A Study On The Time Charterer As The Liability Subject For Ships Collision

The maritime industry plays an important role in the development of social economy.While people are using ships to engage in marine transportation,fishing,and development of seabed resources,they will also be accompanied by a variety of maritime accidents,including ships collision.Ships collision are often accompanied by property loss,personal injury and marine environmental pollution.The primary task of dealing with such cases is to accurately identify the subject of collision liability.About the subject of collision liability,both The 1910 International Convention for The Unification of Certain Rules of Law with Respect to Collision between Vessels and The Maritime Law of the People's Republic of China provided that a ship in fault was liable for damages.This provision can not solve the problem because China does not recognize the action in rem,so the victim cannot take the "ship" as a suitable defendant.At present,the only one judicial interpretation from Supreme People's Court about the subject of collision liability named Provisions on Several Issues in the Trial of Ship Collision Dispute Cases clearly defined the main subject of responsibility of shipowners and registered bareboat charterers.However,the diversification of ship transportation relations makes this legislation still not able to solve the fundamental problems.It is still the focus of debate between the theorists and practitioners about whether the owners of other types of vessels can become the subject of collision liability.The United States and Japan had such cases that the time charterer was liable for ships collision according to the facts of the cases.There is a lack of research on the problem of whether a time charterer becomes the subject of collision in China.Ships collision is a kind of maritime tort.As a special law,there is no provision for this problem in The Maritime Law of the People's Republic of China.This article,based on the theory of tort liability law,combined with the relevant legislative experiences of the United States and Japan and other shipping countries,discusses that whether the time charterer has the possibility of becoming the subject of collision liability in the current judicial practice in China.There are five chapters in the main part of the article.The first chapter briefly introduces the relevant knowledge of the subject of collision liability,and the legislative status and deficiencies of this issue in China.The second chapter,discussing two cases in United States and Japan,which time charterers take responsibility for ships collision.At the same time,the author introduces the legislative status of other countries on the subject of ships collision and analyzes the legislative significance of the legislation of various countries.The third chapter discusses whether the time charterer can become the subject of collision liability under general tort theory.The fourth chapter analyzes the position of the liability subject of the time charterer from the perspective of special tort theory,including the theory of vicarious responsibility and the rules of management and control.The last chapter draws the conclusion that whether the time charterer can be the subject of the ships collision in China,and puts forward suggestions on improving the relevant legislation of ships collision in China.