Civil Liability of the Ship's Captain

Abstract

• This research examines the civil liability of the ship’s agent, as one of the principal actors involved in maritime operations, and the legal consequences arising from the performance of his duties towards the parties connected with maritime activities. The significance of this subject derives from the particular nature of the ship’s agent’s functions and the professional duties imposed upon him, which require a degree of care and precaution corresponding to the nature and risks of the maritime environment. The research addresses the legal basis of the ship’s agent’s liability, distinguishing between contractual liability arising from a breach of the obligations established under the ship agency agreement, and tortious liability arising when damage is caused to third parties outside the scope of the contractual relationship. It further examines the elements of tortious liability, namely fault, damage, and causation, as well as the professional forms of fault that may be committed by the ship’s agent, particularly negligence in the custody, supervision, and delivery of goods, or exceeding the authority granted to him. The research also considers the approach adopted by certain international maritime conventions concerning the liability of the carrier’s servants and agents, particularly the Brussels-Hague Rules, the Hamburg Rules, and the Rotterdam Rules, with regard to the availability of defences and limitation of liability. The research concludes by determining the scope of the ship’s agent’s liability in light of the nature of his function and the professional obligations imposed upon him. The research adopted a comparative analytical approach, through analyzing the legal and jurisprudential rules related to the ship's agent's liability, and clarifying the basis upon which his contractual and tortious liability rests, with the assistance of relevant jurisprudential opinions and judicial rulings, as well as benefiting from the provisions of international conventions regulating liability in maritime transport, particularly the Brussels, Hamburg and Rotterdam Conventions. The comparative approach was also employed when presenting the different legal and jurisprudential trends regarding the scope of the ship's agent's liability and the extent to which he benefits from the defenses and limits of liability established for the carrier. Hence, the nature of the research necessitated dividing it into two sections. In the first section, we dealt with the contractual liability of the ship's agent, while in the second section, we devoted ourselves to the tortious liability of the ship's agent.