CHINA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Chen Leiming, Yuan Yuan and Tingxin Yu, Kangda Law Firm
Carriers With reference to the Rotterdam Rules, Article 49 of the revised Maritime Code explicitly extends the carri - er’s duty of care to encompass “properly and carefully receiving, loading, handling, stowing, carrying, keep - ing, caring for, discharging, and delivering the goods carried”. Furthermore, the definition of “actual carrier” under Article 44 (2) broadens the scope of qualifying entities. Consequently, entities such as port operators may be recognised as actual carriers under specific conditions, thereby entitling them to invoke the car - rier’s statutory exemptions from liability and benefit from the carrier’s limitation of liability per package or unit. Additionally, Article 52 extends the applicabil - ity of the carrier’s exemptions to situations involving delay in delivery. Shippers Article 67 clearly states that “The shipper shall deliver the goods to the carrier for carriage in accordance with the terms of the contract of carriage of goods by sea and shall warrant that the goods are fit for the intended transport”. Regarding the costs and risks arising from the non- delivery of cargo at the port of discharge stipulated in Article 93, the liable party has been shifted from the “consignee” to the “shipper”. This article also clarifies that the carrier shall promptly notify the shipper, while specifying that if the consignee has already exercised rights under the contract of carriage of goods by sea, the costs and risks shall be borne by the consignee. Article 96 of the revised Maritime Code introduces the shipper’s right to modify the contract. During the car - rier’s period of responsibility, the shipper may notify the carrier in writing to suspend the carriage, return the goods, change the port of discharge, or deliver the goods to another consignee. However, the ship - per shall compensate the carrier for any losses result - ing from such modifications. Furthermore, to meet the demands of commercial practice, Article 96 also outlines exceptions where the carrier may refuse the
sengers by sea concerning personal injury, death, and loss of or damage to luggage have been appropri - ately raised. Specifically, the limit for personal injury or death per passenger is increased from XDR46,666 to XDR175,000; the limit for cabin luggage is increased from XDR833 to XDR1,800; the limit for vehicles (including luggage carried therein) is increased from XDR3,333 per vehicle to XDR10,000; and the limit for other luggage per passenger is increased from XDR1,200 to XDR2,700. It should be noted that the parties are entitled to agree on higher liability limits by written consent pursuant to Article 115. Furthermore, this article unifies the liability limits for carriers in both domestic and international carriage of passengers by sea. Additionally, based on Article 126, a passenger (or their claimant) may bring a claim for personal injury or death damages directly against the liability insurer or financial guarantor. Limits of liability for maritime claims With reference to the Protocol of 1996 to amend the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, the liability limits for ship-owners and salvors have been appropriately increased concerning the relevant maritime claims specified in Articles 219 and 220. Under the provisions of Article 213 regarding the scope of persons entitled to limit liability, in addition to the original categories of “charterer” and “operator” of the ship, “ship manager” has now been included. Institutional guarantees for the digital development of shipping To accommodate the practical needs for the digitali - sation of shipping documents, and with reference to the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records and other relevant international conventions, a new section titled “Electronic Transport Records” (Section 5) has been added to Chapter IV, “Contract of Carriage of Goods by Sea”. This section addresses the legal status of electronic transport records, stating that those meeting statutory requirements have the same legal effect as transport documents. Carriers and shippers may agree to issue and use electronic transport records. Such records must satisfy the fol -
shipper’s modification requests. Carriage of passengers by sea
According to Article 115 of the revised Maritime Code, the limits of liability for carriers in the carriage of pas -
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