Warranty of seaworthiness

A warranty of seaworthiness is the owner’s undertaking that the ship is fit for the contemplated voyage and cargo in hull, machinery, equipment, manning, and cargoworthiness. At common law the implied term is absolute and applies at the start of the voyage: the owner is liable for an unseaworthy ship even without negligence. Charter parties and carriage subject to the Hague or Hague-Visby Rules cut this down to the Article III duty to exercise due diligence to make the ship seaworthy before and at the beginning of the voyage, a lesser, non-delegable obligation rather than an absolute guarantee.