ECSA backs Rotterdam Rules

The European Community Shipowners Associations has come out strongly in favour of the UNCITRAL Convention on the carriage of goods (wholly or partly) by sea, otherwise known as the Rotterdam rules. "ECSA urges all States worldwide and particularly all EU Member States, to sign up to the Rotterdam rules at the signing ceremony in Rotterdam on 23 September 2009 and to ratify these rules soonest so as to have the necessary modernization of cargo liability rules as well as legal certainty and uniformity worldwide," the organisation said in a statement.

 

"ECSA firmly believes that the Rotterdam rules provide for the necessary legal certainty and uniformity with regard to cargo liability. Moreover, the Rotterdam rules modernize the liability regimes that currently apply to the carriage of goods by sea and also address the gaps that presently exist, e.g. by laying down rules on e-commerce. Furthermore, the Rotterdam rules regulate the multimodal carriage of goods that involve a sea leg. It follows that the Rotterdam rules will greatly facilitate international and European trade. Finally, the Rotterdam rules provide for a well-balanced regime that takes into account the interests of both shipowners and shippers, a feature that is fully recognized and endorsed by all shippers' interests worldwide except the European Shippers' Council in Europe."

 

"ECSA does not share the views expressed by those opposing the Rotterdam rules. As regards the European Shippers' Council (ESC), ECSA has read with great interest and fully supports the views of the US Shippers’ Organisation (Nitleague), which are also supported by some major European Shippers, that the Rotterdam rules strike a right balance between the shipowners and shippers in terms of liabilities and the allocation of risks between both parties and that "as European shippers did not participate in the negotiation of the Rotterdam rules until the very end of the process at UNCITRAL, their perspective represents a misunderstanding and lack of appreciation of the delicate compromise achieved in the multilateral negotiations"."

 

"ECSA is of the opinion that the Rotterdam rules clearly represent a last attempt to have a harmonized cargo liability regime at international level providing for modern rules and for legal certainty and uniformity, thereby reducing conflict of laws between the various jurisdictions across the world."

 

 

(Source: Global Maritime Net)