IN THE MATTER OF THE SHIP SIDI IFNI ANGEL SAAVEDRA RIOS, MASTER Vs. HIS MAJESTYS ATTORNEY GENERAL AND PROCTOR FOR GIBRALTAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal by the master and owners of the Spanish ship "Sidi Ifni" from a judgment of the Supreme Court of Gibralter, Admiralty Jurisdiction, sitting in Prize, dated 29 June 1943, in so far as it pronounced that ship to be liable to confiscation upon the ground that she was carrying a cargo of contraband upon a voyage from Malaga to Valencia, Spain, and condemned her as good and lawful prize. By the same judgment, the cargo laden upon the "Sidi Ifni" during this voyage, namely, 269 tons of lemons, was also pronounced to have been contraband and to have had an enemy ownership or destination and as such or otherwise subject and liable to confiscation, and was also condemned as good and lawful prize. No appeal has been entered by any claimant in respect of the cargo and, accordingly, the only question in the present appeal is as to whether upon the facts and in the circumstances the ship was rightly condemned as good and lawful prize.

(2.) The "Sidi Ifni" is a Spanish ship which was at all material times owned by the second-named appellants who are a company incorporated with limited liability under the laws of Spain. The first-named appellant is a Spanish subject and was at all material times Master of the ship. At all material times, the appellant company was specified as a person to be deemed an enemy for the purposes of the Trading with the Enemy Act, 1939, by orders made by the Board of Trade under sub-s. (2) of S. 2 of that Act. On 3 December 1942, the "Sidi Ifni" sailed from the Port of Malaga, Spain, upon a voyage to the port of Valencia, Spain, with a cargo of 5977 cases of lemons of a net weight of 269 tons. She was not provided with a Ship Navicert valid for this or any voyage, and the cargo was not covered by any valid Cargo Navicert. On 4 December 1942, the "Sidi Ifni", while in the course of her voyage was intercepted and diverted to the port of Gibraltar and on 9 December 1942 she and her cargo were seized as Prize by the Detaining Officer, Gibraltar. Upon the same date, a Writ of Summons was issued by the respondent in the Supreme Court of Gibraltar, Admiralty Jurisdiction, in Prize, against the ship and cargo for condemnation as good and lawful prize, and was duly served. On 7 January 1948 an appearance was entered on behalf of the appellant company as owners of the ship; but no appearance was entered on behalf of any person purporting to be the owner of or otherwise interested in the cargo.

(3.) By their claim dated 18 February 1943, the appellant company claimed the release of the ship, and consequential relief, alleging as the grounds of their said claim, that the ship was under contract to carry the lemons from the Port of Malaga to the Port of Valencia for account of the Sindicato Nacionai de Frutos y Productos Horticolas, an official body of the Spanish Government, and that at the time of the capture of the ship there were no contraband goods on board and that no enemy of Great Britain had, at the time of the capture or at any other material time, any share, right, title or interest in the said ship or the cargo therein or any part thereof. This claim came on for hearing before the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Gibraltar, Admiralty Jurisdiction, sitting in Prize, on 24 and 25 June 1948, when the appellant company appeared and were represented by counsel, but the owners of the cargo did not appear and were not represented.