COLLISSION

PROTEST - ARTICLE 835. The action for the recovery of losses and damages arising
from collisions cannot be admitted if a protest or declaration is not presented within
twenty-four hours to the competent authority of the point where the collision took place,
or that of the first port of arrival of the vessel, if in Spain, * and to the consul of Spain * if
it should have occurred in a foreign country.
 Sea-going vessels
 Not small boats engaged in river and bay traffic

SECTION III Collisions

ARTICLE 826. If a vessel should collide with another through the fault, negligence, or
lack of skill of the captain, sailing mate, or any other member of the complement, the
owner of the vessel at fault shall indemnify the losses and damages suffered, after an
expert appraisal.
ARTICLE 827. If both vessels may be blamed for the collision, each one shall be liable
for his own damages, and both shall be jointly responsible for the losses and damages
suffered by their cargoes.
ARTICLE 828. The provisions of the foregoing article are applicable to the case in which
it can not be decided which of the two vessels was the cause of the collision.
ARTICLE 829. In the cases above mentioned the civil action of the owner against the
person liable for the damage is reserved, as well as the criminal liabilities which may be
proper.
ARTICLE 830. If a vessel should collide with another by reason of an accident or
through force majeure, each vessel and her cargo shall be liable for their own damage.
ARTICLE 831. If a vessel should be forced to collide with another one by a third vessel,
the owner of the third vessel shall indemnify for the losses and damages caused, the
captain thereof being civilly liable to said owner.
ARTICLE 832. If, by reason of a storm or other cause of force majeure, a vessel which is
properly anchored and moored should collide with those in her immediate vicinity,
causing them damage, the injury occasioned shall be looked upon as particular average to
the vessel run into.
LIMITED LIABILITY RULE
ARTICLE 837. The civil liability contracted by the shipowners in the cases prescribed in
this section, shall be understood as limited to the value of the vessel with all her
appurtenances and all the freight earned during the voyage.
ARTICLE 819. If the captain during the navigation should believe that the vessel can not
continue the voyage to the port of destination on account of the lack of provisions, well
founded fear of seizure, privateers or pirates, or by reason of any accident of the sea
disabling her to navigate, he shall assemble the officers and shall call the persons
interested in the cargo who may be present, and who may attend the meeting without the
right to vote; and if, after examining the circumstances of the case, the reasons should be
considered well founded, it shall be decided to make the nearest and most convenient port
drafting and entering in the log book the proper minutes, which shall be signed by all.
The captain shall have the deciding vote and the persons interested in the cargo may
make the objections and protests they may deem proper, which shall be entered in the
minutes in order that they may make use thereof in the manner they may consider
advisable.
ARTICLE 820. The arrival under stress shall not be considered legal in the following
cases:
1. If the lack of provisions should arise from the failure to take the necessary
provisions for the voyage, according to usage and custom, or if they should have
been rendered useless or lost through bad stowage or negligence in their care.
2. If the risk of enemies, privateers, or pirates should not have been well known,
manifest, and based on positive and justifiable facts.
3. If the injury to the vessel should have been caused by reason of her not being
repaired, rigged, equipped, and arranged in a convenient manner for the voyage, or
by reason of some erroneous order of the captain.
4. Whenever malice, negligence, want of foresight, or lack of skill on the part of the
captain is the reason for the act causing the damage.
ARTICLE 823. The care and preservation of the cargo which has been unloaded shall be
in charge of the captain, who shall be responsible for the same, except in cases of force
majeure.
ARTICLE 824. If the entire cargo or part thereof should appear to be damaged, or there
should be imminent danger of its being damaged, the captain may request of the judge or
court of competent jurisdiction or the consul, in a proper case, the sale of all or of part of
the former, and the person taking cognizance of the matter shall authorize it after an
examination and declaration of experts, advertisements, and other formalities required by
the case and an entry in the book, in accordance with the provisions of Article 624.
The captain shall, in a proper case, justify the legality of the procedure, under the penalty
of answering to the shipper for the price the merchandise would have brought if it should
have arrived at the port of its destination in good condition.
ARTICLE 825. The captain shall answer for the damages caused by his delay, if the
reason for the arrival under stress having ceased, he should not continue the voyage.
If the reason for said arrival should have been the fear of enemies, privateers, or pirates,
before sailing, a discussion and resolution of a meeting of the officers of the vessel and
persons interested in the cargo who may be present shall take place, in accordance with
the provisions contained in Article 819.
ARTICLE 840. The losses and deteriorations suffered by a vessel and her cargo by
reason of shipwreck or stranding shall be individually for the account of the owners, the
part of the wreck which may be saved belonging to them in the same proportion.
ARTICLE 841. If the wreck or stranding should arise through the malice, negligence, or
lack of skill of the captain, or because the vessel put to sea insufficiently repaired and
prepared, the owner or the freighters may demand indemnity of the captain for the
damages caused to the vessel or cargo by the accident, in accordance with the provisions
contained in Articles 610, 612, 614, and 621.
ARTICLE 842. The goods saved from the wreck shall be specially liable for the payment
of the expenses of the respective salvage, and the amount thereof must be paid by the
owners of the former before they are delivered to them, and with preference to any other
obligation, if the merchandise should be sold.
ARTICLE 843. If several vessels navigate under convoy, and any of them should be
wrecked, the cargo saved shall be distributed among the rest in the proportion to the
amount each one can receive.
If any captain should refuse, without sufficient cause, to receive what may correspond to
him, the captain of the wrecked vessel shall enter a protest against him before two sea
officials of the losses and damages resulting therefrom, ratifying the complaint within
twenty-four hours after arrival at the first port, and including it in the proceedings he
must institute in accordance with the provisions contained in Article 612.
Should it not be possible to transfer to the other vessels the entire cargo of the one
wrecked, the goods of the highest value and smallest volume shall be saved first, the
designation thereof being made by the captain, in concurrence with the officers of his
vessel.
ARTICLE 844. A captain who may have taken on board the goods saved from the wreck
shall continue his course to the port of destination, and on arrival shall deposit the same,
with judicial intervention, at the disposal of their legitimate owners.
In case of changing his course, should he be able to unload them at the port to which they
were consigned, the captain may make said port if the shippers or supercargoes present
consent thereto, as well as the officers and passengers of the vessel; but he can not do so,
even with said consent, in time of war or when the port is difficult to make and
dangerous.
All the expenses of this arrival shall be defrayed by the owners of the cargo, as well as
the payment of the freight, which, taking into consideration the circumstances of the case,
are fixed by agreement or by a judicial decision.
ARTICLE 845. If there should not be on the vessel any person interested in the cargo to
pay the expenses and freight corresponding to the salvage, the judge or court of
competent jurisdiction may order the sale of the part necessary to cover the same. This
shall also be done when its preservation is dangerous, or when in the period of one year it
should not have been possible to ascertain who are its legitimate owners.
In both cases the proceedings regarding publicity and formalities prescribed in Article
579 shall be observed, and the net proceeds of the sale shall be deposited in a safe place,
in the judgment of the judge or court, in order to be turned over to the legitimate owners
thereof.