Places of Refuge

Informa Law, June 2010

The need for specific legal arrangements governing ships in distress and places of refuge is one of the most topical problems in both public and private maritime law.

A letter from John A. C. Cartner M.Sc., M.B.A., LL.M., Ph.D. Ch.Eng., Eur.Ing., Master Mariner and author of The International Law of the Shipmaster to the author Prof Dr Eric Van Hooydonk

"I have just read – at one sitting – your new book, Places of Refuge. It is superb and I congratulate you for its publication and the enormous effort that went into its compilation. It will become the standard on the subject, I am sure. I know that I will refer several places to it in the second edition of The International Law of the Shipmaster. I did not include a chapter on the subject when I wrote because I was awaiting your book. I am not sure I need a chapter now! Well done, indeed, sir."

The headline-grabbing shipping disasters involving the loss of the Erika (1999) and the Prestige (2002) attracted the attention of the IMO, the Comite Maritime International, the European Union, national maritime authorities around the globe and the maritime industry in general. Ultimately the impact of pollution on local economies and the environment was enough to arouse the concern of a broad swath of public opinion.

Places of Refuge provides clarity on

- the scope of the right of access
- the immunity of ships in distress
- the liability of authorities granting or denying access
- the basis and conditions of financial securities
- the obligation to establish contingency plans

This book serves as an authoritative source of current international law in this field.

1. Introduction and Overview
2. The Context of Recent Policy Developments
3. Current International Law on the Accommodation of Ships in Distress in Places of Refuge
4. The Genesis, Necessity and Status of the CMI Draft Convention
5. Content of the CMI Draft Convention
6. Comparison of the CMI Draft Convention with the European Regime of Places of Refuge
7. The Further Role of the CMI Draft Convention
8. Conclusions
9. Appendices

Prof Dr Eric Van Hooydonk is a professor of maritime and transportation law and of international law of the sea at the University of Antwerp and runs a law office in Antwerp. His research fields and main areas of practice are maritime law, international law of the sea and esp. seaports law. His doctoral thesis (1994) consisted of an in-depth analysis of the legal aspects of port management. Since 2000, he chairs of the European Institute of Maritime and Transport Law. In 2006, he was appointed chairman of the Royal Commission for Belgian Maritime Law Reform and in 2009 he became chairman of the umbrella organisation Flanders Water Heritage.

Customers who bought this item also bought

• Places of Refuge. Maritime and Transport Law Library
• Pollution at Sea: Law and Liability
• The International Law of the Shipmaster
• Pollution at Sea. Law and Liability
• Shipping and the Environment 2nd Edition
• Law of Yachts & Yachting. Maritime and Transport Law Library
• Modern Maritime Law and Risk Management
• Maritime Fraud & Piracy 2nd Edition
• The Carriage Of Goods By Sea Under The Rotterdam Rules
• Risk and Liability in Air Law. Maritime and Transport Law Library