What is the Maritime Law?

 

Maritime law is a branch of law that covers legal regulations related to events that occur in the seas and oceans. This branch of law is important for shipowners, cargo owners, ship operators, seafarers, port authorities, yacht owners, insurance companies and other marine-related entities.

Maritime law covers subjects such as international trade and carriage of goods by sea, ship and yacht sale and purchase, shipbuilding and financing, maritime collisions, ship finance, Maritime and logistics contracts, charter parties, environmental regulations and seafarers' claims. Lawyers working in this field undertake duties such as providing legal advice to their clients, preparing legal documents and representing their clients in judicial processes and disputes.

 

Maritime Law

 

Maritime law is a branch of law that determines the rules of commercial activities and causality carried out in seas and oceans. The interested parties of this branch of law are mainly; seafarers, shipping companies, ship owners, port authorities, ship agencies, insurance companies and other maritime-related entities.

Maritime law covers ship and yacht sale and purchase, shipbuilding, chartering, carriage of goods by sea, insurance, financing, customs clearance, ports and port services, ship agency services, ship registry records and many other issues related to the maritime sector.

 

Maritime Lawyer Practices

 

Maritime law is determined by international conventions, treaties, agreements, protocols and case law, as well as national regulations. Since the law is determined by cases, keeping up-to-date in the maritime market in the world is essential, especially in England, which is the determining country of the legal system in the maritime trade. However, it is not enough to know the current legal system with the case law, it is necessary to reflect these innovations in our commercial relations to prevent possible conflicts before they arise and by being constantly aware of the changing maritime world by following the innovations that can take place in standard contract forms, well-established organizations such as BIMCO.

Since maritime law determines the legal rules of commercial activities in the maritime sector, it is frequently seen that international and national companies and individuals operating in this field need legal consultancy services from a maritime law expert to manage their legal transactions and resolve disputes.

 

Merchant Shipping and Insurance Law

 

Merchant shipping and insurance law are branches of law that deal with commercial activities occurring at sea and the risks of these activities. While maritime law covers subjects such as carriage of goods by sea, port management, shipbuilding and financing, chartering, sale and purchase; maritime insurance law deals with the risks and insurance processes of these activities.

The connection of the carriage of goods by sea and insurance law is to cover the risks arising from the nature of maritime transport activities and to take these insurance policies under legal protection. For example, if a ship has a collision while en route, the owner or insured party shall claim damages under the Hull and Machinery Insurance (HnM) policy, while in case of injury or cargo damage in this same collision, the owner or the insured party shall contact Protection and Indemnity Insurance (PnI), a type of liability insurance. At this point, maritime insurance forms the basis of maritime trade.

In order to engage in maritime trade, the necessary insurance company should be prepared with policies that provide sufficient coverage. It is necessary to work with the insurers (for both HnM and PnI) with lawyers who are experts in the field of marine insurance so that the insurance claims made in the marine area can be activated properly.

 

Maritime Law and Arbitration

 

Arbitration in maritime law is used in many fields such as carriage of goods by sea, port services, shipbuilding, marine insurance and oil and gas extraction activities. For example, disputes can be resolved through arbitration on many issues such as compensation for damages resulting from a maritime accident, resolution of disputes in charter contracts, disputes in port services contracts and disputes in maritime insurance contracts.

Arbitration is important in English law. Generally, arbitration committees analyze the "commercial" feature of maritime trade better and make more accurate decisions. This legal remedy, which is free from the long processes of litigation and can get faster results commercially, is also applied in our country.

 

International Maritime Law

 

International maritime law is the discipline of determining and enforcing rules and regulations related to activities at sea. This discipline covers issues related to international maritime transport, states' rights, limitations, obligations, maritime safety, environmental protection, trade, fisheries and other activities. International maritime law is a system of legal principles, agreements, protocols and judicial decisions accepted by the international community and states.

International maritime law is a legal discipline that determines the regulations related to the use and management of the seas, oceans and other waterways worldwide. Therefore, the law of the sea contains rules not only for the activities of states and citizens related to the sea but also for the activities of ship operators, employees of the maritime industry, ports and other parties related to maritime trade.

In addition to these, maritime law contracts have special importance for this discipline. Charter Party is one of the most important maritime law contracts. While these contracts, which are based on standard forms, are revised according to the concrete case, it is necessary to benefit from the regulations added by well-established organizations such as BIMCO regarding current conditions. Evaluating the disputes that may arise between the ship owner, the charterers and the sub-charterers in accordance with the contract, with the opinion of international maritime law lawyers, allows you to find solutions focused on the conduct of trade instead of long litigation processes.

Lawyers who specialize in international maritime law and have experience in this field can provide legal consultancy and provide representation services to their clients on ship sales and purchases, carriage of goods, port management, insurance, maritime accidents, seafarer claims and other maritime law issues. As maritime law is governed by various international treaties and regulations, international maritime law lawyers are also required to have knowledge of international law and the legal systems of different countries.

 

The main services provided by our team, which is specialized in these fields and can provide various technical and legal support, are listed below:

 

• Preparation of ship and yacht building contracts,

• Ship and yacht purchase and sale,

• Ship finance,

• To carry out consultancy activities and insurance renewal processes for disputes arising in the field of marine insurance (PnI and HnM),

• To carry out consultancy activities and disputes arising from the Charter Party,

• Preparation of carriage of goods contracts and disputes arising from contracts,

• Disputes arising from the bill of lading,

• Seafarers cases,

• Responsibilities arising from a collision,

• General average,

• Collection of fuel receivables,

• Off-spec bunker,

• Ship registration and abandonment procedures,

• Ship lien and ship financing,                                                                                                                           

• Preparation and interpretation of all kinds of logistics contracts and resolution of disputes.