[GA, passed] - Maritime Cargo General Average

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The World Assembly (WA),

Noting that, as many bodies of water of WA states are connected, cargo shipping and its impact on free trade have been matters of concern to the WA;

Further noting the lack of laws to compensate for loss of maritime cargo due to perils at sea, hindering free trade between WA states;

Desiring to codify the said matter;

1. Hereby defines:
   • Cargo (or "maritime cargo") to mean any commercial cargo of value carried by a WA ship for profit;
   • Owner(s) to mean the owner of a WA ship;
   • Peril(s) to mean any perils a WA ship is exposed to on a voyage, including of the seas, fires, wars, pirates, captures, jettison of goods, negligence, and any others;
   • Sacrifice to mean any sacrifice or expenses incurred when a ship is exposed to perils, including:
     • any loss or damage (whether to the WA ship, or to cargo) for the common safety of a voyage; and
     • disbursements and expenses (hereafter, "disbursements") for:
       1. the rescue and salvage operations of the WA ship, and/or
       2. necessary repairs for a voyage to the nearest port; and/or
       3. the preservation of cargo from peril(s);
   • Ship(s) to mean any maritime vessel capable of carrying cargo, excluding those on voyages for a WA state in any governmental capacity, and a "WA ship" to mean a ship on a voyage under the flag of a WA state;
   • Shipper to mean the owner of the cargo, as witnessed by the bill(s) of lading;
   • Voyage(s) to mean any voyage on any waters by a WA ship carrying cargo, from starting to load all relevant cargo at a port of departure to the completion of the unloading of all relevant cargo at a port of arrival;
   • WANC to mean the WA Nautical Commission;
2. Hereby declares that the concept of "general average" applies to maritime cargo carried on a WA ship, namely that those cargo sacrificed for the benefit of all shall be made good by the contribution of all;
3. Hereby declares:
   • if sacrifice (as defined in clause 1(d)) is required, such sacrifice shall be allocated on a pro rata basis to the totalvalue of:
     • the undamaged cargo carried, as reported in the bills of lading; plus
     • the value of the WA ship;
   • an exception applies to clause 3(a) in that if a shipper suffers total loss of its cargo, then no disbursement is required from that shipper;
   • general average may be declared by:
     • the owner; or,
     • if facing imminent perils, by the captain of a WA ship;
   • if general average is declared, all parties potentially benefiting from the sacrifice (such as owners and shippers) must contribute towards disbursement;
   • no declaration shall be made for general average shall be allowed, unless:
     • it is intentionally and reasonably declared for the common safety of a WA ship or;
     • it is declared to save cargo from imminent perils;
4. Requires, for the purpose of general average, that:
   • the burden of proof is on the party claiming general average to show that any disbursement claimed is admitted;
   • only direct losses, damages and expenses of the peril(s) shall count as sacrifice eligible for general average, and that indirect losses, such as (for example) pollution damage are not eligible and remain the responsibility of the part(ies) at fault;
5. Requires, for the purpose of insurance, that:
   • all insurance policies required in this resolution must be underwritten:
     • by a reputable insurer in a WA state; and
     • governed by the laws of a WA state;
   • the owner of a WA ship must purchase insurance, to fully cover:
     • all sacrifices (and disbursements) if general average is declared;
     • damage to the ship, including hull and marine insurance;
     • indirect losses (including protection and indemnity insurance) such as third-party losses, pollution and environmental damage;
   • the owner of a WA ship must issue a written reminder to a shipper to purchase cargo insurance if the shipper deems fit;
6. Clarifies:
   • the rights of a party contributing to general average shall not be affected even if the sacrifice may have been the fault of a party to the voyage, but this shall not affect any legal proceedings against that party for such faults;
   • jurisdiction for disputes under this resolution shall fall on the WA state to which the WA ship is registered;
   • WANC shall set (and update as it deems fit) procedures on claims, adjustments and other matters deemed relevant for the purpose of this resolution.

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Note: Only votes from TNP WA nations and NPA personnel will be counted. If you do not meet these requirements, please add (non-WA) or something of that effect to your vote.

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Voting Instructions:

• Vote For if you want the Delegate to vote For the resolution.
• Vote Against if you want the Delegate to vote Against the resolution.
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Detailed opinions with your vote are appreciated and encouraged!

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Overview
This proposal replicates the ancient maritime law of general average, whereby all those involved in the transport of goods by sea share the burden of losses incurred from intentional sacrifice (such as cargo shed to reduce weight in an emergency) — the author provides as example the recent case of the Ever Given. In doing this, it defines protocols for declaration of general average, makes requirements for insurance of WA ships and information of shippers, and defines the jurisdiction of relevant disputes. Definition of relevant procedure is delegated to the WA Nautical Committee.

Recommendation
General average is an important concept in maritime law, and this proposal represents a good transplantation of such into the WA, complementing existing resolutions well. The Ministry of World Assembly Affairs thus recommends a vote For the General Assembly resolution at vote, "Maritime Cargo General Average".

For as author. Please feel free to ask me any questions.

This proposal is a modern transplant of Roman law from the Code of Hammurabi 238, which dates from 1750BC. So it's 3,800 odd years old law.

The concept is broadly the same: if a boat is sinking and goods need to be thrown overboard to keep the boat from sinking, the law of "general average" dictates that if the captain declares general average (or the boat owner does, if the boat actually makes it back to port), all cargo owners share in the loss, not just the owner of that particular piece of cargo thrown into the sea.

This means it is easier for the captain of a ship to decide what to throw (or basically just throw stuff out as quickly as possible in the hope that the boat does not sink), to preserve their own lives from drowning and as much cargo as possible.

The most famous recent example is Ever Given in the Suez Canal a couple of years back, where of course everyone had to eat the loss via general average for being an overnight Internet meme. So the shipowners, charterer (to some extent) and the owners of each of the 21,000 containers had to pay. (And for the "damage" to the Suez Canal, which ended up reportedly was billed at US$600 million). The full details are explained (in excruciating detail) in the forum thread.

This makes sense. It is a case where application of actual law to the fictive law of the General Assembly works well, and this application is performed diligently and exactingly. I am therefore for this proposal.

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For, although I remain of the opinion that underlining words in resolutions is an unnecessary and annoying practice which should cease.

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Passed and thread locked. This is the 13th GA resolution from that angry white bear.