Implied warranty of seaworthiness

The implied warranty of seaworthiness is the common law term, read into a voyage contract where no express provision displaces it, that the owner provides a ship fit in design, equipment, crew, and cargoworthiness for the contemplated voyage and cargo at the start of the voyage. At common law it is absolute, not a duty of due diligence: the owner is liable for an unseaworthy ship even without negligence. Carriage governed by the Hague or Hague-Visby Rules replaces this absolute term with the lesser Article III duty to exercise due diligence to make the ship seaworthy before and at the beginning of the voyage.