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Describe analytically the main features of the system of the Law of Carriage of
Goods by Sea

Student ID:
Name:
Submission date: 22/01/2023
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Table of Contents
Brief Breakdown of the Law Governing Maritime Cargo Transportation................................4
Aims and objectives of the essay...............................................................................................4
Methodology..............................................................................................................................4
Chapter One...............................................................................................................................5
Introduction............................................................................................................................5
Law of transporting cargo by sea...........................................................................................5
Law of the Sea Convention........................................................................................................6
The Hague Rule 1924.............................................................................................................6
Hague-Visby Rules:................................................................................................................6
Hamburg rule:.........................................................................................................................7
Parties involved in the contract of the carriage of goods by sea................................................8
Carrier:....................................................................................................................................8
Obligations of a carrier:..........................................................................................................8
Liability of the Carrier:...........................................................................................................8
Shipper:...................................................................................................................................9
The 'Shipper' means any person by whom, or on behalf of whom, a contract for the carriage
of goods by sea has been concluded with a carrier, or any person by whom or on behalf of
whom, the goods have already been shipped to the carrier in accordance with the contract
for the carriage by sea.............................................................................................................9
The consignee.........................................................................................................................9
Carriage of goods by sea:.......................................................................................................9
Chapter two..........................................................................................................................11
Forms of contract of Affreightment.........................................................................................11
Bill of Lading Act 1856:..........................................................................................................11
Functions of Bill of Lading:.................................................................................................11
Charter Party............................................................................................................................12
Categories of charter party...................................................................................................12
Voyage charter party:...........................................................................................................12
Time charter party................................................................................................................12
Maritime limits and boundaries...............................................................................................13
Limits and rights:..................................................................................................................13
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United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)................................................13

Base Line..............................................................................................................................13
Inland waters:.......................................................................................................................13
Territorial Sea:......................................................................................................................13
Contiguous Zone..................................................................................................................14
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).........................................................................................14
High Seas..............................................................................................................................14
Continental shelf...................................................................................................................14
Bays:.....................................................................................................................................15
Low-Tide Elevations (LTE):................................................................................................15
Islands:..................................................................................................................................15
Reef.......................................................................................................................................15
Archipelagic state:....................................................................................................................15
Conclusion................................................................................................................................16
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Brief Breakdown of the Law Governing Maritime Cargo Transportation

The international maritime laws settles for a serene maritime environment that is
bedded with the global maritime trade and its member states; with regulations that surveys
each maritime zone as well as its voluntary duties and entitlement of inland states with regard
to marine ecosystem welfare.

Aims and objectives of the essay

Main focus is primarily on key figures that play significant roles in the narrative of
the issue on the legislation of maritime cargo carrying; this is an added knowledge that will
help exercise your thoughts about sea trade. Furthermore, this article highlights the laws of
the sea that enables the safe sail of goods and services from its point of origin down to its
destination taking into consideration the jurisdictions and the maritime routes in use.

Methodology
In addition to the system of responsibility and securing protection for the claim of
goods by sea, having control over it and defining the relevant law, a range of relevant features
would have to be addressed in the initial phases of shipping.
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Chapter One

Introduction
The early maritime industry experienced a lot of issues which led to various questions
regarding liability, it was an additional consideration that led to various dispute. Various
scrutiny and arguments have arisen because the rules of the sea cannot decide whether to
arrest a vessel even after it has been given an undertaking; should be enough reason as to
justify the incidence that occurred. This is a complex issue to discuss which has welcomed
various variations through conventions for the safe passage of goods and the vessel within the
sea routes.

Law of Transporting Cargo by Sea

The examination of this type of contract is dynamic due to the abundance of statutory
regulatory channels for transportation of goods contracts, many of which originate from local
and some from international sources. A coexistence of legal systems from various legal
groups is unavoidable, being predominantly an international economic operation. (Jiménez-
Valderrama, 2015).

Law of the Sea Convention

The Hague Rule 1924

One convention has essentially replaced the other over the years to the extent where
there are now various global regimes that regulate the transportation of goods by water. The
necessity for a global convention was recognized as early as the 1680s, when transporters and
shippers engaged in a commercial activities battle about risk allocation.

