Mixed reaction to CMI COGSA draft
TEN days ago, 26 maritime lawyers gathered at the University of Southampton in the UK under the aegis of the Institute of Maritime Law to discuss the CMI Preliminary Draft Instrument on the Carriage of Goods by Sea, which is currently the subject of intensive work within UNCITRAL.
The Preliminary Draft Instrument covers several important issues regarding the responsibility of shipowners for goods carried on their vessels. Among these are whether the carrier owes the cargo owner a duty to use a seaworthy ship, whether the carrier or the cargo owner bears the responsibility for and the risk of lading and stowing the cargo, and what type of documentation the carrier needs to give the cargo owner to prove what has been loaded and in what condition.
The seminar appears to have revealed a mixed bag of feelings towards the draft. There were those who felt that more evidence was needed for changing well-accepted regimes such as the Hague-Visby Rules, and others who felt that the changes didn't go far enough, particularly with regard to multimodal transport.
Also under discussion was the question of whether the carrier should be allowed to exclude its liability for negligence in navigation, and whether the time limit for cargo claims should be extended from one to two years.
With representatives from nineteen universities and nine different European countries in attendance, the seminar kick-started discussions on the possible impact of the CMI proposal on the shipping industry. It also showed that the instrument's passage is unlikely to be plain sailing.