Maritime history is littered with maritime casualties involving the loss of vessels, cargo, crew and often passengers. Since the first edition was published over 8 years ago, many serious maritime disasters have occurred.

Since the Titanic disaster of 1912, the horrors of major maritime casualties have prompted international conventions and domestic legislation, but the link between events and outcomes (which are often separated by many years) is rarely understood by those working in the maritime industry. This book, the only comprehensive guide to this link, sets forth the major casualties of the last hundred years and explains resulting regulatory changes. Taking a macro-level view, it describes the trends and reactions across decades, and how, over time, focus has shifted from equipment failures to people and their behaviors as the primary cause of maritime casualties. Timely and thorough, it also explores the alarming increase in the criminalization of maritime accidents, especially the relatively recent reclassification of pollution incidents as “environmental crimes.” This book offers broad insight to the history, laws, and conventions that regulate worldwide commercial maritime activity.

The first edition of this book was quickly acclaimed as the new leading text worldwide on the law and practice of pollution from ships. The second edition deals with a variety of developments since then in this fast-moving subject: the Erika and the Prestige; changes in international law on maritime safety and compensation; latest decisions on claims for compensation; analysis of the SCOPIC regime; new material on ports of refuge, transboundary movements, and pollution from offshore craft; latest cases and regulatory changes in the US; and enlarged chapters on enforcement of laws and criminal sanctions. Like its predecessor, the second edition is superbly indexed and written clearly with the needs in mind of a wide international readership.

Limitation of liability for maritime claims is a concept of respectable antiquity which is now deeply entrenched in the maritime industry. Under this concept, the shipowner is entitled to limit his liability for maritime claims up to a maximum sum regardless of the actual amount of the claims. The concept of limitation of liability has been adopted by many conventions ranging from those relating to the carriage of goods by sea, carriage of passengers and their luggage by sea, liability and compensation for pollution damage, to liability for the removal of wrecks. Each of these conventions has its own approach to limitation of liability. However, these particular liability regimes share the international arena with global limitation conventions such as the 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims and the 1996 Protocol thereto. This book approaches limitation of liability from an international perspective looking at a number of key conventions including the global limitation conventions, the conventions relating to the carriage of passengers and their luggage by sea (1974 Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and Their Luggage by Sea and the 2002 Protocol thereto), conventions relating to liability and compensation for pollution damage (1969 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage and the 1992 Protocol thereto, the 1996 International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea and the 2010 Protocol thereto, and the 2001 International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage), as well as the 2007 Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks. Each chapter of this book sets out to analyze provisions in the conventions which have proved to be controversial and subject to debate by courts and authors, as well as the relationship between the limitation provisions in claim specific liability conventions and in the global limitation conventions. Particular attention is also given to the persons entitled to limit liability, ships in respect of which liability can be limited, claims subject to limitation, claims excepted from limitation, basis of liability (where applicable), loss of the right to limit, and the limits of liability. Limitation of Liability in International Maritime Conventions is of interest to academics and practicing lawyers who wish to understand the intricacies of the law of limitation.

This book deals with the liability conventions brought into existence by the International Maritime Organization and concentrates on the newly adopted instrument dealing with bunker oil pollution as an area of great concern for every stakeholder involved in shipping business. The work covers a wide spectrum ranging from the Convention itself to its scope of application, liable and aggrieved parties, jurisdiction, requirements of liability and admissibility of claims, defences and exoneration from liability. It addresses many areas of interest and of importance to international and national legal advisors, lawyers, law students and anyone interested in the relevant field such as shipowners, charterers, shipbrokers, ship personnel and associated contractors and sub-contractors.

All of these flag States have the right to sail ships flying their flag on the high seas (LOSC Article 90) ; and those ships enjo y the freedom of navigation upon the high seas (LOSC Article 87) . W ith this freedom comes a concomitant duty upon the flag State to effectively exercise its jurisdiction and control in administrative , technical , social (LOSC Article 94 (1)) and en vironmental protection (LOSC Article 217) matters over ships flying its flag. 1.2 Flag State Responsibility The absence of any authority over ships sailing the high seas would lead to chaos. One of the essential adjuncts to the principle of freedom of the seas is that a ship must fly the flag of a single State and that it is subject to the jurisdiction of that State. (Brown 1994 , p. 287) This opinion of the International Law Commission in 1956 on a draft article of the High Seas Convention (HSC) was a product of its time; a time of traditional maritime States and responsible long-established shipping companies operating for 3 the most part under the effective maritime administrations of their national flag .

Ship management is a worldwide activity. Modern ships are sophisticated designed structures equipped with several automatic devices. It is estimated that 90 per cent of commodities transported worldwide are carried by ships. Therefore there is great interest from many private and public organizations that those ships are operating, manned, designed and maintained within international acceptable standards. The obligation of stakeholders to comply with maritime regulations is included in most statutory and commercial agreements and therefore inadequate implementation of maritime regulations exposes stakeholders to commercial risks. This book explores how the application of mathematical decision-making tools could be used to manage maritime regulations. Performance management tools are proposed which would allow stakeholders to monitor the regulatory performance of their organization in order to reduce or eliminate those commercial risks. The process of introducing an implementation process for maritime regulations worldwide is described within this text. An emphasis is put on the role of main stakeholders in the regulatory process and reasons that increase the willingness of stakeholders to participate in the implementation of regulations. This book will be of interest to scholars and students interested in the management of the shipping industry as well as ship owners and managers who are charged with implementing maritime regulations.