Ship Master Law and business-Can shipmaster be sued in a civil court ?

Yes .See for example the case of Adler V Dickson (1955) ( The Himalaya) .Under the Law Of Tort in section B.......In recent years there have been several reports of cases of cruise ship passengers swing ( or threatening to sue) Masters in person for negligence .e.g after sailing into heavy weather regardless of a poor weather .

What is a Tort?

A wrongful act or omission ( other than a wrong that is purely breach of contract ),committed by a person for which damages may be sued in a civil court by the person wronged .

What is Master Criminal Lability ?

Liability for offences against the criminal law of the flag state , a coastal state or a port state , for which the penalty is usually either a fine , or imprisonment or both .Hundreds of offences have been created under UK Law for which a Master may be fined , or in many cases both fined and jailed .