Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Introduction

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Due Diligence in Maritime Transportation in the Technological Era

  • 522 Accesses

Abstract

The carriage of goods by sea has been the most useful and effective means of transportation for the international trading of goods. Its paramount importance for the world’s economy increased dramatically over the last century when more countries went beyond their borders to compete in the international market creating in large part today’s global economy. Boundaries fell away and free trade was opened between all nations. Today, the success of countries’ economies is measured, among other factors, on the balance of payment of goods annually imported and exported. This international exchange of goods is possible thanks to vessels that currently move approximately 80% of the world’s trade. Because of this, the shipping industry is not only of special importance to the private sector, but to the public sector as well. As a fundamental component of the economic growth and development policy, it has been the subject of public interest and States have endeavored to regulate it.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    UNCTAD, ‘Review of maritime transport 2011’, 26.

  2. 2.

    B.A. Garner and H.C. Black, Black's law dictionary, 9th edn. (St. Paul, Minn: West, 2009), 69, 375.

  3. 3.

    F. Sánchez Calero, El contrato de transporte marítimo de mercancías: (Reglas de La Haya-Visby, Hamburgo y Rotterdam), Colección Grandes Tratados Aranzadi, 2nd edn. (Cizur Menor (Navarra): Thomson Reuters-Aranzadi, 2010), vol. 170, 131.

  4. 4.

    Garner and Black, 1503.

  5. 5.

    The Hamburg Rules Article 1.3.

  6. 6.

    The Rotterdam Rules Article 1.8.

  7. 7.

    Garner and Black, 214.

  8. 8.

    T.J. Schoenbaum, Admiralty and maritime law, Practitioner treatise series, 5th edn. ([St. Paul, MN]: Thomson/West, 2011), 795.

  9. 9.

    S. Girvin, Carriage of Goods by Sea, 2nd edn. (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), 18.

  10. 10.

    The HR Article 1(a).

  11. 11.

    Hamburg Rules article 1.1; Rotterdam Rules article 1.5.

  12. 12.

    This distinction was evidenced from the time of the decision issued by Lord Holt in the case Coggs v. Bernard, 2 Lord Raymond 909, 92 E.R. 107, 90 E.R. 971 (1703).

  13. 13.

    H.N. Longley, Common Carriage of Cargo (Albany, N. Y.: Mathew Bender, 1967), 7.

  14. 14.

    Schoenbaum, 777–78.

  15. 15.

    Longley, 7.

  16. 16.

    Schoenbaum, 779.

  17. 17.

    N.J.J. Gaskell, R.S.T.C. Chorley, C. Debattista and R.J. Swatton, Chorley and Giles' shipping law, 8th edn. (London: Pitman Publishing, 1987), 166.

  18. 18.

    Longley, 8.

  19. 19.

    Ibid., 9.

  20. 20.

    Ibid., 8; Gaskell, Chorley, Debattista and Swatton, 167.

  21. 21.

    R. Colinvaux, Carver's carriage by sea, British shipping laws, 13th edn., 2 vols. (London: Stevens, 1982), 6; L. Gorton, The concept of the common carrier in Anglo-American law, Scandinavian university books (Gothenburg: Läromedelafërl. (Akad.-förl.), 1971), vol. 43, 20; Schoenbaum, 777. See also Propeller Niagara v. Cordes, 62 U.S. 7 (1858).

  22. 22.

    Longley, 8.

  23. 23.

    K. Hall, J. W. Ely and J. B. Grossman, The Oxford companion to the Supreme Court of the United States, 2nd edn. (Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2005), 197.

  24. 24.

    Rotterdam Rules, Article 1.3: “‘Liner Transportation’ means a transportation service that is offered to the public through publication or similar means and includes transportation by ships operation on a regular schedule between specified ports in accordance with publicly available timetables of sailing dates.”.

  25. 25.

    T. J. Schoenbaum and A. N. Yiannopoulos, Admiralty and maritime law: Cases and materials, Contemporary legal education series (Charlottesville, Va: Michie Co., 1984), 364.

  26. 26.

    T. E. Scrutton and B. Eder, Scrutton on charterparties and bills of lading, 22nd edn. (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 2011), 111.

  27. 27.

    J. F. Wilson, Carriage of goods by sea, 7th edn. (New York: Pearson/Longman, 2010), 9.

  28. 28.

    Gaskell, Chorley, Debattista and Swatton, 182.

  29. 29.

    Ibid., 182.

  30. 30.

    Colinvaux, 20.

  31. 31.

    Ibid., 20.

  32. 32.

    Ibid., 20.

  33. 33.

    Garner and Black, 1470, 1699.

  34. 34.

    Wilson, 9.

  35. 35.

    HR article 3.1.

  36. 36.

    Wilson, 15.

  37. 37.

    M. a. K. H. M. Ganado, Marine Cargo Delays, The law of delay in the carriage of general cargoes by sea (London, 1990), 36.

  38. 38.

