The Research On Legal Issues On Shipping Container Leasing

Container transport is a modern way of transportation, but it has a long history when looking back to its origin. Early in the beginning of the 19th century (in year 1901), Dr. James Anderson from Britain had the idea of container transport. But container transport developed slowly in its early stage, it was until the beginning of the 20th century when containers started to be used in practical transport by train in Britain. It was in the later stage of Nineteen Fifties when Malcon Mclean from USA for the first time suggested that container transport should be used in combined transport by land and by sea, which symbolized the starting point of modernized container transport and afterwards the advantages of container transport began to show up.Nowadays, containers are widely used in modern transport by sea, but as containers are of massive kinds, large size and are expensive to manufacture, it is not affordable for each carrier to own plenty of containers for transport and circulation. Thus, the new industry of container leasing emerged to meet the ever increasing demands from seaway transport industry. Although seaway transport has become one of the pillar industries for global economy, the issue of legal regulation of container leasing has hardly been studied thoroughly, which causes the related theoretical materials, regulations are all inadequate. In this concern, the author finds it necessary to study the leasing contract of contain and to find out the underlying reason of related disputes.This paper is divided into five chapters. Chapter One introduces the concept and nature of leasing and leasing contract, and also discusses other definitions relating to container leasing in seaway transport. Chapter Two firstly illustrate the practice of container leasing by using charts, and then introduces certain common modes of container leasing, and discusses in detail the legal relations arising from different container suppliers after clarifying the nature and major clauses of leasing contract of container. Chapter Three focuses on disputes arising from breach of contract concerning container leasing in seaway transport, and discusses the issues concerning container from the perspective of legal nature, recognition of ownership, realization of debt, determination of overtime charge and so on. Chapter Four discusses, and presents the author’s views concerning, the issues of port operators’ possessory lien on container, the compensation for loss of container caused by third party, the application of spontaneous agency in disputes concerning storage of containers and so on. Chapter Five is a summary and conclusion of the whole paper.By summarizing the above mentioned issues, the author intends to provide some assistance to keep improving the contents of leasing contract of container and to provide some guidance for future legislation concerning container leasing.