This book is based on papers presented at the Sixth International Colloquium organised by the Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law, Swansea University, in September 2009. The sixteen contributions have been written by a team of international experts who collectively submit the newly proposed Rotterdam Rules to asustained, penetrative and comprehensive analysis. The scale of the Rotterdam Rules is staggeringly wide, as also are their detail and complexity, and coming to a full understanding of the provisions and implications ofthe Rules represents a challenge even to those experienced in the law and practice of commercial shipping. This book examines virtually all aspects of the Rules and will provide an effective, reliable and readable guide to everyone seeking a complete grasp of the Rules.

The international carriage of goods by sea has been regulated by international conventions. These include the “International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading” (“Hague Rules”); the “Protocol to Amend the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law Relating to Bills of Lading” (“Visby Rules”); and the “UN Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea." They were adopted in 1924, 1968 and 1978 respectively and the transport industry's commercial needs have since substantially changed. Furthermore the advent of subsequent regimes has resulted in the uniformity in the carriage of goods by sea once provided by the Hague Rules being lost. In order to update and modernize existing regimes the “UN Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea” (“Rotterdam Rules”) was adopted on December 11, 2008 by the UN General Assembly and opened for signature on September 23, 2009. Since then drafters of the Rotterdam Rules, academics and practitioners have been publicizing, discussing, and evaluating the Rules. This book is an effort to further explore those same goals.

The Rotterdam Rules represent the most comprehensive overhaul of the law of carriage of goods by sea in more than fifty years. To coincide with the signing ceremony, six members of the Institute of Maritime Law have written a detailed commentary on the Rules. The Rotterdam Rules: A Practical Annotation examines the text of the Rules, all ninety-six articles of the new Convention, and compares them to the text of the Hague-Visby Rules, the instrument currently covering most bills of lading. The authors have also examined the judgments in cases decided in the English Courts under the Carriage of Goods by Sea Acts of 1971 and 1992 and have indicated whether these cases would be decided differently under the new Rotterdam Rules.

This book addresses the legal and contractual obligations of sea carriers regarding due care for the cargo under a contract of carriage. While the general framework employed is the leading international liability regime, the Hague-Visby Rules, the discussions in each chapter also account for the possible future adoption of a new regime, the Rotterdam Rules. The subject matter concerns the standard for the duty of care for goods as codified in the Hague-Visby Rules, but the work also touches upon a wide range of related topics found both in law and in practice, providing valuable commercial, technical and historical links as well as various solutions that have been found at the national and international level to address challenges arising in this specialised area of law. The book is divided into six chapters, which gradually reveal the complexity of the topic. Chapter 1 provides a thorough introduction to the two main transport documents in use, and to the basic logic behind shipping, sea-going trade and related national and international legislation. In turn, Chapter 2 presents an overview of the relevant provisions of the Hague-Visby Rules. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 examine the problems arising out of the insertion of a FIOS(T) clause in the contract of carriage; the carriage of goods on deck; and the carriage of goods in containers, respectively. Lastly, Chapter 6 provides an overall conclusion on the legal status quo and current practice, as well as future prospects. The book was written with a number of potential readers in mind and is intended to open up the topic to a broader audience. It is suitable both for readers who wish to advance their learning (e.g. professionals, practitioners and postgraduates) and for readers with little or no prior knowledge of the topic (e.g. students and researchers).

Written by a combination of top academics, industry experts and leading practitioners, this book offers a detailed insight into both unimodal and multimodal carriage of goods. It provides a comprehensive and thoroughly practical guide to the issues that matter today on what is a very complex area of law. From the papers delivered at the 8th International Colloquium organised by Swansea Law School's prestigious Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law, this original work considers current opinions, trends and issues arising from contracts of carriage of goods by sea, land, air, and multi-modal combinations of these, not to mention the legal position of vital participants such as freight forwarders, terminal operators and cargo insurers. The topics under discussion range through issues such as paperwork, piracy, liability for defective containers, damage in transit, the CMR Convention, and the possible effects of the Rotterdam Rules. An indispensable resource for transport lawyers, industry professionals, academics and post-graduate students of maritime law.

Cases Materials on the Carriage of Goods by Sea includes a collection of legislative material, standard form contracts and up-to-date coverage of English case law. It covers the major areas of chartering and bills of lading, as well as matters such as exclusion and limitation of liability. This edition has been comprehensively updated and adds the latest cases to its strong coverage of classic authorities. Notable additions in the chapters dealing with bills of lading include The Starsin, The Rafaela S, Motis Exports and The David Agmashenebeli. On the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992, the important decisions of The Berge Sisar and East West Corp are incorporated, while key recent decisions on chartering, such as The Hill Harmony, The Happy Day and The Stolt Spur are fully treated. This book provides an up-to-date collection of materials relating to the carriage of goods by sea which will be of value to both students of law and legal practitioners.