Regulation, Law, Compliance and Governance

Maritime Law, private and commercial glossary

The private and commercial law of shipping contracts, casualties, and disputes: the Hague-Visby, Hamburg, and Rotterdam carriage regimes, bills of lading and package limitation, charterparty practice (laytime, demurrage, off-hire, safe port) on NYPE, GENCON, and SHELLTIME forms, admiralty jurisdiction, maritime liens, ship arrest, general average and the York-Antwerp Rules, marine insurance, P&I cover, and LMAA, SMA, and SCMA arbitration.

96 defined terms.

A

Admiralty Jurisdiction: Court jurisdiction over maritime claims, often in rem.
Affreightment: Contract for the carriage of goods by sea.
Agent (Ship's): Shore representative authorized to act for the owner or charterer in port.
Arbitration: Private dispute resolution under bodies such as LMAA, SCMA, HKIAC, ICC, or SMA.
Arrest of Ship: Detention by court order to secure a maritime claim, codified in the 1952 and 1999 Arrest Conventions.
Assignment: Transfer of contractual rights, common in bill-of-lading and insurance contexts.
Average: Loss apportioned in general or particular average under York-Antwerp Rules.

B

Bailment: Possessory transfer of goods, applied to carrier liability analysis.
Bareboat Charter: Demise charter under which the charterer becomes disponent owner.
Bill of Lading: Receipt, document of title, and evidence of the contract of carriage.
BIMCO: Baltic and International Maritime Council, drafter of standard maritime contracts.
Booking Note: Preliminary contract for cargo space, often replaced by a bill of lading.
Brandt v Liverpool Contract: Implied contract doctrine arising from cargo delivery against bill of lading presentation.

C

Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA): Domestic enactment of Hague or Hague-Visby Rules in many jurisdictions.
Cesser Clause: Charterparty term ending charterer's liability after cargo loaded, against owner's lien.
Charterparty: Contract for hire of a vessel; main types are voyage, time, bareboat, and slot.
Classification (Cargo) Clause: Marine insurance clause stipulating eligible carrying vessels.
Clausula Rebus Sic Stantibus: Doctrine relevant to frustration of charters by changed circumstances.
CMI: Comite Maritime International, NGO contributor to maritime-law unification.
Combined Transport: Carriage involving more than one mode under a single document.
Common Carrier: Carrier offering services to the public, with strict liability at common law.
Conferences (Liner): Joint pricing arrangements, largely deregulated since 2008 in the EU.
Conlinebill: BIMCO standard liner bill of lading form.
Construction (Contract): Interpretation, governed in shipping by common law canons or civil-law equivalents.

D

Damages: Monetary compensation for breach, including expectation and reliance measures.
Deadfreight: Compensation payable for cargo short-shipped under a charterparty.
Demise Clause: Bill of lading provision identifying the contracting carrier (relevant to The Berkshire).
Demurrage: Liquidated damages for detention of ship beyond laytime.
Deviation: Departure from the contractual or geographic voyage; historically a fundamental breach.
Disponent Owner: Charterer who treats the vessel as if owner for sub-letting.
Documentary Credit: Letter of credit governed by UCP 600, intersecting with bill-of-lading practice.

E

Electronic Bill of Lading: eBL governed by platforms such as essDOCS, Bolero, edoxOnline, and the UK Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023.
English Law: Frequent governing law and arbitration forum for shipping contracts.
Errors in Navigation Exception: Article IV Rule 2(a) Hague-Visby defense.
Excepted Perils: Risks for which the carrier is exempt under Hague-Visby Rules.

F

F.O.B. and C.I.F.: Incoterms allocating risk and cost between buyer and seller.
Forum Non Conveniens: Doctrine for declining jurisdiction in favor of a more appropriate forum.
Forwarder Bill of Lading (FBL): FIATA multimodal document.
Freight: Consideration for carriage; payable in advance, on delivery, or pro rata itineris.

G

Genco Reproductus: Reference to standard voyage charter form.
Gencon: BIMCO standard voyage charterparty form, current edition 2022.
General Average: Loss voluntarily incurred for the common safety, contributed by all interests under York-Antwerp Rules.

