A Study On The Responsible Parties Under The Limitation Of Liability For Maritime Claims Of Charterers

With the development of the shipping business, the scope of the responsible parties of limitation of liability for maritime claims expands gradually. The scope of the responsible parties of liability for maritime claims has been extended from the owner to the charterer as well as operator. For determining the right of enjoying the limitation of liability for these subjects, the relevant international conventions stipulated the scope of these responsible parties and charterers were granted the right of enjoying the limitation of liability for maritime claims. But the provisions of the relevant conventions are too general which only stipulate the charterer’s right of limitation of liability for maritime claims and the scope of the charterers were not defined clearly in the conventions. Thus it is hard to determine the statute of various types of charters under limitation of liability for maritime claims. Relevant cases in practice are highlighted this problem.This article aims to determine the statute of various types of charterers under limitation of liability for maritime claims and which type of charterers can enjoy the limitation of liability for maritime claims by theoretical analysis, case analysis, legal interpretation, historical analysis.For determining the statute of various types of charterers under limitation of liability for maritime claims, the criteria was set to judge who shall be the responsible parties under limitation of liability for maritime claims. This article also summarizes the relevant international conventions in relation to the limitation of liability for maritime claims to tease out the provisions about the statute of charterers under limitation of liability for maritime claims. Finally, the article makes clear the statute of traditional and emerging charterers under limitation of liability for maritime claims by theoretical analysis and case analysis. The author draws the following conclusions: The charterer who can enjoy the limitation of liability for maritime claims should include the demise charterer, time charterer. Voyage charterer, time charter trip charterer and slot charterer cannot enjoy the limitation of liability for maritime claims.