Principles Of Shipping Law Article

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Principles of shipping law

The shipowner has ability to limits its liability to the value of the ship after a major accident. As per the limitation act if an accident happens due to a circumstance which is beyond the "privity and knowledge" of the ship's owners.

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Here are the basic principles of Shipping (maritime) law –

1. Limitation of ship owner’s liability.
The shipowner has ability to limits its liability to the value of the ship after a major accident. As per the limitation act if an accident happens due to a circumstance which is beyond the "privity and knowledge" of the ship's owners, the owners can limit their liability to the value of the ship after it sinks.

However the sustained need of the Limitation act is open to discussion. This law does not give these powers to large ships but to motor boat and even Jet Ski boat owners. The base behind this act was that a shipowner who properly equipped and employed a ship should not be held responsible for anything that happens when the ship is out of his control. These days’ modern communication system, weather forecast and satellite navigation etc. seldom allow ship to be out of control. But the Act remains a viable protection to the ship-owners.

2. Cargo Claims
The carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA) governs the claims for the damage of cargo shipped in international commerce. According to COGSA a shipowner is liable for cargo damaged from “Hook to Hook” which means from loading to discharge of the cargo. This feature is liable unless it is exculpated under one of the seventeen exceptions of liability, such as an “Act of God”, the inherent nature of the goods, errors in management or navigation of ship.

3. Personal injuries Seaman -
Injury happens to any seaman while on ship, he is liable to get the compensation from three possible sources namely the principle of maintenance and cure, the doctrine of unseaworthiness and the Jones act.

The obligation to “maintenance” requires the shipowner to provide a seaman with his basic living expenses while he is on the road of recovery. Afterwards he is expected to maintain himself. The obligation to “cure” requires a shipowner to provide medical owner, free of charge, to a seaman injured while being in service of the ship, until the seaman attains a state of “maximum medical cure”. It includes the obligation to provide him with medications and medical devices which improve his ability to function, even if they don’t “improve” his actual condition. Once a seaman is able to work again, he loses his right to maintenance, while the obligation to provide cure is ongoing.

Passengers - The ship owners owe a duty of reasonable care to passengers. So if any passenger is injured aboard ship, he may bring suit the same as if he had been injured ashore through the negligence of a third party. He has to bear the burden of proving that the shipowner was negligent.

4. Leins and Mortgages – Banks which loan money to purchase ships, seamen who are due wages, vendors who supply ships with necessaries like fuel and stores, and many others have alien against the ship to guarantee payment. But for this a ship must be arrested or seized.

5. Salvage and treasure salvage -
If any property is lost at sea and rescued by another, the rescuer is entitled to claim a salvage award on the salved property. However there is no “life salvage.” All mariners have a duty to save the lives of others in peril without expectation of reward. So the salvage law applies only to the saving of property.

Salvage is of two types: contract salvage and pure salvage (merit salvage). Pure salvage claims are divided into high-order and low-order salvage. In both cases the amount of the salvage award is based first upon the value of the property saved (which seldom exceeds fifty percent of the value of the property salved with treasure salvage as an exception).

However if nothing is saved, or if additional damage is done, there will be no award. Many other factors like skills of the salvor, peril to which the salvaged property was exposed, value or the property which was risked in effecting the salvage, amount of time and money expended in the salvage operation etc. are considered.

These Shipping laws are applicable in Greece as well as rest of the world.

About Author

George G. Latsoudis is a senior partner and constitute the core of Latsoudis & Arvaniti Law Office in Greece which is one of the oldest law offices in Greece and has been established in 1926.The firm specializes in the areas of Shipping law, Greek Company law, Greek Real Estate law, as well as Tax Planning in Greece.

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Principles of shipping law