Wreck - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition wreck

Definition :

Wreck, such goods, including the ship or cargo or any part [(English) Merchant Shipping act, 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c. 60], ss. 518 to 522, and Hals. L. E., sub tit. 'Shipping'; Part XII., 'Wreck,'), as, after a shipwreck, are afloat or cast upon the land by the sea. According to an old definition (Jacob's Law Dict., tit. 'Wreck') they were not wrecks so long as they remained at sea in the jurisdiction of the Admiralty. By s. 510 of the (English) Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, 'wreck' includes in that Act 'jetsam, flotsam, and derelict found in or on the shores of the sea or any tidal water.'

The term is used in several senses, e.g., a ship which is so damaged as to be unable to continue her voyage is a 'wreck' for the purposes of s. 158 of the M.S. Act, 1894; and Barras v. Aberdeen Steam Trawlers, 1933, AC 402, under the (English) Merchant Shipping (International Labour Conventions) Act, 1925 (15 & 16 Geo. 5, c. 42); The Olympic, 1913 P. 92. The old distinction appears to be that if property could be identified by its owner it was not wreck, i.e., property which the Crown could claim as part of its prerogative, Hals. L.E., loc. cit.

Secs. 511-528 of the (English) M.S. Act, 1894, deal generally with the custody of wreck by district 'receivers' of wreck (as by the sheriffs of the counties under the ancient law), and the suppression of plunder by them, the claims of the owners within one year (s. 521) (formerly a year and a day), and the title of the Crown to unclaimed wreck except in cases where any other person has a right to wreck by royal grant (s. 522).

This revenue of wrecks was frequently granted to lords of manors as a royal franchise. It is a branch of the coroner's office to inquire concerning shipwrecks and certify whether there has been a wreck or not, and who is in possession of the goods.

The offence of stealing any part of vessels wrecked, stranded, or cast on shore, or any goods, etc., belonging to such vessels, is a felony [(English) Larceny Act, 1916, s. 15]. Persons in possession of shipwrecked goods who cannot satisfy a justice that they came by them lawfully may be imprisoned, or forfeit 20l. beyond the value [(English) Larceny Act, 1861, s. 65]. A similar punishment is attached to the offence of offering or exposing shipwrecked goods for sale which have been, or shall reasonably be suspected to have been, taken from the wreck, if the person offering or exposing them do not satisfy a justice that he came by them lawfully (ibid., s. 66). The offence of unlawfully and maliciously destroying any part of a wreck, or any goods, etc., belonging to it, is a felony. [(English) Malicious Damage Act, 1861, s. 49]

As to impeding a person saving his own or another's life from a wreck, see Offences against the (English) Person Act, 1861, s. 17. As to assaulting a magistrate, officer, etc., engaged in preserving a wreck or goods cast on shore, see s. 37 of that Act.

The (English) Removal of Wrecks Act, 1877 (40 & 41 Vict. c. 16), gave power to harbour and conser-vancy authorities to remove wrecks obstructing navigation; an amending (English) Act of 1889 (52 Vict. c. 5) extended the protection from obstruction to lifeboats engaged in lifeboat service; and these enactments are now replaced by ss. 530-534 of the (English) Merchant Shipping Act, 1894.

Under s. 477 of the (English) Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, the Lord Chancellor has power to appoint not more than three wreck commissioners to hold formal investigations into shipping casualties under ss. 464 et seq. (Part VI.) of the Act. Preliminary inquiries may be held by coastguard or custom officers or persons appointed by the Board of Trade. A stipendiary magistrate, when a member of the local marine board, is empowered to preside at investigations and inquiries.

As to property in wreck generally, see 1 Bl. Com. 291; Williams on Rights of Common, p. 289; Co. Litt. 261 a, and Mr. Hargrave's note.

Goods cast ashore from a wrecked vessel and not claimed by owner within a specified period, Black's Law Dictionary, 7th Edn., p. 1602.