    See Dallas W. Dietrich, AS Atlantic Seaboard Flour Mill v. United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation. (The Panola) 1925 A.M.C. 1173 (2nd. Cir.). “And the courts have laid down the rule that ‘reasonable time’ for the performance of acts under a contract is such a period of time as suffices for their performance if the one whose duty it is to perform uses such diligence in the performance as a person of ordinary diligence and prudence would use under like circumstances”.

  39. 39.

    In the case Briddon v. Great Northern Ry. Co. (1958) 28 L.J. Ex. 51, the court said at 52: “The contract entered into was to carry… without delay, and in a reasonable time under ordinary circumstances. If a snow –storm occurs which makes it impossible to carry the cattle, except by extraordinary effort, involving additional expense, the company are not bound to use such means and to incur such expense.”, as quoted by Ganado at 35.

  40. 40.

    See Parnass International Trade & Oil Corp. v. Sea-Land Service, Inc. 595 F. Supp. 153, 1985 A.M.C. 485 (S.D.N.Y. 1984) (A short delay of 18 days is not in and of itself unreasonable. It is just such a potential for strikes and port congestion which prohibits carriers from making hard and fast promises such as the one plaintiff contends existed here.); Pioko Fashions, Inc. v. American President Lines, Ltd., 1993 A.M.C. 2615 (W.D. Wash. 1993) (2-week delay in 10,000 mile cargo delivery was not unreasonable deviation as required under limitation in bill of lading); Quesoro v. Lykes Bros. Steamship Co., Inc., 1995 A.M.C. 2054, (S.D.N.Y. 1995).

  41. 41.

    See The Panola, see supra note 38.

  42. 42.

    Ganado, 38.

  43. 43.

    W. Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims, 4th edn., 2 vols. (Cowansville, [Toronto]: Blais; Thomson Carswell, 2008), Vol. 1, 1811.

  44. 44.

    Hostetter v. Park, 137 U.S. 30, 40; 11, S. Ct. 1, 34 L.Ed. 568 (1890).

  45. 45.

    Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims, Vol. 1, 1812; Wilson, 16.

  46. 46.

    G. Gilmore and C. L. Black, JR., The Law of Admiralty, 2nd. Ed. (Mineola N.Y: The Foundation Press, Inc., 1975), 176.

  47. 47.

    Spartus Corp. v. S/S Yafo, 1979 A.M.C. 2294, 2297–98, 590 F.2d 1310, 1313 (5th Cir. 1979).

  48. 48.

    Longley, 110–12.

  49. 49.

    See B.M.A. Indus., Ltd. v. Nigerian Star Line, Ltd., 1986 A.M.C. 1662, 786 F.2d 90 (2nd Cir. 1986).

  50. 50.

    See Iligan Integrated Steel Mills, Inc. v. S.S. John Weyerhaeuser, 1975 A.M.C. 33, 507 F.2d 68 (2nd Cir. 1974), cert. denied, 421 U.S. 965, 1975 A.M.C. 2158.

  51. 51.

    The Chester Valley, 1940 A.M.C. 555, 110, F.2d 592 (5th Cir. 1940).

  52. 52.

    Rockwell International Corp. v. M.V. Incotrans Spirit, 1989 A.M.C. 887 (S.D.Tex. 1989).

  53. 53.

    Wilson, 16, note 53; Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims, Vol. 1, 1812. See The Hill Harmony [1999] 2 Lloyd Rep. 209, 217.

  54. 54.

    See St. Johns Corp. v. Companhia Geral Commercial Do Rio de Janeiro, 263 U.S. 119, 124, 44 S.Ct. 30, 31, 68 L.Ed. 201 (1923); Sedco, Inc. v. S.S. Strathewe, 1986 A.M.C. 2801, 800 F.2d 27 (2nd Cir. 1986).

  55. 55.

    Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims, Vol. 1, 1812.

  56. 56.

    Ibid., 1812.

  57. 57.

    Ibid., 1814–15. See Stag Line v. Foscolo, Mango & Co. [1932] A.C. 328.

  58. 58.

    See Scaramanga & Co. v. Stamp (1880) 5 CPD 295 (CA), 304.

  59. 59.

    Girvin, 403. See UK Merchant Shipping Act of 1995 section 93(1), and UNCLOS Article 98.

  60. 60.

    HR Article 4(4): “Any deviation in saving or attempting to save life or property at sea or any reasonable deviation shall not be deemed to be an infringement or breach of this convention or of the contract of carriage, and the carrier shall not be liable for any loss or damage resulting therefrom.”.

  61. 61.

    Section 4.4 of the US COGSA 1936 and UK COGSA 1971.

  62. 62.

    Girvin, at 403–04: “The danger to the vessel may result from natural causes, such as storms, ice, or fog, or political factors, such as the outbreak of war or the fear of capture by hostile forces.” Citing Duncan Köster (The Teutonia) (1982) LR 4 PC 171, 179. Also deviation for urgent repairs might be considered reasonable. See Kish v. Taylor [1912] AC 604.

  63. 63.

    Wilson, 17–19.

  64. 64.