H

Hague Rules 1924: International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law Relating to Bills of Lading.
Hague-Visby Rules: 1968 Visby Protocol and 1979 SDR Protocol to the Hague Rules.
Hamburg Rules 1978: UN Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea, in force 1992; limited adoption.
Himalaya Clause: Bill of lading clause extending carrier defenses to servants and subcontractors.
House Bill of Lading: Issued by a freight forwarder against a Master Bill from the contracting carrier.
Hull Insurance: Marine insurance on the vessel itself, often under ITCH or IHC 2003.

I

In Rem: Action against the ship itself, basis of arrest jurisdiction.
Indemnity: Letter of indemnity, used for instance to obtain delivery without an original bill of lading.
Inter-Club Agreement (ICA): Apportionment of cargo claims between owner and charterer under NYPE.
International Group of P&I Clubs: Association of 12 mutual P&I insurers.

J

Jason Clause: General average clause permitting recovery where carrier negligence is excused.
Jurisdiction Clause: Choice-of-forum provision in contracts of carriage and charters.

K

Knock-for-Knock: Reciprocal indemnity arrangement in offshore and towage contracts.

L

Laytime: Time allowed for loading or discharging under a voyage charter.
Letter of Indemnity (LOI): Counter-promise to compensate for action taken at requester's request.
Limitation of Liability: Right of shipowner to cap liability under LLMC 1976/1996.
Liner Bill of Lading: Form used in regular liner trades.
Lloyd's Open Form (LOF): Standard salvage agreement with no-cure-no-pay basis and SCOPIC.
LMAA: London Maritime Arbitrators Association.

M

Maritime Lien: Privileged claim attaching to the ship and surviving change of ownership.
Master's Authority: Power to bind owner in contracts of necessity and salvage.
Mate's Receipt: Receipt for goods loaded, preceding the bill of lading.
Mortgage: Registered ship mortgage securing financing, governed by flag-state law.

N

Notice of Readiness (NOR): Notice by master that ship is ready to load or discharge, starting laytime.
NYPE 2015: New York Produce Exchange standard time charter form.

O

Off-Hire: Period under a time charter during which hire ceases due to specified events.
Owners' Bill of Lading: Bill issued on behalf of the registered owner as carrier.

P

P&I Club: Mutual insurance association covering protection-and-indemnity risks.
Particular Average: Partial loss falling on the owner of the property lost or damaged.
Pomerene Act: US Federal Bills of Lading Act, 49 USC 80101 et seq.
Port of Refuge: Port called at to address peril, often triggering general average.
Privity: Doctrine relevant to enforcement of bill-of-lading terms by third parties.

Q

Quantum Meruit: Restitutionary measure where contract fails but services rendered.

R

Restitutio in Integrum: Principle for measuring damages.
Rotterdam Rules: UN Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea, 2009, not yet in force.

S

Salvage Award: Reward fixed under Salvage Convention 1989 criteria or LOF arbitration.
SCOPIC Clause: Special Compensation P&I Clause incorporated into LOF.
Seaworthiness: Carrier's duty to make the ship seaworthy under Article III Rule 1 of Hague-Visby.
Set-Off: Counter-claim deducted from sums otherwise due.
Shipper's Declaration: Information required under SOLAS VI/2 and IMDG Code.
Slot Charter: Charter of a defined number of TEU slots on a containership.
Sub-Bailment: Sub-contracting of carriage that may bind the cargo owner.
Subrogation: Insurer's right to step into the insured's claim against third parties.

T

Time Bar: Limitation period (one year under Hague-Visby Article III Rule 6).
Time Charter: Charter for a defined period at hire per day.
Title of Suit: Capacity to sue under a bill of lading; addressed by COGSA 1992 in the UK.
Towage Contract: BIMCO TOWHIRE/TOWCON or industry-standard offshore towage contracts.

U

U.S. COGSA 1936: 46 USC App. 1300 et seq., implementing the Hague Rules in the USA.

V

Vessel-Sharing Agreement (VSA): Container-shipping cooperation arrangement.
Voyage Charter: Charter for a specific voyage between named ports.

W

WAR Risk Insurance: Cover for war and strikes perils excluded from hull policy.
Warranty (Insurance): Term whose breach discharges the insurer from liability (Marine Insurance Act 1906, as amended by the Insurance Act 2015).
Without Prejudice: Privilege over settlement communications.

Y

York-Antwerp Rules: CMI-drafted rules for adjustment of general average; current editions 1994, 2004, 2016.

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