the owner or demise charterer abandons the vessel after its arrest, the High Court shall cause the
vessel to be auctioned and the proceeds appropriated and dealt with in such manner as the court may
deem fit within a period of forty-five days from the date of arrest or abandonment:
Provided that the High Court shall, for reasons to be recorded in writing, extend the period of auction
of the vessel for a further period of thirty days.