    See Du Pont Nemour International, S.A. v. S.S. The Mormacvega, 493 F2d. 97, 101–02 (C.A.N.Y. 1974); Electro-Tec Corp. v. S/S Dart Atlantica (1984) 598 F. Supp. 929 (D.Md. 1984).

  65. 65.

    See Konica Bus. Machines v. The Vessel Sea-Land Consumer, 47 F.3d 314, 315 (9th Cir. 1995), 1995 A.M.C. 1065; Konica Business Machines, Inc. v. Vessel “Sea-Land Consumer” 153 F3d. 1076. 1998 A.M.C. 2705, 98 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 6955, 98 Daily Journal D.A.R. 9595. However, cargo stored in an open “flat rack” container stowed on deck was held as an unreasonable deviation in Constructores Tecnicos S. de R.L. v. Sea-Land Service Inc., 956 F.2d 841, 1992 A.M.C. 1284 (5th Cir. 1991).

  66. 66.

    Wilson, 20–21.

  67. 67.

    See Insurance Co. of North America v. Blue Star (North America), Ltd. (S.D.N.Y., 1997). Not Reported in F. Supp., 1997 WL 345235 (S.D.N.Y.), 1997 A.M.C. 2434. District Judge Sweet cited: Du Pont de Nemours Int'l S.A. v. S.S. Mormacvega, supra note 64; Hearne v. Marine Ins. Co., 87 U.S. (20 Wall.) 488, 22 L.Ed. 395 (1874); Oliver v. Maryland Ins. Co., 11 U.S. (7 Cranch) 487, 3 L.Ed. 414 (1813).

  68. 68.

    Longley, 118; Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims, Vol. 1, 1839; see Encyclopaedia Britannica v. S.S. Hong Kong Producer, 422 F.2d 7, 16–17 (2nd Cir. 1969), cert. denied, 397 U.S. 964 (1970).

  69. 69.

    Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims, Vol. 1, 1830: “The carrier may lose one or all of the following rights: The package limitations; the 1 year delay for suit; the defense of due diligence at art. 3(1); the exculpatory defenses at art. 4(2)(a) to (q); other limitation and exclusion of the contract such as jurisdiction and arbitration clauses.”.

  70. 70.

    Gilmore and Black, JR., at 181: “The Seventh Circuit has held that an unreasonable deviation did not oust the $500.00 per package limitation in Cogsa 4(5)”.

  71. 71.

    W. a. I.E. R. H. Payne, Carriage of Good by Sea, 13. ed. E.R. Hardy Ivamy (London: Butterworths, 1989), 23.

  72. 72.

    Ibid., 23.

  73. 73.

    Girvin, 312.

  74. 74.

    Ibid. 312; Wilson, 35. See Brass v. Maitland (1856) 6 El. & Bl. 470; 119 E.R. 940.

  75. 75.

    Girvin, 312.

  76. 76.

    Wilson, 34. See Mitchell, Cotts v. Steel [1916] 2 K.B. 610.

  77. 77.

    Available at www.5.imo.org/SharePoint/mainframe.asp?topic_id=158. (Last visited: May 21st, 2012).

  78. 78.

    International Maritime Organization, International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code: IMDG-Code; incorporating amendment 34-08 (London: International Maritime Organization, 2008). The code makes a classification of goods in explosives, gases, flammable liquids, flammable solids, oxidizing substances and organic peroxides, toxic and infectious substances, radioactive materials, corrosive substances, miscellaneous dangerous substances and articles.

  79. 79.

    The HR, article 4.6.

  80. 80.

    Wilson, 36. The HR, article 4.6.

  81. 81.

    Ibid., 36: The shipper, however, is required to pay its contribution in general average.

  82. 82.

    Ibid., 26. See The Easter City, [1958] 2 Lloyd’s Rep. 127, 131.

  83. 83.

    Ibid., 26.

  84. 84.

    Ibid., 26.

  85. 85.

    Ibid., 27. See Islander Shipping Enterprises, S.A. v. Empresa Maritima del Estado, S.A. (The Khian Sea), [1979] 1 Lloyd’s Rep. 545, 547.

  86. 86.

    Schoenbaum. Vol. 2, 31–33.

  87. 87.

    Ibid., Vol. 2, 32.

  88. 88.

    Ibid., Vol. 2, 32–33.

  89. 89.

    Girvin, 319, citing Vardinoyannis v. The Egyptian General Petroleum Corp. (The Evaggelos Th) [1971] 2 Lloyd’s Rep. 200; Schoenbaum. Vol. 2, 33.

  90. 90.

    Girvin, 334; Schoenbaum, Vol. 2, 33.

  91. 91.

    Schoenbaum, Vol. 2, 33.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Panama, Panama

    Víctor Hugo Chacón

Authors
  1. Víctor Hugo Chacón
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Víctor Hugo Chacón .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Chacón, V.H. (2017). Introduction. In: The Due Diligence in Maritime Transportation in the Technological Era. Springer Series on Naval Architecture, Marine Engineering, Shipbuilding and Shipping, vol 5. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66002-8_1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66002-8_1

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-66001-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-66002-8

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation