Errors in Navigation Exception

The error-in-navigation exception, Article IV Rule 2(a) of the Hague-Visby Rules, relieves the carrier of liability for loss arising from the master’s or crew’s act, neglect, or default in the navigation or management of the ship. It is the most-litigated of the seventeen catalogued defenses and turns on the line between management of the ship (excused) and management of the cargo (not excused). The Hamburg and Rotterdam Rules both abolish the defense, which is one reason carriers have resisted them.