近期，一些国际航运组织颁布了几项新的立法和法规以促进更安全和更清洁的国际货物运输。
这些新的法规无一例外地要求船东投入额外的成本和时间以满足新要求。如果船舶正处于一个长期租约下，磋商和订立该租约之时新法规还没有颁布，那么，在该租约期间，船东是否有义务遵守这些新法规？另外，在整个租约期间，船东恪尽职守地维持船舶适货状态的义务需达到什么样的程度？
Golden Fleece Maritime v ST Shipping(2007)一案涉及两艘长期租约下的油轮。问题是，租约履行期间，由于MAPROL公约中修改部分的生效而引起的商业风险应该由船东还是租家承担？为使船舶符合MAPROL公约的新规定，船东改建和升级船舶会产生60万美金的修理费用。
船东认为，他们没有义务升级和改建船舶，因为在订立租约时并不知道会产生该风险和额外的费用，船东的责任只是确保船舶满足租约规定的条件装载货物。
租家认为，他们租这条船的目的是运输原油，租约中明确规定了运输的货物是原油，因此船东有义务保持并且必要时修理和改建船舶，确保船舶“各方面适于装运租约中列举的货物”。
法院支持租家的主张，理由是租约规定船舶用来运输原油，因此船东必须升级和改建船舶，使船舶满足国际法规的要求，得以继续运输原油。船东负有持续的义务使船舶符合MARPOL公约关于船舶运输原油的规定。即使在订立合同时船东并不知道这些新规定，船东对由此产生的财务因素的考虑不影响其遵守新的规定。
本案说明船东需承担持续的义务和责任，恪尽职守保持船舶状态，满足法规变化引起的对船舶适货的新要求。
以上由 ANDREW LIU & CO.,LTD 编译，应以英文为准！
详细信息请参阅附件。
Owners’ duty to make the vessel in every fit to carry
In recent times several new legislation and regulations are enacted by International shipping bodies to promote safer and cleaner shipping.
These new regulations unavoidably require the owner to invest additional costs and time to comply. If the vessel is under a long term period charter prior to the enactment of the new regulation which may have been unknown at the time of negotiating and fixing the charterparty, is an owner still obliged to comply with these new regulations during the currency of the charter and what is the extent of the owner’s obligation to exercise due diligence to maintain the vessel’s condition throughout the charter period ?
The case of Golden Fleece Maritime v ST Shipping (2007) concerned two tankers under long term period charters. The issue was whether the owner or the charterer should bear the commercial risk of a change in MARPOL regulations coming into effect during the currency of the charter. In order for the vessels to comply with the new MARPOL regulations, the owners would have had to incur repair costs to convert and upgrade the vessel in the amount of US$600,000.
Owners submitted they were not under an obligation to upgrade and convert the vessel as this risk and additional expenses was not known at the time of fixing the charterparty and the owner’s duty was only to ensure the vessel was fit to carry cargo in the condition as described in the charterparty.
Charterers submitted they had chartered the vessels to carry crude oil and that the charterparty placed on ongoing obligation upon the owners to keep and if necessary repair and covert the vessel to ensure she is ‘in every way fit to carry the cargoes enumerated in the charterparty’, which contained a specific reference to the carriage of crude oil.
Judgement was given in favour of the charterers, on the grounds the vessel was contracted to carry cargoes including crude oil and it was necessary for the owners to upgrade and convert the vessel in order to meet the international regulations for the vessel to continue to carry crude oil. There was on ongoing obligation on the owners to maintain the vessel’s compliance with MARPOL regulations in order that crude oil could be carried. The financial considerations on the owners to comply with the new regulations even if these new regulations were not known at the time of the fixture were irrelevant.
This case is an example of how regulatory changes will be applied to a vessel’s owner’s ongoing obligations and responsibilities to meet its due diligence requirements to maintain a vessel’s condition.
See attached file : ALCO20120006Owners’ duty to make the vessel in every fit to carry.pdf
