Prize is a term used in
admiralty law to refer to
equipment,
vehicles,
vessels, and
cargo captured during armed conflict. The most common use of prize in this sense is the capture of an enemy
ship and its
cargo as a
prize of war. In the past, the capturing force would commonly be allotted a share of the
worth of the captured prize. Nations often granted
letters of marque that would entitle private parties to capture enemy
property, usually ships. Once the ship was secured on friendly territory, it would be made the subject of a prize case, an
in rem proceeding in which the court determined the status of the condemned property and the manner in which it was to be disposed of.