Introduction to the International Carriage of Goods by Sea
Compiled by Cintia Calevoso, J.D. Candidate 2010
Nova Southeastern University, Shepard Broad Law Center
Updated May 15, 2009
Table of Contents
1. Overview
2. Introductory Texts
3. Key Abbreviations
4. Dictionaries and Directories
5. Treaties
6. Principal Institutions Involved (IGOs and NGOs)
7. Legislation
8. Case Law
9. Selected Journals and Articles
10. Secondary Sources
11. Treatises by Experts
12. Blogs
13. Multimedia Resources
14. RSS Feeds
15. Research Guides
16. Suggestions for Further Reading
17. Research Issue
18. Conclusion
1. Overview—
a. Up until recently, there has been a lack of uniformity in international maritime and admiralty law. As a result, many countries have pushed for a more consistent and predictable source of law to dictate the outcome of potential issues that may arise in this area of international maritime trade.
b. On December 12, 2008, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods by Sea.
c. The new Convention “aims to create a modern and uniform law concerning the international carriage of goods [which is expected to create] harmonization and modernization of the legal regime in the area, which in many countries dates back to the 1920’s or earlier, will lead to an overall reduction in transaction costs, increased predictability when problems are encountered, and greater commercial confidence when doing business internationally.”
d. This pathfinder is a thorough introduction for those interested in the international carriage of goods by sea and current international maritime commercial practices in general. It is mainly aimed at providing a broad overview of the topic rather than an exhaustive list of resources.
2. Introductory Texts
a. The following textbooks were written by numerous scholars which are renown in the area of maritime and admiralty law.
i. Admiralty: Cases and Materials, Robert M. Jarvis, Matthew Bender (2004)
ii. William Tetley, Marine Cargo Claims, 4th Ed. 2008
iii. William Tetley, Glossary of Maritime Law Terms, 2nd Ed., 2004
iv. William Tetley, International Maritime and Admiralty Law, 2003
v. William Tetley, Maritime Liens and Claims, 2nd ed., 1998
vi. William Tetley, International Conflict of Laws, Common, Civil and Maritime, 1994
vii. Sir Travers Twiss, Black Book of the Admiralty
viii. John F. Wilson, Carriage of Goods by Sea, Publisher: London: Pitman, 1988,
ix. Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, Legal Principles in Shipping Business (2005)
x. Guner-ozbek & Deniz Meltem, The Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Sea (2008) (available by e-book)
xi. John Wilson, Carriage of Goods by Sea (2007)
xii. Martin Dockray, Cases & Materials on the Carriage of Goods by Sea
3. List of Key Abbreviations
a. COSGA (Carriage of Goods by Sea Act)
b. B/L (Bill of lading – a contract of carriage which control possession of the goods and allow for the financing of the movement of merchandise and commodities around the world).
c. FOB (Free on Board – in a FOB shipment, the risk passes to the buyer at the FOB point, which can be the seller’s factory or warehouse. If the term FOB is the point of destination, the seller bears the risk during transit and is responsible for payment of the freight).
d. FAS (Free Alongside – a variable of FOB in which the sale is consummated when the seller delivers the goods alongside the vessel).
e. CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight – a term followed by the port of destination. For example, “C.I.F. London” would mean that the quoted price would include the price of the goods plus freight up to London and insurance).
4. Dictionaries and Directories
a. Questia (Online library)
b. WorldLii
c. EISIL (American Society of International Law electronic research system)
d. Cornell University Law Library
e. GlobaLex (International law research)
f. Maritime and Shipping Abbreviations
g. Admiralty and Maritime Law Guide
5. Treaties
a. United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea (Hamburg, 1978).
