Original scientific paper
Liability of carriers for the seaworthiness of a ship
Jasenko Marin
; Pomorski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Abstract
The Hague-Visby Rules and the national regulations based on them provide for the dominant obligation of a carrier to apply the due diligence principle in order to prepare a ship for voyage, or to perform the contracted carriage of goods. If a carrier does not fulfil this obligation and if some damage occurs on the transported cargo, the carrier will not be exempted from liability for damage. This obligation is personal and unavoidable and is traditionally limited to the beginning of the voyage. Taking into consideration the technical and organisational characteristics of contemporary carriage by sea, and in particular the possibilities available to the carriers as professionals, a conclusion may be made that it is no longer justified to limit this obligation to the beginning of the voyage. The carrier must be liable for the seaworthiness of the ship until the end of the voyage. The provisions of the Croatian Maritime Code must be amended accordingly. A high level of compulsory regulations providing for the safety of navigation, while the viewpoints presented in more recent court decisions confirm the thesis that the carriers’ liability for the seaworthiness of the vessel has significantly increased. Although liability today is still de iure based on presumed fault, due to very high standards of due diligence that carriers must apply, it can be said that this liability is de facto being made increasingly more objective.
Keywords
seaworthiness of a ship; due diligence; liability of sea carrier; carriage of goods by sea
Hrčak ID:
20424
URI
Publication date:
18.1.2008.
Visits: 2.229 *