DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Johannes Grove Nielsen, Camilla Søgaard Hudson, Lars Rosenberg Overby and Malthe Hersom Kløft, Bech-Bruun
Where the shipper hands over dangerous goods to the carrier or a sub-carrier without informing them of the dangerous character of the goods and, if necessary, of the precautions to be taken, and if the recipient of the goods does not otherwise have knowledge of the dangerous character, the shipper is liable towards the carrier and any sub-carrier for costs and any other loss resulting from the carriage of such goods. The carrier or sub-carrier may unload, render innocuous or destroy the goods, as the circumstances may require, without any obligation to pay compensation. In a Supreme Court case from 1999, the Danish Supreme Court found that batteries, as well as battery waste, should be regarded as dangerous goods. Prior to loading, the carrier noticed a liquid running out of the cargo of waste batteries. The shipper informed the carrier that the liquid could be neutralised. In reliance on this information, the carrier loaded and transported the dangerous cargo of battery waste. During trans - port, the liquid from the battery waste caused signifi - cant damages to the ship. The Supreme Court held that the shipper was liable for the damages caused to the ship by the batteries. Moreover, in a decision from the Danish Maritime and Commercial Court of 7 April 2014, it was established that the carrier must substantiate the cause of the damage. In that case, the shipper and recipient of scrap metal that contained flammable liquids were not considered liable to the ship-owner. During loading, a cargo of scrap metal caught fire on board the ship and caused significant damage. The cause of the fire could not, however, be determined with certainty, and on this basis the Maritime and Commercial Court did not hold the shipper liable for damages. 4.5 Time Bar for Filing Claims for Damaged or Lost Cargo The time bar for filing a claim for damaged or lost cargo is one year, starting from the day of delivery or the day the goods should have been delivered, as per Section 501 of the Danish Merchant Shipping Act. For recourse claims related to damages or lost cargo, the time bar is one year from the time where the claim was paid or legal proceedings concerning the claim commenced.
The time bar is suspended by the initiation of legal proceedings. The time limit can be extended after the damage or loss occurred by agreement between the parties. Any agreement between the parties extending a time bar prior to the occurrence of a loss or damage is invalid. 5. Maritime Liens and Ship Arrests 5.1 Ship Arrests Denmark is a party to the 1952 Arrest Convention, which has been implemented into Chapter 4 of the Danish Merchant Shipping Act. In addition, the Danish Administration of Justice Act, which contains general rules on arrest, applies alongside the Danish Merchant Shipping Act. 5.2 Maritime Liens Denmark is a party to the 1967 Lien Convention, which has been implemented into Chapter 3 of the Danish Merchant Shipping Act. Also, as stated previously, the Danish Administration of Justice Act, containing general rules on arrest, applies alongside the Danish Merchant Shipping Act. The Danish Merchant Shipping Act contains an exhaustive list of claims, which may be used as a basis for maritime liens. For example, a maritime lien may be granted based on claims for compensation for personal injury arising in direct connection with the operation of the ship. Liabilities resulting from con - tracts for chartering a vessel cannot serve as a basis for a maritime lien. 5.3 Liability in Personam for Owners or Demise Charterers Denmark has implemented the 1952 Arrest Conven - tion with a reservation, according to which making an arrest in Denmark presupposes that the claim can be levied against the ship-owner. The general rule is that only the particular ship in respect of which the maritime claim arose may be arrested. However, sister ships owned by the ship- owner of the ship in respect of which the maritime claim arose may also be arrested, provided that the claim is not a dispute on property rights to a ship or
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