Can someone please enlighten me about the formal process of "making a protest" after the loss of a ship? After the ship EXPRESS was lost with all hands but one seaman, her owner, William Kelly, at once noted protest before a notary, "Fearing that the master of the said ship may be lost, and that the seaman so saved may be unable to make a protest.” The protest was sworn on the “Holy Evangelists of Almighty God,” and after recounting his knowledge of the voyage he ended up protesting against the – “Winds, seas, weathers, accidents, and occurrences aforesaid, and against all losses or damages suffered or to be suffered,” etc. Was this action a necessary legal precursor to claiming an insurance loss? Thanks, Harold

Hello Harold, The subject of Protests is covered well in Isaac Ridler Butts' Laws of the Sea: the Rights of Seamen, Coasters & Fishermen's Guide, and Master's and Mate's Manual, published in 1857, and available on Google Books. The OED defines the protest as "a written declaration by the master of a ship, attested by a justice of the peace or a consul, stating the circumstances under which officers or crew have incurred liability or the ship or cargo has suffered damage." Butts says that a master must enter a general protest against any losses, damages, and misfortunes, within 24 hours of arrival at his destination, but if he is driven by stress of weather out of his regular course, he is absolutely bound to do so at the first port he may arrive at. Having done this, the general protest may be extended to cover specific damage or grievance. He said: "It is usual for ship-masters, immediately after arriving in port from a foreign voyage, to enter a general protest, to be extended afterwards. This he does, whether he is aware of having sustained any damage from the perils of the sea or not. Should he afterwards find that the ship or cargo did sustain damage, he may then extend upon his general protest". http://books.google.com/books?id=cqYpAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA92&dq=protest+losses+damages&hl=en&ei=meoCTvzfI8G38gOD263dDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=protest%20losses%20damages&f=false What would happen if a master was rash enough not to cover himself by a protest he does not say, but presumably he might either be open to legal action by the ship-owner or, as you suggest, refusal to cover losses by the underwriters. Regards, PK ________________________________ From: "Hwabz@aol.com" <Hwabz@aol.com> To: mariners@rootsweb.com Sent: Thursday, 23 June, 2011 2:31:06 Subject: [MAR] Making "a protest" after loss of a ship Can someone please enlighten me about the formal process of "making a protest" after the loss of a ship? After the ship EXPRESS was lost with all hands but one seaman, her owner, William Kelly, at once noted protest before a notary, "Fearing that the master of the said ship may be lost, and that the seaman so saved may be unable to make a protest.” The protest was sworn on the “Holy Evangelists of Almighty God,” and after recounting his knowledge of the voyage he ended up protesting against the – “Winds, seas, weathers, accidents, and occurrences aforesaid, and against all losses or damages suffered or to be suffered,” etc. Was this action a necessary legal precursor to claiming an insurance loss? Thanks, Harold ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to MARINERS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message