Carrier
Transporters ( English carrier ) is a legal concept of maritime law for the Party of the charterer that are suitable for acquisition , for transport of cargo on a merchant ship and delivery to the recipient obliged.
General
Outside the maritime law of the shipper's carrier (when freight contract ) or freight forwarder (when forwarding contract ). The carrier takes over the transport of the cargo at sea by means of merchant ships and owes the successful transport, i.e. the proper delivery of the cargo to the recipient. The shipper issues the shipper or his authorized unloader with an unloading confirmation or a bill of lading . These accompanying documents represent a certificate of acceptance of the cargo on board. In practice, loading and unloading are often carried out by a specially commissioned wharf .
Legal issues
Pursuant to Section 481 (1) of the German Commercial Code ( HGB) , the shipper is obliged by the general cargo contract to transport the cargo by ship across the sea to the destination and deliver it to the recipient there. According to Section 485 of the German Commercial Code (HGB), the carrier must ensure that the ship is in a seaworthy condition, properly furnished, equipped, manned and provided with sufficient supplies ( seaworthiness ) and that the holds, including the refrigerated and freezer rooms and all other parts of the ship , in or on which goods are loaded, are in the condition required for receiving, transporting and maintaining the goods ( suitability for loading ). If the goods are in a container , the carrier is authorized to reload the container; the carrier may not load the goods on deck without the consent of the freight forwarder ( Section 486 of the German Commercial Code). Pursuant to Section 513 (1) of the German Commercial Code (HGB), the carrier has to issue an order bill of lading to the shipper or unloader upon request. Since the freight forwarder has the power of disposal over the freight, he can, in accordance with Section 491 of the German Commercial Code, demand from the freight forwarder not to forward the freight, transport it to another destination or deliver it to a different discharge point or another recipient. The freight forwarder's right of disposal expires after the goods arrive at the discharge point and passes to the recipient there.
The carrier is responsible for the damage caused by the loss or damage of the documents handed over to him or by their incorrect use, unless the damage could not have been averted through the diligence of a proper carrier ( § 487 HGB). The liability for loss or damage to the cargo is created in the period of acceptance for transport until delivery ( § 498 para. 1 HGB). He is not only liable for loss of or damage to the cargo during the sea voyage, but also for damage to cargo due to initial unsuitability for sea and cargo. An exclusion of liability results from § 499 Paragraph 1 HGB not only in the case of force majeure , but also in the case of average or the transport of live animals . In addition to the freight, the carrier is entitled to reimbursement of expenses insofar as these were made for the goods and he was entitled to consider them to be necessary under the circumstances ( Section 493 (1) HGB). After the goods have arrived at the discharge point, the recipient is entitled in accordance with Section 494 of the German Commercial Code (HGB) to demand that the carrier deliver the goods to him in return for compliance with the obligations under the general cargo contract. Pursuant to Section 495 (1) of the German Commercial Code (HGB), the carrier has a statutory right of lien on the freight of the freight forwarder or the shipper handed over to him for transport for all claims arising from the general cargo contract.
literature
- Literature on carriers in the catalog of the German National Library
- Beate Czerwenka, The law for the reform of maritime trade law. Introduction, explanations, synopsis, materials , Bundesanzeiger-Verlag, 1st edition, 2014, ISBN 978-3-89817-967-6
- Oetker, Brief Commentary on the HGB , 3rd edition 2013
- Munich Commentary on HGB, Vol. 7 - Transport Law, 3rd edition, 10/2014, Beck-Verlag Munich [Note: with commentary on ADSp, CMR, MÜ, CMNI, COTIF and the new German sea trade law!]
- Herber, Maritime Law. Systematic presentation , 2nd edition, Oldenbourg 2016, Verlag de Gruyter
- Dieter Rabe / Kay-Uwe Bahnsen, Maritime Trade Law. Commercial Code and ancillary laws. Commentary , 5th edition, Munich 2017, Verlag CH Beck