6. Principal Institutions involved
a. UNCITRAL (The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law)
b. Center for International Trade & Transportation
c. The Maritime Law Association of the United States
d. The United States Coast Guard
e. The United States Maritime Administration
f. The United States Maritime Commission
g. International Association of Maritime Institutions
h. European Maritime Law Organisation
i. BIMCO (The Baltic and International Maritime Counsel)
j. CMLA (Canadian Maritime Law Association)
k. CAMP (Chambre Arbitrale Maritime de Paris)
l. CMI (The Comité Maritime International)
m. IAMI (International Association of Maritime Institutions)
7. Legislation
a. United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea (Hamburg, 1978).
b. Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (46 U.S.C.A. §§ 30701 et seq.) (also available at LexisNexis – password required) (federal law implementing the United Nations Convention on COGSA)
c. Harter Act (former 46 U.S.C.S. Appx. §§ 190 et seq.) (available at LexisNexis – password required) (While the COSGA governs the relationship between shipper and carrier prior to discharge of the cargo, the Harter Act controls from the point of discharge until proper delivery of the goods).
8. Case Law
a. The United States is a signatory to the United Nations and has adopted the UN Convention on the International Carriage of Goods by Sea.
b. Westlaw (password required)
c. LexisNexis (password required)
9. Selected Journals (password required for online access via Westlaw, NSU Law Library and Hein Online):
a. The following journal articles provide a very good introduction on what the Carriage of Goods by Sea is and what is required to bring a claim under this Convention.
i. William Tetley, The Proposed New United States Senate COGSA: The Disintegration of Uniform International Carriage of Goods by Sea Law, 30 J. Mar. L. & Com. 595 (1999).
ii. Michael F. Sturley, The Proposed Amendments to the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act: An Update, 13 U.S.F. Mar. L.J. 1 (2000–01).
iii. Michael F. Sturley, Carriage of Goods by Sea, 31 J. Mar. L. & Com. 241 (2000).
iv. Joseph C. Sweeney, The Prism of COGSA, 30 J. Mar. L. & Com. 543 (1999).
v. Samuel Robert Mandelbaum, Esq., Creating Uniform Worldwide Liability Standards for Sea Carriage of Goods Under the Hague, COGSA, Visby and Hamburg Conventions, 23 Transp. L.J. 471 (1996).
vi. Benjamin W. Yancey, The Carriage of Goods: Hague, COGSA, Visby and Hamburg, 57 Tul. L. Rev. 1238 (1983).
vii. David Michael Collins, Admiralty-International Uniformity and the Carriage of Goods by Sea, 60 Tul. L. Rev. 165 (1985).
viii. Andrea R. Luciano, Much Ado About Packages: Containers and the COGSA Limitation of Liability Provision, 48 Brook. L. Rev. 721 (1982).
ix. J. Hoke Peacock III, Deviation and the Package Limitation in the Hague Rules and the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act: An Alternative Approach to the Interpretation of International Uniform Acts, 68 Tex. L. Rev. 977 (1990).
x. Samuel Robert Mandelbaum, International Shipping and Risk Allocation for Cargo Loss, Damage and Delay: A U.S. Approach to COGSA, Hague-Visby, Hamburg and the Multimodal Rules, 5 J. Transnat’l L. & Pol’y 1 (1995).
xi. Trevor R. Jefferies, COGSA or Hague-Visby: Cargo Damages in International Shipments, 18 Hous. J. Int’l L. 767 (1996).
b. Country-specific articles—
i. Sean R. Thornton, An Optimal Model for Reforming COGSA in the United States: Australia’s COGSA Compromise, 29 Transp. L.J. 43 (2001).
ii. Xia Chen, Chinese Law on Carriage of Goods by Sea Under Bills of Lading, 8-WTR Currents: Int’l Trade L.J. 89 (1999).
iii. Captain In Hyeon Kim, An Introduction to Korean Law Governing Carriage of Goods by Sea, 36 J. Mar. L. & Com. 447 (2005).
iv. Hakan Karen, The Carrier’s Liability for Breach of the Contract of Carriage of Goods by Sea under Turkish Law, 33 J. Mar. L. & Com. 91 (2002).
