The Volume Contract Under The Rotterdam Rules

With the development of the industry of maritime transportation, a new type of contract, volume contract, has become more and more important beyond the other traditional arrangement of carriage contract. The most significant clauses of volume contract are based on the free negotiation between the carrier and the shipper, which is mostly decided by their each economic intention. The volume contract can guarantee the shipper of a lower rate and sufficient space of the vessel, and by the meantime guarantee the carrier the regularity of goods to be transported. This very type of the contract have benefited the industry for quite a long time, yet no international rules or the laws of a particular country has set a universal regulation upon it. In order to protect the parties of volume contract, the new Rotterdam Rules has concluded the volume contract as its regime of the frame, and some special rules about volume contract are provided.The paper begins with the analysis of the background and the development about volume contract, in order to draw a big picture of the basic aspects of volume contract by some ground theory. Then the writer analyses every single rule set by the new Rotterdam Rules, with the intention to clarify all the necessary conditions required in derogation clause and the protection of parties. And then the paper speculates all the economic and legal affects of volume contract to evaluate volume contract objectively. The news rules of volume contract set forth by Rotterdam Rules will not derogate the rights of shippers or decrease the protection of shippers in any form, but only to stimulate the maritime industry and global economy. It is a choice of demand of global market, and the volume contract should not be seen as a encumbrance to China with regard of ratification of the Rotterdam Rules.In the end the paper analyses the affects of the concept of volume contract to the economy and legal regulation of China, in the light of the legal construction of volume contract along with the fact that China has no rules about it yet. The writer's suggestions are to set a regulation of the report and record system of the price in volume contract, and make necessary amendments of Maritime Law of China, based on the regulation of Rotterdam Rules and the current conditions of China. The special rules about volume contract should be located in the Chapter Four of Maritime Law. And in accordance to Rotterdam Rules, the Maritime Law should grant the freedom of contract to parties of volume contract, if the parties do not make derogations the mandatory provisions shall be implied by default. And only in the conditions related to public interests, the derogation clauses shall be null and avoid.