International Maritime Law

Introduction

Shipping plays an essential role in the global economy, with 80 to 90 percent of international trade being transported by sea. While it is a business with long tradition, shipping faces significant challenges today, particularly in two main areas: energy transition, which includes decarbonization and digitalization, and security in light of the changing geopolitical landscape. To effectively address both traditional and contemporary challenges, this course is organized into four parts.

Part I introduces the critical legal challenges caused by the global nature of shipping, cross-jurisdictional hurdles and geopolitical disruptions. This Part examines the role of international institutions (e.g., UN and IMO), as well as State and non-State actors, in regulating shipping and maintaining rules-based order.

Part II focuses on traditional maritime law. Shipping is a predominant mode of transport within the energy sector, particularly for the transportation of oil and gas. This Part focuses on the key contracts governing such transport, particularly charterparties, as well as ship sale and purchase agreements. The discussion in this Part will cover critical legal issues related to contractual breaches, as well as the allocation of risks and liabilities between the parties.

Part III continues with traditional topics, focusing on perils at sea. It examines the typical legal issues that arise when maritime incidents occur. Key principles of salvage and wreck removal will be discussed in detail, alongside an exploration of various regimes concerning shipowner’s liability and compensation mechanisms.

Part IV addresses the contemporary challenges faced in international maritime law. It examines the role of international maritime law in managing geopolitical risks, sanctions and unintended consequences associated with the emergence of shadow (dark) fleet. Additionally, this Part analyzes the regulatory hurdles involved in the decarbonization of international shipping, alongside the related business implications. Only the global rules will be analysed (the climate change regime and the IMO regime). This course will not discuss EU law.

Course content

• Key actors, sources and principles of international maritime law
• Charterparties
• Ship sale and purchase
• Salvage and wreck removal
• IMO liability and compensation regime
• Marine insurance
• Freedom of navigation and the right to sail
• Decarbonisation of international shipping
• Geopolitics and shadow fleet

Business ethics and sustainability issues are integrated into the course, mostly in the context of decarbonization and security, where it is expected that students differentiate between legal and ethical dilemmas.

Disclaimer

This is an excerpt from the complete course description for the course. If you are an active student at BI, you can find the complete course descriptions with information on eg. learning goals, learning process, curriculum and exam at portal.bi.no. We reserve the right to make changes to this description.