Maritime law covers laws and regulations for marine commerce, ships, shipments, and workers’ compensation claims in navigable waters. It includes salvage, towage, maritime liens, marine contracts, and marine injuries. International law governs lost property found in water, and towing contracts are governed by maritime contracts. Admiralty law states that the flag flown by a ship determines which national law it follows. The US Constitution enforces maritime law, while other countries refer cases to high courts. The International Maritime Organization establishes international maritime law and conventions for maritime safety.
Maritime law, or admiralty law, is one of the oldest and most established types of law. It typically covers the laws or regulations governing torts, contracts, marine commerce, ships, shipments, and workers’ compensation claims that arise in the navigable waters of the world. Topics may include salvage, towage, maritime liens, marine contracts, marinas and marine injuries.
Although the topics covered by maritime laws are numerous, there are several that are quite interesting. For example, there are laws governing what happens when someone finds property that has been lost. Under international law, if property is lost in the water and found by someone else, the finder can claim a salvage award for the recovered property. Consequently, if a ship is damaged and loses cargo in a bad ocean storm, the prospector can ask the shipping company to pay him money for any cargo salvaged. Usually the salvage premium is less than half the value of the property that has been salvaged.
In many countries, the trailer is an important part of transporting products. A boat pushing a barge full of cargo is a tugboat, and one towing it is a tugboat. The contract that states that the owner of the tug or tug agrees to tow the goods is called a towage contract. This contract is governed by the rules on maritime contracts. A towing contract doesn’t need to be written in most countries, but it’s usually a good idea. Most towage contracts assume that reasonable care must be exercised in towing goods.
The broader arguments of maritime law are widely accepted by nearly all seafaring nations. However, there are issues where international law can conflict with the laws of a single nation. Nearly every nation accepts Admiralty law which states that the flag that is flown by a particular ship determines which national law it will follow. For example, if a ship flies the American flag in a Greek sea, the ship will follow the laws of the American admiralty. Alternatively, if a vessel is flying the Venezuelan flag in waters close to the United States, Venezuelan law will apply.
In the United States, maritime law is dictated by Article Three of the United States Constitution, which makes its laws enforceable by the federal judicial system. Other countries, such as India and New Zealand, refer their maritime law cases to the high courts. At one time, England had special courts that dealt only with admiralty cases. Those admiralty courts have since been abolished and cases are now also heard in the high courts of England. Most common law countries follow the maritime laws of England.
The International Maritime Organization was created by the United Nations in 1958 to help establish international maritime law. It also established many international conventions that concerned maritime safety. For example, the Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea and the Collision Regulations were created by the International Maritime Organization. When a country adopts the rules of a specific convention, these are applied by each nation through the national courts.
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