Recenzija, Prikaz slučaja
Shipbuilder's Liability for Latent Defects in a Ship: Calculation of Time Bar
Vesna Skorupan Wolff
Sažetak
The plaintiff, as the ordering party, and the defendant, as the shipbuilder, entered into a shipbuilding contract for the construction of a passenger ship. The defendant handed over to the plaintiff an unfinished ship, that is, a ship under construction. The shipbuilding was continued by another shipbuilder, who completed the ship and handed it over to the plaintiff. The plaintiff claims compensation from the defendant (the first shipyard) for damage that he claims was caused by latent defects. Article 439 of the Maritime Code provides that the shipbuilder is liable for latent defects discovered within one year counting from the date of the delivery of the ship to the ordering party, provided that the latter notifies the shipbuilder in writing of such defects as soon as they are discovered. This is a substantive time bar. The issue in the proceedings concerns when the aforementioned period begins to run – from the delivery of the ship under construction (the unfinished passenger ship) by the defendant or the delivery of the completed ship by the second shipyard. The court held that the period within which the shipbuilder is liable for latent defects runs from the date of delivery of the completed ship, and not from the date of delivery of the unfinished ship or ship under construction. The court pointed out that Article 439 of the Maritime Code expressly refers to the delivery of a ship (and not a ship under construction) and it refers to latent defects in a ship (and not a ship under construction). A ship under construction (both theoretically and in practice) need not ultimately become a ship, so it follows that in such a case it would not be possible to speak of latent defects in a ship at all. In addition, the Maritime Code distinguishes and defines the terms ship, passenger ship, and ship under construction.
Ključne riječi
Hrčak ID:
353369
URI
Datum izdavanja:
12.11.2026.
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