This book is the worldwide international standard Handbook for the shipmaster and all other interested parties whatever the ship’s flag state or nationality of the crew may be.
National maritime laws of states are almost comparable because these legislations originate from a variety of international maritime agreements. Maritime law follows, in most nations, a separate code and has jurisdiction independent of national laws. International pillars for national maritime laws are:
- United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)
- International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL)
- International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)
- International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW)
- Maritime Labour Convention (MLC)
This Handbook explains the most important legal terms of international and national law for the shipmaster. The influence of EU rules on national maritime legislation of EU member states is also described. National legislation of the flag state has priority on board unless the vessel is located in the waters of a foreign coastal state. The hierarchy or priority of various jurisdictions and legislations in different maritime zones is therefore extensively explained in the Handbook.
National maritime legislation (NL) is described in detail with many examples from maritime legislations.
This Handbook has not been written in legal language, but in the language of the shipmaster and seafarers. The Legal Handbook Shipmaster will be invaluable to any shipmaster wherever on the globe. The shipmaster is at the heart of this book.
The Legal Handbook Shipmaster is available on-line.
De Nederlandse versie (editie 2024) is te downloaden.
Any financial donation would however be greatly received by the NL Shipmaster’s Association. Your financial donation will be used to update the Handbook as treaties, codes, acts and regulations constantly change.
Please, submit your financial contribution.
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