Module overview
A shipowner will wish to use its ship to make as much profit as it can and will usually do so by chartering the ship either on a time charter or voyage charter basis. This course will consider the basic obligations which you would expect to find in any charterparty such as the shipowner's obligation of seaworthiness, the obligation not to deviate and the charterer's obligation to nominate a safe port, before turning to consider time charterparties and voyage charterparties, and their differences, in greater depth. The standard form contracts in common use will be studied, as will the international conventions, such as the Hague and Hague-Visby Rules, which may be incorporated voluntarily in to those contracts. The principles of general commercial contract law, such as frustration, remedies for breach, remoteness of damage, and assessment of damages have often been developed in the area of carriage of goods by sea.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- apply commercial law principles, with appropriate legal authorities, in the solution of complex practical problems;
- identify and explain the main commercial, insurance and political policies and values underpinning the law relating to carriage of goods by sea;
- analyse relevant legal materials, including international conventions, statutes, case law and standard form maritime contracts;
- appraise and criticise existing debates in U.K. and international maritime law, using appropriate legal research skills;
- display clarity and objectivity in written discussion.
- describe and assess existing areas of debate about what the law is and what it ought to be, both in the U.K. and internationally;
- draft legal advice based upon such problems;
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- competently undertake research tasks with minimum guidance using the full range of learning resources;
- identify relevant bibliography;
- be an independent and self-critical learner, managing your own requirements for continuing professional development;
- deploy legal arguments in writing.
- apply time management;
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- the main principles which govern the contractual obligations arising under charterparties and when they terminate including: - seaworthiness - deviation - duty to nominate a safe port - frustration - express cancellation clauses - legitimate last voyage - remedies for late or non payment of hire under time charterparties, offhire and set off - freight and allocation of risk for delays during loading and discharge under voyage charterparties;
- the main principles which govern the obligations arising under bills of lading including: - the issue of a bill of lading and its statements - incorporation of charterparty terms - identifying the parties to the contract - title to sue - application of the international carriage conventions - the liability regime under the Hague, Hague-Visby, Hamburg and Rotterdam Rules.
Syllabus
1 Introduction and Commercial background
2 Time Charters: period of the charterparty: underlap and overlap
3 Time Charters: hire and off hire
4 Voyage charters: cargo and freight
5 Voyage charters: laytime and demurrage
6 Bill of Lading functions
7 Electronic bill of lading
8 Hague-Visby Rules: application
9 Hague-Visby Rules: liability regime
10 Through and combined transport
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
You will be provided with detailed reading lists, containing references to textbooks, cases, Conventions, statutes and journal articles. There will also be problem questions to be used for discussion in class. You will also be provided with a volume of standard form carriage contracts, supplementing those in the recommended textbook by John Wilson, so that you can relate the law to current commercial practice.
The module will be taught by weekly lectures. You will be expected to prepare the written reading sheets in advance. This preparation will require you to read and assimilate a considerable amount of material. In particular, you will be expected to understand legal principles deriving from international Conventions, statutes, case law, journal articles and standard form contracts. This will develop your ability to read cases, to get quickly to the important subject matter, to spot issues which are important but not decided, to extract principles, and to use and apply those principles in practical case studies. Your study of standard form contracts used internationally will expose you to the operation of these contracts almost as quasi-codes of law. You will consider not only what the law is, but what it ought to be.
| Type | Hours |
|---|---|
| Preparation for scheduled sessions | 80 |
| Revision | 15 |
| Seminar | 20 |
| Total study time | 115 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
J. Wilson (2010). Carriage of Goods by Sea.
Alexander MacDonald and others (2024). Carver on charterparties. Sweet & Maxwell.
R.Aikens, R. Lord and M. Bools (2020). Bills of Lading. Informa.
G. Treitel and F. Reynolds (2022). Carver on Bills of Lading. Sweet & Maxwell.
(2024). Scrutton on Charterparties and Bills of Lading. Sweet & Maxwell.
Assessment
Formative
This is how we’ll give you feedback as you are learning. It is not a formal test or exam.
Essay
- Assessment Type: Formative
- Feedback: Feedback will be through a feedback sheet and comments written on formative work in a 3000 word essay and orally in one lecture.
- Final Assessment: No
- Group Work: No
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Examination | 100% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Examination | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
| Method | Percentage contribution |
|---|---|
| Examination | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External