Legal and practical consequences of not complying with ISM code

Abstract

It has now been confirmed that some shipping companies could not meet the deadline set for complying with the ISM code for 1998, though available statistics show that most parties concerned have been ISM certified. What the legal consequences would be for such failure is the question on the minds of many people concerned. This paper sets out to deal with this question by answering, amongst other things, the following questions: (i) Would such a failure amount to unseaworthiness in the conventional international bills of lading law? (ii) Would such a failure provide valid defences to marine insurers for rejecting a related claim or prompt the establishment of a new pre-condition for purchasing insurance? (iii) Would such failure deprive a shipowner of the right to limit his liability under the international conventions concerned? (iv) Would such failure make the ships concerned more liable to detention at ports?.