OECD DISCUSSES END OF “ERROR OF NAVIGATION” CLAUSE
OECD DISCUSSES END OF “ERROR OF NAVIGATION” CLAUSE
During a special meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris on Friday, government and industry representatives from member countries proposed extending the cargo liability of shipowners by eliminating the so-called “error of navigation” defense.
The OECD held a consultative maritime transport workshop on cargo liability to discuss a potential reform of international maritime conventions or rules. Under current liability laws, such as the Hague Rules and the U.S. Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA), the law exempts shipowners of liability for cargo loss or damage if there has been an error of navigation.
The OECD meeting backed a recommendation made by a former British civil servant, Roger Clarke, in a report commissioned by the organization’s Maritime Transport Committee concerning ways to modernize international maritime cargo liability rules.
Wolfgang Hubner, head of the transport division of the OECD, said the meeting was an exchange of views between participants and did not produce binding decisions on the part of governments.
If the member governments adopt a recommendation on the cargo liability reform, it will be sent to a group of senior maritime lawyers, the Comite Maritime International, for consideration.
The OECD meeting also supported the views that a potential new cargo liability regime should take into account the concepts of delay in delivery and electronic commerce, said Jerome Orsel, director in charge of maritime transport at the French Shippers’ Council.
Under the proposed revision of the U.S. COGSA, carriers would no longer be protected from liability by the current error of navigation exemption.
Contrary to a first inter-government maritime regulatory workshop held last May, the latest OECD meeting did not address competition and liner conference immunity issues. These topics will be discussed at a later meeting, expected to take place before the end of the year, Hubner said.