What appears to be a simple question is not as straightforward
as one would think. One might take the view that it is just a
matter of common sense whether something is a ship or not, yet it
is difficult to define exhaustively what exactly a ship is, or the
extent to which something forms part of a "ship".
Notwithstanding that this question has been asked time and time
again, it is a difficult area with many seemingly conflicting
decisions with the Courts occasionally disagreeing with leading
texts' analysis or inferences of past judgments.
Whilst this question may arise in more than one context, in this
article we look at two specific areas:
- What is a "ship" for the purposes of invoking
admiralty jurisdiction?
