General Course Information
1.1 Course details
| Course code: | LLAW6350 / JDOC6350 |
| Course name: | Shipowner’s Liabilities |
| Programme offered under: | LLM Programme / JD Programme |
| Semester: | First |
| Prerequisites / Co-requisites: | No |
| Course offered to non-law students: | No |
| Credit point value: | 9 credits / 6 credits |
1.2 Course description
The operation of ships can give rise to various legal issues. A collision between two ships may create several claims. Each ship may have cargo on board, will have crew or perhaps passengers, and will be operated under various contractual arrangements, for example, a time charterparty. The collision will affect the rights of all these stakeholders and in addition it will create new obligations against parties that may try to assist the ship, protect the marine environment or those affected by marine pollution caused by chemicals carried on the ship as fuel or cargo. If the ship sinks then who will be liable for the wreck removal becomes relevant.
The course Shipowner’s liabilities covers the main liabilities arising from the operation of ships. In addition to collision liability, salvage liability (a right only available under maritime law), wreck removal liability, liability for marine pollution caused by the escape of the ship’s bunkers or the cargo and liability for towage services all include important legal arrangements which are distinct, fashinating and complex. In addition, liability for passengers and general average (another distinct legal regime only available under maritime law), complete a spectrum of legal regimes which range for contractual, based on negligence (in some cases with a reversed burden of proof), to strict liability imposed statutorily. The contracts involved also have peculiarities in terms of liability allocation or, in the case of salvage services, these are provided on the no cure – no pay principle. Many of the liability regimes have been regulated through international conventions.
The course does not cover the law relating to the carriage of goods by sea, international trade law and marine insurance and the Admiralty enforcement procedures. These are covered in separate courses.
1.3 Course teachers
| Name | E-mail address | Office | Consultation | |
| Course convenor | Michael Tsimplis | tsimplis@hku.hk | CCT 607 | By email |
Learning Outcomes
2.1 Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) for this course
CLO 1 Describe and explain the liabilities arising from shipping incidents (collisions, groundings, marine pollution, wrekc removal ).
CLO 2 Identify, describe and critically assess the rationale behind the applicable liability regimes and the underlying internationally accepted norms and their implementation in Hong Kong and other common law jurisdictions.
CLO 3 Apply the knowledge and understanding gained to resolve complex legal issues arising from scenarios of shipping accidents.
CLO 4 Demonstrate skills and knowledge in the standard contractual arrangements used in towage, salvage, wreck removal and the carriage of passengers.
2.2 LLM and JD Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs)
Please refer to the following link:
LLM – https://course.law.hku.hk/llm-plo/
JD – https://course.law.hku.hk/jd-plo/
2.3 Programme Learning Outcomes to be achieved in this course
| PLO A | PLO B | PLO C | PLO D | PLO E | PLO F | |
| CLO 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| CLO 2 | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| CLO 3 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| CLO 4 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Assessment(s)
3.1 Assessment Summary
| Assessment task | Weighting | Feedback method* | Course learning outcomes |
| 4 quizzes | 20% (@5%) | 2 | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Mid-term exam | 20% | 2 | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Final exam | 60% | 3 | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| *Feedback method (to be determined by course teacher) | |
| 1 | A general course report to be disseminated through Moodle |
| 2 | Individual feedback to be disseminated by email / through Moodle |
| 3 | Individual review meeting upon appointment |
| 4 | Group review meeting |
| 5 | In-class verbal feedback |
3.2 Assessment Detail
To be advised by course convenor(s).
3.3 Grading Criteria
Please refer to the following link: https://www.law.hku.hk/_files/law_programme_grade_descriptors.pdf
Learning Activities
4.1 Learning Activity Plan
| Seminar: | 3 hours / week for 11 teaching weeks |
| Private study time: | 9.5 hours / week for 11 teaching weeks |
Remarks: the normative student study load per credit unit is 25 ± 5 hours (ie. 150 ± 30 hours for a 6-credit course), which includes all learning activities and experiences within and outside of classroom, and any assessment task and examinations and associated preparations.
4.2 Details of Learning Activities
To be advised by course convenor(s).
Learning Resources
5.1 Resources
| Reading materials: | Reading materials are posted on Moodle |
| Core reading list: | TBA |
| Recommended reading list: | TBA |
5.2 Links
Please refer to the following link: http://www.law.hku.hk/course/learning-resources/