10. Secondary sources (password required for online access via Westlaw):
a. 70 Am. Jur. 2d Shipping § 571 (Applicability of COGSA – By agreement)
b. 70 Am. Jur. 2d Shipping § 701 (Suits Under Carriage of Goods by Sea Act – Proof; evidence)
c. J. F. Ghent, 2 A.L.R. Fed. 963 (Validity or enforceability, under Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, of clauses in bill of lading or shipping contract as to jurisdiction of foreign courts or applicability of foreign law)
d. Kristine Cordier Karnezis, J.D., 168 A.L.R. Fed. 631 (Deviation from Terms of Contract of Carriage as Affecting Limitation on Liability of Carrier or Ship, Uner § 4(5) of Carriage of Goods by Sea Act)
e. 80 C.J.S. Shipping § 279 (Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, generally)
11. Treatises by Experts
a. The following treatises were written by well-renown scholars in the area of maritime and admiralty law.
i. Benedict on Admiralty: Carriage of Goods by Sea, Matthew Bender (2006)
ii. Benedict on Admiralty, Matthew Bender
iii. Benedict on Admiralty: International Maritime Law: Documents & Commentary, Matthew Bender (2006)
iv. Benedict’s Maritime Bulletin, Matthew Bender (2003)
v. Benedict’s Cruise Ship Law, Matthew Bender (2006)
vi. Tetley’s Maritime & Admiralty Law
vii. Sturley on Section 7 of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, LexisNexis Emerging Issues Analysis (2007)
12. Blogs
a. Maritime Law (this blog is a case note by a professor of Maritime Law in India and specifically discusses the Indian Supreme Court’s decision in examining the Japanese Carriage of Goods by Sea Act).
b. Carriage of Goods by Sea (this blog discusses the changes that have resulted from the implementation of the UN Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea in Malaysia).
c. Port to Port (this blog deals with port activity, operation procedure and regulation of sea international transportation services, shipping, freight forwarder and export and import guidance and specifically features a note on the UN Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea)
d. ContractsProf Blog (this blog recently discussed the New UN Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods adopted on December 12, 2008).
e. UN Body Adopts Draft New Convention for International Carriage of Goods by Sea
f. Trade and Logistics Malaysia (this blog discusses the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act enacted in Malaysia and also compares the Hague, Visby and Hamburg Rules on COGSA).
13. Multimedia—
a. PowerPoints—
i. Fundamental Aspects of Maritime Law
b. Podcasts—
i. The Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Sea
14. RSS Feeds
a. Maritime Law News RSS Feed
b. Journal of Maritime Law and Commerce RSS Feed
c. Martindale Admiralty and Maritime Law
d. Port to Port
15. Research Guides—This pathfinder incorporates resources from:
a. A Handbook on the New Law of the Sea by René-Jean Dupuy & Daniel Vignes (1991)
b. Maritime Law and Practice, Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education (2004)
c. Moore’s Federal Practice (Admiralty), LexisNexis
16. Suggestions for Further Reading—
The following links provide general information as to key terms in maritime law and the provisions of the UN Convention on the International Carriage of Goods by Sea.
Carriage of Goods by Sea (Maritime Legal Resources)
UNCITRAL Adopted Draft Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea (UN Press Release, July 7, 2008)
17. Research Issues –
a. A client wants to know what resources to consult for a shipment lost at sea. Is the transporter responsible?
18. Conclusion –
a. The first thing to do when encountering a potential COGSA claim is to determine what the applicable jurisdiction is in order to file a claim. If the claim is to be filed in the United States, then the cause of action must have arisen in a foreign port. If the claim is to be filed elsewhere, it must be determined whether that particular nation is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods by Sea and whether it has ratified the convention in its own legal code.
b. Once jurisdiction is established, then the next would be to figure out what duties are owed by a carrier or transporter for goods lost at sea. Under COGSA, the carrier has a non-waivable duty to use due diligence in putting its vessel in good shape for voyage and properly caring for the goods on board the ship. If a shipowner (carrier) provides a seaworthy vessel and used due diligence in caring for the goods aboard, he will not be liable for the subsequent loss of those goods. However, if the duties were breached, the carrier may be liable for up to $500 per package lost at sea.