273. Power of Court to consolidate claims against owners, etc.

Where any liability is alleged to have been incurred by the owner of a ship in respect of any occurrence in respect of which his liability is limited under section 272, and several claims are made or apprehended in respect of that liability, then the owner may apply to the High Court, and that Court may determine the amount of the owner’s liability and may distribute that amount rateably among the several claimants, and may stay any proceedings pending in any other court in relation to the same matter, and may proceed in such manner and subject to such regulations as to making persons interested parties to the proceedings, and as to the exclusion of any claimants who do not come in within a certain time, and as to requiring security from the owner, and as to payment of any costs as the Court thinks just.

In making any distribution in accordance with subsection (1) the Court may, if it thinks fit, postpone the distribution of such part of the amount to be distributed as it considers appropriate having regard to any claims that may later be established before a court of any country outside Singapore.

No lien or other right in respect of any ship or property shall affect the proportions in which any amount is distributed among several claimants under this section.[296