NORWAY Law and Practice Contributed by: Kristian Lindhartsen, Lilly Kathrin Relling and Tobias Kilde, Kvale Advokatfirma DA
3.5 Procedure and Requirements for Establishing a Limitation Fund
and health, the environment and valuable material by facilitating good ship safety and safety management.
Under Norwegian law, a limitation fund can only be established after the creditors have initiated legal pro - ceedings to pursue a claim that is subject to limitation, or after the creditors have filed a petition for arrest to temporarily secure such a claim. In such instances, the defendant may request the creation of a limitation fund at the court where the action has been brought. The courts have the authority to order a fund to be established. Once a fund is established, either by transfer of the limitation amount or by way of other security (such as an indemnity), the creditors are given a time limit within which to notify their claims. The limitation fund can be created by all parties that are entitled to limitation under Section 171 of the Nor - wegian Maritime Code. This includes the ship-owner, the disponent owner, the manager, charterers and sal - vors, for example. Pursuant to Section 232 of the Norwegian Maritime Code, the limitation fund amount is calculated on the basis of the vessel’s tonnage and must also include interest calculated from the time of the incident until the establishment of the fund. This is in accordance with the provisions of the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976 (as amended by the 1996 Protocol). 3.6 Seafarers’ Safety and Owners’ Liability Norway ratified the Maritime Labour Convention on 10 February 2009, and it came into force on 20 August 2013. The convention is implemented in Norwegian law through the Ship Labour Act and the Ship Safety and Security Act, along with their associated regula - tions. The Ship Labour Act applies to workers who perform their duties on Norwegian vessels, with its primary objective being to ensure safe labour conditions, equal treatment and the promotion of general welfare for the workers and the work environment. The Ship Safety and Security Act applies to all Norwegian ships and extends to foreign ships within Norway’s territo - rial waters, economic zone and continental shelf. The overarching objective of the Act is to safeguard life
4. Cargo Claims 4.1 Bills of Lading
Although Norway is a signatory to the Hauge-Visby Rules (HVR), the Hamburg Rules and the Rotterdam Rules, only the HVR has been ratified. The HVR has been implemented in the Norwegian Maritime Code, albeit with some modifications. For instance, the rules in the Norwegian legislation are more favourable to cargo owners than the HVR stipu - lates, unless they are expressly waived by the cargo owner. This relates to two categories of rules in par - ticular: • under the Norwegian Maritime Code, the owner is responsible for the goods from the time and place when the owner physically takes over the goods, as opposed to the tackle-to-tackle principle con - tained in the HVR; and • Chapter 13 of the Norwegian Maritime Code applies special liability provisions for the carriage of deck cargo, as well as livestock, which cannot be derogated from through agreement. 4.2 Title to Sue on a Bill of Lading If the bill of lading is subject to Norwegian jurisdiction, any lawful holder of the bill of lading will have title to sue pursuant to the NDA. The prerequisite is that the claim is a legal claim that is based in law, contract or tort, and the claimant must have both a reasonable need to pursue the claim and an adequate connection with the dispute (such as legal or equitable interest). Norway recognises an assignment of title to sue. 4.3 Ship-Owners’ Liability and Limitation of Liability for Cargo Damages The key provisions governing ship-owners’ liability for damage to cargo are Sections 275 and 276 of the Norwegian Maritime Code. As long as the goods are in the custody of the ship-owner or any of their con - tracted helpers, a reversed burden of proof of liability is applied. This means that the ship-owner is liable for damage to the cargo, unless they can prove that
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