COLLISION / LIMITATION / LLMC 1976 / PROTOCOL LLMC 1996 / RECOURSE ACTION FOR ASSISTANCE TO THE OTHER VESSEL / RESERVATION STIPULATED IN ART. 18 PARAGRAPH 1 LLMC / REQUIREMENT OF SEPARATE WRECK FUND

摘要

The recovery claim made by one ship owner in respect of costs made after a collision to re-float the vessel of the other owner and to salvage the cargo carried by it, is to be considered as a claim in the sense of Article 2 paragraph 1(d) and (e) LLMC. There is no ground to conclude that the reservation of Article 18 paragraph 1 LLMC applies exclusively to (recovery) claims made by fairway authorities and thus not to (recovery) claims made by ship owners, as the safety of vessel traffic, which is the rationale behind the reservation of Article 18 paragraph 1 LLMC, may be assured by others than the fairway authorities by taking the actions in question. Whether or not the State would have placed the vessel under the Wreck Statute in the event that the interested parties would not have undertaken any action, is not relevant thereby. Since this concerns a recourse action, there is no case of a claim for salvage in the sense of Article 3(a) LLMC.