The seaworthiness of merchant ships plays a critical role in ensuring the safety of life and property and the prevention of marine pollution. It deals with the fitness and readiness of a ship and its fundamental ability to sail safely to its destination. The standards of seaworthiness extend to literally all aspects of a ship, including the human element, physical structure, documentation, cargo worthiness and so on. It is one of the most complicated concepts in the maritime regulatory regime, and it takes many forms. However, although one of the most important terms in maritime transportation and ship management, seaworthiness is not an absolute concept, but a relative one, dependent on the particular environment, context and facts, and the standards of seaworthiness have changed greatly with the introduction of new maritime regulations over the years. The existing literature on seaworthiness is found within a variety of dedicated articles or book chapters. This book summarizes all that information in one publication and provides an update on key books that are now more than a decade old. In addition, it also offers more detail on specific aspects that are rarely discussed on their own. The reader will gain an understanding of the constituent features which colour its application in sovereign jurisdictions, where each have their own, often conflicting, social or geopolitical priorities to meet. Each chapter relies heavily on case studies to illustrate how the laws which reflect private laws and national policy underpinning those priorities are applied in practice. This structure then enables an understanding of the problems in the carriage of goods by sea, with a view to offering options for solutions. The book is written to meet the needs of lawyers, maritime professionals and academics, to thoroughly explain the concept of seaworthiness and the relevant legal issues.

For centuries, warranties have played a significant role in the law of marine insurance and have recently sparked debate on a national and international level after calls for reform. This second edition includes a more involved analysis of law reform as well as a discussion of the recent proposals of the Australian Law Reform Commission. Soyer lucidly analyzes the legal remedy available when a marine insurance warranty is breached as well as setting out the current law on marine insurance warranties. This new edition also includes: a new section on the impact of the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code (ISPS Code) reference to numerous decisions recently handed down by the courts eg. HIH Casualty and General Insurance Ltd. v. New Hampshire Co. and Agapitos v. Agnew (No. 2) a more in-depth discussion of the position in other commonwealth jurisdictions, specially Australia and Canada.

As President of International MacGregor I am deeply indebted to the authors of this excellent book for the very considerable amount of work and scholarship it contains. It is the first authoritative work on cargo access equipment to be pubbshed and I am sure that it will be greatly welcomed by the Marine Industries. You will see from the authors' preface that the book was commissioned by the Henri Kummerman Foundation which was established in 1976 to assist and promote internationally research and development in the field of marine transportation and cargo handling. The Foundation has already made a number of grants to universities and to students but this book is its first major contribution to the furthering of education in the Marine Industries. For me, it is a rewarding fruition of a long involvement in maritime affairs. However, much requires to be done in the future and the Foundation can only succeed if it is encouraged and assisted by people who are forward thinking. I should be pleased therefore to hear from any readers of this book if they feel that they can help or be helped within the aims and objectives of the Foundation. 28 Chemin du Pommier, HENRI KUMMERMAN 1218 Geneva, Switzerland.