Dematerialisation of bills of lading is an important topic from the point of view of maritime transport practice. There are many arguments in favour of dematerialisation, such as simplification and acceleration of trade. Over the years, many attempts have been made to dematerialise bills of lading using EDI systems. All of them were found to be lacking. It was not until the spread of blockchain technology that adequate tools were found. The blockchain makes it possible to meet the requirement of singularity which was haunting the EDI systems. With the introduction of proper provisions of law and if the maritime transport industry could agree on a mutually compatible standard, blockchain-based bills of lading could successfully replace paper bills of lading.
The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea (the ‘Rotterdam Rules’) was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 11 December 2008. The Rotterdam Rules contain two oft-criticised changes from the existing regime governing international carriage of goods widely adopted among maritime nations, namely the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to Bills of Lading, Brussels, 25 August 1924 (the ‘Hague Rules’) and its subsequent Protocol in 1968 (the ‘Visby Protocol’ or the ‘Hague-Visby Rules’). These changes are, namely, an extension of the carrier’s obligations to maintain seaworthy vessel throughout the voyage (Article 14) and a deletion of an exclusion of carrier’s liabilities due to negligent navigation (Article 17). This paper addresses implications of these changes and assess whether ship-owners and ship-operators can comply with these without having to incur excessive additional expenses.The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea (the ‘Rotterdam Rules’) was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 11 December 2008. The Rotterdam Rules contain two oft-criticised changes from the existing regime governing international carriage of goods widely adopted among maritime nations, namely the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to Bills of Lading, Brussels, 25 August 1924 (the ‘Hague Rules’) and its subsequent Protocol in 1968 (the ‘Visby Protocol’ or the ‘Hague-Visby Rules’). These changes are, namely, an extension of the carrier’s obligations to maintain seaworthy vessel throughout the voyage (Article 14) and a deletion of an exclusion of carrier’s liabilities due to negligent navigation (Article 17). This paper addresses implications of these changes and assess whether ship-owners and ship-operators can comply with these without having to incur excessive additional expenses.
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