From 1921 to 1924, In order to create a written pact between the sender and the
recipient the International Treaty Association as well as the Comité Maritime Intercontinental
convened a range of strategic symposiums, culminating in the signing in Brussels in 1924 of
the Hague Rule, also known as the International Treaty for the Standardization relating To
specific Legal Rules Regarding Bill of Lading.
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In return, in some cases, certain important waivers from liability have been given to
carriers. Over time, it was discovered that several of the convention's provisions clashed with
advancements in the shipping sector, including the use of cargo containers and better vessel
construction, as well as an increase in trade. As a result, the Hague Rules had to be modified.
These issues were rectified by the 1968 convention's application of an upgraded set of rules.
(2015 publication, "Carriage of Made Provisions in International Trade").

Hague-Visby Rules
To the extent that this document refers to the shipment of merchandise by sea,
expenses of freight or equivalent issued with it shall apply. The term "Contract of Carriage”
pertains solely to transportation contracts backed by expenses of freight or equivalent
document of similar title. From the day that Such a payment of shipping or additional title
documentation governs the relation involving the transporter and the owner thereof, whether
by documentation or pursuant to a contract of hire.

Hamburg rule
The terms of the 1924 Brussels Agreement, as modified by the 1968 Visby Annex, is
intended to be replaced by the Hamburg Convention. The previous Convention was created
by a handful of ship-owning nations who recognized the need to harmonize various national
law mechanisms that control the shipment of merchandise by sea.
The Hague Regulations and the Hague Regulations were becoming more and more of a
source of aggravation. The total distribution of obligations and risks under the regulations
was deemed unavoidable. In addition to this, new changes in shipping environments,
technology and procedures have made many of the provisions of the rules outdated and
unacceptable in today's ocean shipping.(‘UNC on Maritime Goods Carriage , 1978 (Hamburg
Rules)’, 2014).

Entities Connected in the contract of Transporting Merchandise by Sea

Carrier
According to The Hague Law, a carrier is indeed the proprietor or consignee. of a ship that
engages into a shipment agreement with a shipper. This meaning is limited in that the word
'carrier' applies only to the owner of the vessel or the chatterer who is a party to the carriage
deal. The Hamburg rule defines the ‘Carrier’ as two different persons;
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 The term "carrier" refers to any individual who has signed an agreement with a
shipper for the sea transportation of goods on their behalf.
 "Actual carrier" refers to someone who has been given the responsibility for
transporting products or a portion of their conveyance, as well as anyone else with
whom such responsibility has been shared.(Gheorghe, 2008)

Obligations of a carrier
1. Throughout the time it is in charge, the transporter is in charge of correctly receiving,
loading, treating, stowing, carrying, holding, caring for, unloading, and delivering the
products.
2. The shipper, documentation shipper, or recipient may be held accountable for the
products' packing, stashing, warehousing, or unpacking, according to the of the
agreement involving the carrier and the shipping company. The contract's specifics
include reference to such an arrangement.(Vereinte Nationen, 2009).

Carrier's Responsibilities:
The Conference revised the Hague Visby Regulations in Brussels in February 23,
1968, partly to address the liability resolutions of the Hague Conference. Despite this, the
Regulations did not entirely address the interests of the proprietors of the goods because, at
the time, actions against certain carrier could be grounded on both tort (i.e. negligence) and
contractual liability.
By adhering to the Hamburg Regulation, that stated that the idea of assumed
carelessness on the side of the carrier formed the basis of their obligation, the probability
Disclaimers included in such agreements (section that are outmoded in contemporary
shipping operations) are no longer relied upon by carriers. The Rotterdam Regulation
disproves the carrier's presumption of blame. The presumptions laid down, however, indicate
the existence of a reasonable mechanism for taking responsibilities. The beneficiary has the
right to demonstrate that the situation that resulted in the harm was brought on by the carrier's
negligence. In the meantime, the eligible party may claim that the harm was due to an
incident other than that referred to in the limitations, and the carrier is unable to show that it
is not due to that event. When the party seeking compensation establishes that a loss,
destruction, or disruption resulted from the ship's status as well as the carrier is incapable of
show otherwise, the carrier does not invoke any of the circumstances referred to in the
exemptions in its defense (Pandele, 2017a).
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Shipper:
The term "Shipper" refers to any individual by whom or Upon final confirmation of
the merchandise transport document with the provider, or Persons whose goods are sent by
sea to or on behalf of a carrier under a contract for the marine transportation of commodities.
The consignee:
This individual is qualified to accept delivery of shipping goods.

