CHILE Law and Practice Contributed by: Ricardo Rozas, Max Morgan and Stefano Perretta, JJR Abogados
Salvage Salvage is regulated in Articles 1128 to 1157 of the Code of Commerce (services rendered to a vessel or other property in damage). These rules are based on the Comité Maritime International’s draft Internation - al Convention (Montreal 1981) and the International Convention on Salvage 1989. 3.3 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Chilean regulations that refer to tonnage limitation (ie, Articles 889 to 904 of the Code of Commerce) are inspired by both the International Convention relating to the Limitation of the Liability of Owners of Sea- Going Ships and Protocol of Signature 1957, and the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976 (the “LLMC Convention 1976”). With respect to the tonnage limitation figures, the Code of Commerce follows the LLMC Convention 1976. In addition, the Code of Commerce establishes a spe - cific set of procedural provisions in connection with the constitution and distribution of the corresponding limitation fund. Maritime Claims Tonnage Limitation The types of claims subject to limitation are as follows: • death or personal injury and damage to property on board; • death or personal injury caused by any person for whom the owner is responsible, whether on board or on shore (in the latter case, their acts must be related to the operation of the ship or to the load - ing, discharging or carriage of the relevant goods); • loss or damage to other goods, including the cargo, caused by the same person or people, grounds, places and circumstances as given in the point directly above; and • resulting liability concerning the damage caused by a vessel to harbour works, dry docks, basins and waterways. The people entitled to limit liability pursuant to this regime are as follows: • the ship-owner as defined by Chilean regulations; • the ship-owner’s staff; • liability insurers;
• Article 136 of the Fishing Law (Law No 18,892), which refers to criminal liability for spills that cause damage to hydro-biological resources, covering both malicious acts and negligence, and which extends to companies’ criminal liability (liability for negligence was introduced by Law No 21,132, which modernised and strengthened the exercise of the public function of the National Fisheries Service). Wreck Removal Wreck removal is regulated under the Chilean Naviga - tion Law. In general, the Chilean Maritime Authority can order the pertinent proprietor, owner or operator to adopt all necessary measures, at their own cost, to proceed with removal of the wreck within a speci - fied term. In February 2018, the Navigation Law was subject to an important amendment to strengthen marine environment preservation and navigation safety (Amended by Law No 21,066, which introduced new wreck removal provisions). 3.2 International Conventions: Collision and Salvage Collisions Articles 1116 to 1125 of the Code of Commerce set out the main regulations applicable to collisions. The Navigation Law and the Convention on the Interna - tional Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972 (COLREGs) also apply. Chilean collision regulations apply to damage that arises, for example, from a collision between two or more vessels or from waves caused by the movement of a vessel resulting in damage to other vessels, cargo or people on board, even if an actual collision does not occur (under Chilean law, a “vessel” is a maritime device that can move either on its own or by external means). These rules also apply to events occurring in fluvial waters, lakes and any other navigable waterway. In addition, Chilean collision regulations apply to colli - sion damage that arises between vessels under the same ownership or administration.
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