Taiwan's new maritime law

THE original Taiwan Maritime Law (TML 1931) became effective on January 1, 1931. Last amended in 1962, it was repealed on July 16, 1999, when the new Taiwan Maritime Law became effective.

About seventy per cent of the articles in TML 1931 have been amended, deleted or supplemented under TML 1999. Some of the major amendments to TML 1931 are explained below.

1. Limitation of shipowners' liability (Chapter 2, Section 1, Articles 21-23)

(1) Owners defined in the new Paragraph 2 of Article 21 of TML 1999 have been extended to include shipowners, demise charterers, managers and operators of the carrying vessel. As a result, time and/or voyage charterers will be entitled to rely on limitation of shipowners' liability only when they are the actual operators of the carrying vessel.

(2) Liability of shipowners is limited to the value of the ship and the freight, and other incidental accessory charges, which means the indemnity due to the ship by reason of damages inflicted thereupon, but excludes insurance payments for that particular voyage, provided, however, that if the aforesaid total sum is lower than the following standards, the balance thereof should be additionally supplemented:

  1. Compensation for loss of or damage to property:
    The registered gross tons of the ship x 54 special drawing rights (SDR)
  2. Compensation for loss of life or personal injury:
    The registered gross tons of the ship x 162 SDR
  3. Compensation for both (a) and (b):
    The registered gross tonnage of the ship x 162 SDR, but loss of life and/or personal injury shall be first compensated up to the registered gross tons of the ship x 108 SDR. Any insufficiency shall be shared pari passu with the total amount of compensation for damage to and loss of property, of the remains thereof.

(3) Application of the subject limitation shall be confined to:

  1. Claims in respect of loss of life or personal injury, or loss of or damage to property, occurring on board the vessel or in direct connection with the operation of the vessel, or with salvage operations.
  2. Claims in respect of loss resulting from infringement of rights, occurring in connection with the operation of the vessel or salvage operations, which do not include the compensation for damages/loss founded in contract.
  3. Claims for obligations in respect of the raising, removal or destruction of a sunken vessel, and items falling overboard, which do not include remuneration or payment under a contract.
  4. Claims for obligations in respect of measures taken in order to avert or minimise the liabilities mentioned respectively in the preceding (b) and (c).

(4) The subject limitation shall not be applicable to the following,

  1. Obligations arising out of wilful acts or faults of shipowners themselves.
  2. Obligations on shipowners arising out of a contract of employment with the master, crew and/or other persons in the service of the vessel.
  3. Remuneration for assistance and salvage, or contribution in general average.
  4. Compensation for oil pollution, or damages or loss arising from the vessel's carriage of toxic chemicals.
  5. Compensation for loss or damage arising from nuclear incidents arising during the vessel's carriage of nuclear materials or waste.
  6. Compensation for nuclear damage arising in connection with nuclear ships.

2. Maritime Lien (Chapter 2, Section 2, Articles 24-32)

(1) The following claims shall be secured by maritime liens on the vessel:

  1. Claims of the master, crew and/or other persons in the service of the vessel founded in the contract(s) of employment.
  2. Claims against shipowners in respect of compensation for loss of life or personal injury occurring in direct connection with the operation of the vessel.
  3. Claims for salvage, wreck removal, or contribution in general average.
  4. Claims against shipowners based on tort, in respect of loss of or damage to property occurring, whether on land or on water, in direct connection with the operation of the vessel.
  5. Port, canal and other waterway dues and pilotage dues.

(2) The maritime liens above shall take priority over the mortgages over the vessel. However, if a lien or right of retention is granted in respect of a vessel in the possession of a shipbuilder, to secure claims for the building of the vessel, or of a shiprepairer to secure claims for repairs of the vessel affected during such possession, such lien or right of retention shall be postponed to all the maritime liens mentioned above but shall be preferred to the mortgages over the vessel.

(3) The maritime liens shall not be applicable to the claims in respect of compensations mentioned under the aforesaid Items 1(4) d, e, and f.

(4) The maritime liens attaching to the same voyage set out above shall rank in the order listed, and claims included under any heading shall rank pari passu as between themselves. This provided that the maritime lien as to item 2(1) (c) shall rank in inverse order to the time when the claims secured accrued. Claims for salvage shall be deemed to have accrued on the date on which the salvage operation was completed. Claims for contribution in general average shall be deemed to have accrued on the date on which the general average act occurred.

(5) Claims secured by a maritime lien and attaching to the last voyage have priority over those attaching to a previous voyage.

(6) The subject maritime liens shall be extinguished after a period of one year.

3. Ship master and crew (Mariner)

The provisions relating to the ship master and crew (mariner) provided in TML 1931 have been totally deleted. All the rights and obligations, as well as other administrative regulations in this context, will be referred to in the Law of Ship Crew.

4. Collision (Chapter 4, Articles 94-101)

(1) In addition to the court at the place where the domicile or business establishment of the defendant is located, the court at the place where the collision occurred, the court at the port of registry of the defendant's vessel, and the court at the place where the vessel is under seizure, the jurisdiction of the court over the collision shall also include that agreed and/or to be agreed upon by the parties.

(2) TML 1931 provided, inter alia, that vessel arrested following a collision can be released by way of lodging a security. TML 1999 provides that security in this context could be substituted for by a written undertaking issued by an appropriate bank or insurer/underwriter.

Chapters on other issues, including contracts of carriage, salvage, general average and marine insurance, have also been amended under TML 1999.