Transporting goods by sea:

Transporting products or cargo from one location to another is known as carriage. It is
not, however, as straightforward as it might seem because other elements like distribution,
packing, storage, shipping, and unloading are all involved. As a result, a contract for the
shipment of goods is a legal agreement made between a sender (or consignor) and a carrier
wherein the carrier agrees to deliver items to a third party, typically the destination, in return
for money (or consignee)(‘Carriage of Goods Contracts in International Trade’, 2015).
In accordance with the parties involved in the agreement agreeing to the parameters of the
transportation contract and based on the principle of obtaining suitable storage space for
deliverable products, the shipment of merchandise by sea corresponds with the rules of the
agreements. As a result, it is possible to enter into a charter party agreement for the shipping
of goods by sea, in which the ship owner agrees Carriage of goods by sea or making a vessel
available in whole or in part for shipping activities by a third party charterer in return for
payment.
The vessel is leased for the purpose of providing it in a maritime position to the
consignee and paying for the keep up of the vessel during the duration of the contract. The
conclusions, actions and responsibilities of the contracting parties generally correspond to the
specifications contained in the model contracts developed and regulated by international
institutions, but there are no coherent provisions on the charter formation bonds (Pandele,
2017b).
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Chapter two
Affreightment Contract Types:  
There are two main categories of employee contracts:
Bill of lading

Charter event

Invoice of Shipment Act 1856

In the maritime domain, the replacement products that were purchased on board are
listed on the bill of shipment. It is a statement that specifies the terms of the shipment of
merchandise between the shipper and the shipping firm. It is often given to the shipper by the
transportation firm (carrier). As an outcome, the freight bill is regarded as a legal document
that contains all the information required for the importer and exporter to handle it quickly
and accurately bill the shipping documents through a number of maritime nations until it
reaches the place it was going to ("Bill of lading: importance, purpose and type", 2020).
Over time, the document started to serve another purpose. The carriage contract's terms and
conditions were added to the document as a result of experience, which will help to better
resolve any future disputes. However, it is acknowledged that these conditions merely serve
as evidence of the carriage contract, not establish it. There are three different ways to provide
a commercial invoice: provider bill, ordering bill, explicit bill, or quasi bill. The invoice of
lading's issuance method defines whether the merchandise can be marketed or relocated
while in route and also locates the cargo's consignee. (Schmitz, 2011).

The Purpose of a Bill of Shipment

The purposes of lading bills are directly tied to the responsibilities of owners for the
reception, shipping, and distribution of the cargo. Below is a general explanation of how a
freight bill works.
 Justification of the contract of carriage;
• Receiving the merchadise by the transport company.
• Bill of cargo as a document of ownership.
• Possibility of accountability as a corporeal carrier underneath Bills of shipment ( "p-
i_guide_bills_of_shipment_1_2pp_v2_lr.pdf" , 2012 ).
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Charter Party
This is an agreement between a ship-owner and a person who wants to use or depart
their vessel for a specified amount of time or on a specific voyage.
Categories of charter party
1. Travel charter party
2. Time charter party
3. Demise: Bareboat Charter Party (‘GUIDE: Contracts of Affreightment’, 2010).

Voyage charter party

This section commits the ship-owner (or prospective owner) to transport goods in a
specified vessel on one or more journeys. Here, the ship owner offers the master, crew,
supplies, and bunkers; the charterer is responsible for packaging the products and paying the
freight, which is typically calculated by the amount of cargo transported or a specific amount
per freight.

Time charter party

The cargo vessel owner makes his vessel accessible to the charterer for usage during
the agreed-upon time frame under the terms of this charter arrangement. During the "journey"
and until the contract is finished, the ship owner is responsible for its personnel and
maintenance.
Boundary and Maritime Restrictions

