1. Dr. Iva Savić Maritime and transport law (Erasmus) 26.03.2018
MARITIME LAW (2)
Dr. Iva Savić
Maritime and transport law (Erasmus)

2. Ships, NATIONALITY, registRATION

3. NATIONALITY OF a SHIP Right and obligation to enter / leave the port
be in sight of war ships and/or aircrafts in low flight
get in connection with landside or other ship

4. REQUIREMENTS GENUINE LINK
Article 5 of the 1958 Convention on the High Seas
Article 91 of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
>>> “genuine link” between a ship and the State purporting to confer its nationality upon that ship
>>> but, what is a „genuine link”?

5. UNCLOS, ART. 91 (1)
Every State shall fix the conditions for the grant of its nationality to ships, for the registration of ships in its territory, and for the right to fly its flag. Ships have the nationality of the State whose flag they are entitled to fly. There must exist a genuine link between the State and the ship.

6. registries STATE’S APPROACH
setting requirements as to ownership, management and manning – CLOSED REGISTRiES
- Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Dominican Republic, Finland, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Senegal, Switzerland, Thailand , USA
- variations: the percentage of equity capital required to be held by nationals, the nationality of directors of companies and the nationality requirements for officers and crews
COMPROMISED REGISTRiES
- UK, Australia, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan
No limitations – OPEN REGISTRIES (flags of convenience)

7. 70% of ships fly a flag that has nothing to do with nationality or residency of their owner
50,000+ reg. ships in 2017

8. ship registries Top 5 flag registries (2016): Panama Liberia
Marshall Islands
China Hong Kong SAR
Singapore
> a market share of 57.8%

9. “specializing” registries
Antigua and Barbuda - general cargo multipurpose vessels
Liberia - container ships
the Marshall Islands - oil tankers
Panama - dry bulk carriers
> traditional linkages with shipowning countries

10. FlagS of Convenience (foreign registrIEs)
a beneficial ownership and control of a vessel is found to lie elsewhere than the country of the flag the vessel is flying (ship of one nation is registered under the flag of another)
Requirements:
Ship is owned by a company registered in the country of registry
no genuine link – business of selling flags
Liberal rules on safety, crew etc.
Tax heaven (avoid most of the wage and labour laws of their „real” state, property tax etc.)

12. Foreign registries
Bahamas, BVI, Barbados, Liberia, Panama, Malta, Cyprus, etc.
ship is subject to liability as if it were "within" those countries (whose flag it flies)
Jurisdiction!
public law and private law implications!
Private law: employer-employee, passenger contract, cargo contract obligations (of the ship)
Public law: liability concerns - labour, customs, immigration, safety, environmental laws (pollution)

13. advantages of “flagging out”
minimal regulation (low/no safety standards, oversight, accident investigation)
easy registration and cheap registration fees
low or no taxes
freedom to employ cheap labour from the global labour market

14. CROATIAN REGISTER of ships http://report.crs.hr/hrbwebreports/
facultative
Genuine link with the Republic of Croatia
Art. 180 MC “A ship or a yacht which has acquired Croatian nationality shall have the right and duty to fly the flag of the Republic of Croatia”
Art 187/188 MC – entry into the register
Ownership: ship must be entirely or partially owned by Croatian citizens/legal person with a registered seat in Croatia OR …by EU citizen/legal person with a company/operator from Croatia

15. Individualizing a vessel (SHIP)
Legal elements:
nationality
type of vessel
name of the vessel
ship identification number: IMO + unique seven-digit number assigned
port of registry
Actual elements: the size
width
length
DWT (BRT) - a measure of how much mass a ship is carrying or can safely carry; does not include the weight of the ship

16. roleS in shipping industry

17. Shipowner a person or company that owns a ship or ships
(natural or legal person)
Ships register

18. SHIPPING COMPANy
independent companies which use their own or ships of some other companies (or independent shipowners) and OPERATE them
> Cargo ship companies
> Passenger ship companies

19. ship manager Employed by a shipowner or a shipping company
Complex tasks, incl. tasks carried out before, during and after the operation of the ship - crewing, insurance, etc.
Ship management contracts

20. Ship operator
a technical management position within* a shipping company
Tasks:
managing vessel performance
bunkers quality and quantity pricing,
ship routing
supervising and monitoring ship insurance, commodity insurance and charterers’ liabilities
supervising the planning of cargo intakes
liaising with regulatory bodies,
maintaining customer contact,
negotiating claims, etc.

21. Ship (PORT) agent
representative of the owner of the ship (or the charterer)
carries out all essential duties and obligations required by (the crew of) the ship
provides assistance or advice required
> Booking the vessel in and out of the port, and arranging the pilot and tug boat services; Providing information on the crew and any passengers to the local immigration authorities; Ensuring the ship’s documentation complies with international regulations prior to Customs inspection etc.
** SHIP BROKER

22. stevedore
The stevedore calculates the right place of a container according to destination of a container, its weight and nature of goods
+ other dock related tasks