Study On The Legal System Of Sea Towage In China

Sea towage, as a primary means of shipping, has a history of nearly two hundred years. In all modes of transport, sea towage has the advantage of cheaper than air transport and the weight superiority to land transportation, which makes it preferred in international transportation. With the improvement in the level of internationalization, ocean-going vessels ship has been playing an extremely important role. With the rapid development of the shipping industry, China’s legal system, especially sea towage system is not synchronized in theory. Take the towage system as an example. In a book named "Maritime Law", the towage system has not clear while in practicing and, some exemption clause in "Maritime Law" is still blank.This thesis is divided into four parts to make a more comprehensive analysis and discussion on legal system of sea towage in China.The first chapter is an overview of sea towage. This chapter will give a general introduction to the conception of sea towage, the operation mode and the main features it has. By analyzing the differences of marine salvage and over-world transportation between sea towage, the author aims to figure out the service mode and purpose of sea towage.The second chapter comes from the present situation of our legal system of sea towage, including "Maritime Law", "Contract Law" and other laws, which will describe the relevant parts involved in sea towage. The author also analysis the code named "Provisions on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims of ships that less than 300 gross tons and transport, coastal vessels operating in coastal" published by department of transportation. The third part of this article is mainly the content about the "guideline for towage at sea", which came into effective from the year in 2012.The third chapter analyzes the problems existed in legal regime of the sea towage. By pointing out the exemption clause existed in tug contract, the author aiming to find a solution to solve the standard contract problems of sea towage and the interruptions of sea towage.Chapter Ⅳ will make recommendations from disclaimer towage, towing interrupted solutions, towage lien exercise and calculation principle of limitation of liability towing limits.