Limits and rights

According to this treaty, the sea is divided into several areas that coastal countries
can claim. Every domain gives coastal states specific powers and imposes specific
responsibilities on the international maritime sector and its ships. The UN Convention on the
rules of the waters (UNCLOS) allows for the liberty of over flight, underwater cable laying,
and navigation and pipelines, and liberty to lay submarine cables and pipelines to all
countries and ships on the high waters. It illustrates that you should be allowed to practice six
liberties, including the liberty to fish, to make artificial island as well as facilities, and to
engage in maritime scientific investigation. (Kastrisios and Tsoulos, 2018).
UN Convention on the Rules of the Sea (UNCLOS)
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Seven marine boundaries exist over which states can exercise jurisdiction, based on
many of the principles of maritime zones under the Geneva treaties of 1958 on the Territorial
Sea as well as the 1982 UNC on the rules of the Sea.
Base Line
The regional sea and other zones can be measured along this straight line that
connects two spots on the land and guarantees the intrinsic water to one another.
Additionally, it serves as a line of demarcation between the territorial sea and the interior
waterways. It can be divided into two separate types: normal foundation and standard of
extraordinary circumstances, with the coastal water line serving as a defining characteristic
between the two.

Inland waters
Specific waters on or around the foreshore of the perimeter are referred to as internal
waters, including estuaries, ports, as well as legal bays.

Territorial Sea
The coastal states' laws extend to the outer strip of marked boundary waters separated
from internal waters in the archipelago area is known as archipelago waters. It extends
beyond the territorial waters to its seabed and subsoil as well as to controlled airspace
(‘unclos_e.pdf’, 2015).
Contiguous Zone
A continuous area that runs parallel to the marked boundary waters and doesn't
extend over 24 Nm from the foundation (NM). The regional sea is typically 12 NM wide,
however it could be wider if a state claims it is less. The coastal states and their authority are
in charge of enforcing all laws and punishing violators in the adjacent domain, the coastal
regions have no other rights in the contiguous zone, but they have the power to make and
enforce laws to prevent violations of sanitary, budgetary, migration and customs rules
occurring in their hegemonic waters. To punish It appears that coastal states have no
additional rights in the economic zone and the freedom of the high seas remains intact.
(Kastrisios and Tsoulos, 2018).
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
The EEZ is comprised of the shoreline, seabed, and subsoil that lie outside and
contiguous to territorial sea and whose boundaries are defined by a line that extends 200
nautical miles from each baseline, low water mark, or low tide elevation.
High Seas
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Any area of the sea that is not a portion of a state's jurisdictional sea or internal waters
is referred to as the "high seas." No state may legitimately assert that it has the right to
dominate any area of the high seas because they are available to all nations (Pronto, 2005).
Continental shelf
It alludes to the local area's seafloor and subsurface of waters close to the land
nonetheless, beyond the maritime borders with a 200-foot profundity meters or less, which
can be used from the depth of the surrounding waters. Environmental assets in those areas
also include beds and layers connected by the seabed near the islands' coasts. (Convention on
the Continental Shelf, 1958, 2005)

Bays
The bays are one of the most active maritime features. A bay is typically an expansive
shoreline incision. Straight starting points can cause issues since states may try to declare
wide bays domestic seas in order to forecast maritime borders further and control access to
overflights (‘Chapter 2: Maritime Zones – Law of the Sea’, 2021).

Low-Tide Elevations (LTE)

A naturally formed land feature that is encircled by water during low tide and is above
it but High tide refers to submergence at high tide. The high-tide line at that height can be
used as a basis for calculating the geographic sea's latitude, provided that it falls at a lower
tide level than the latitude away from the maritime boundary from the landmass or the
archipelago, in whole or in part (‘unclos_e.pdf’, 2014 b).

Islands
Islands are naturally occurring land masses that are encircled by water including all
sides. Islands must be capable of supporting their distinct human settlement or commercial
omnipresence and be high tide above sea (‘Chapter 2: Maritime Zones – Law of the Sea’,
2021).
Reef
Reefs are coral structures that stretch just beneath edge of the water and are vaguely
structured like mountains. Atolls are corals or tiny, helically islands.
Archipelagic state:
"Archipelagic State" represents a Region consisting entirely of one or several islands
that are part of an archipelago. An archipelago entails a collection of islands or portions of
islands, contiguous seas, and groups so interconnected that they naturally form or are capable
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of forming a geographical, commercial, and governmental structure. It refers to any other

known geological position. (‘unclos_e.pdf’, 2014 b).

Conclusion
The structure of the rule controlling the transportation of commodities by sea is
purposefully complex and includes a number of elements that are constrained by the
expanding conventions which also offer authorities for a protected environment for sea trade.
The systems, laws, and regulations established by various marine institutions within their
domains must be taken into consideration notwithstanding the restrictions on rights and
obligations for the economic development of the shipping industry.
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