Custom of the sea

A custom of the sea is a custom that is said to be practiced by the officers and crew of ships and boats in the open sea, as distinguished from maritime law, which is a distinct and coherent body of law that governs maritime questions and offenses.

Possibly the best-known of these customs is the practice of shipwrecked survivors drawing lots to see who is to be killed and eaten so that the others might survive.

Historical examples of "agreed" cannibalism

The Essex

After the sinking of the Essex of Nantucket by a whale on November 20, 1820, the survivors were left floating in three small whaleboats. They eventually resorted, by common consent, to cannibalism to allow some to survive.

The Mignonette

Main article: R. v. Dudley and Stephens

The case of R. v. Dudley and Stephens (1884 14 QBD 273 DC) is an English case which developed a crucial ruling on necessity in modern common law. The case dealt with four crewmembers of an English yacht, the Mignonette, who were shipwrecked in a storm some 1,600 miles from the Cape of Good Hope. After a few weeks adrift in a lifeboat, one of the crew fell unconscious due to a combination of hunger and drinking seawater. The others (one abstaining) decided then to kill him and eat him. They were picked up four days later. The case held that necessity was not a defense for a charge of murder, and the two defendants were convicted, though their death sentence was commuted to six months' imprisonment.

Examples not related to cannibalism

Another custom of the sea is the captain being the last person off a sinking vessel or deciding to go down with the ship. This custom of the sea is often enshrined in naval tradition and still expected to be upheld in many countries.