Watson and Others (Owners of "Hebe" and "Thames") v. Gibson & Co. (Owners of "Eildon.") [1908] ScotLR 821 (07 July 1908)

Watson and Others (Owners of "Hebe" and "Thames") v. Gibson & Co. (Owners of "Eildon.") [1908] ScotLR 821 (07 July 1908)

The defence of compulsory pilotage is not open to the defenders because the Eildon was not carrying passengers between two places in the British Islands at the time of the collision; passengers were booked from Leith to Dunkirk, a foreign port, and intermediate stops at Middlesborough did not constitute carriage between British ports within the meaning of section 604(1).

Citation
[1908] ScotLR 821
Parties
Pursuers: James Watson and Others; Pursuer: Mark Henderson Redhead; Defenders: George Gibson & Company
Jurisdiction
Scotland
Judgment Date
07 July 1908
Procedural Posture
Action for Damages / Interlocutor on Reclaiming Motion
Outcome
Interlocutor recalled; third plea-in-law for pursuers sustained; second plea-in-law for defenders repelled; case remitted for proof.
Legal Topics
Compulsory Pilotage, Collision, Passenger Carriage, Statutory Interpretation
Admiralty Shipping Law Compulsory Pilotage Collision Passenger Carriage Statutory Interpretation

Case Brief

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Parties

James Watson and Others

Pursuers

Mark Henderson Redhead

Pursuer

George Gibson & Company

Defenders

Procedural Posture

Action for Damages / Interlocutor on Reclaiming Motion

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the defence of compulsory pilotage under Merchant Shipping Act 1894, section 604(1), applies when a vessel carries passengers booked to a foreign port but stops at a British port en route
  2. 2 Whether 'carrying passengers between any place in the British Islands and any other place so situate' includes intermediate stops or only voyage termini

Ratio Decidendi

The defence of compulsory pilotage is not open to the defenders because the Eildon was not carrying passengers between two places in the British Islands at the time of the collision; passengers were booked from Leith to Dunkirk, a foreign port, and intermediate stops at Middlesborough did not constitute carriage between British ports within the meaning of section 604(1).

Court Disposition

Interlocutor recalled; third plea-in-law for pursuers sustained; second plea-in-law for defenders repelled; case remitted for proof.

Orders

  • Recall the interlocutor reclaimed against.
  • Sustain the third plea-in-law for the pursuers.