Essentials on Transportation and Public Utilities Law by Justice Hernando and Aquino

Chapter 18

Arrival under Stress and Shipwrecks

Arrival under stress- the arrival of a vessel at the nearest and most convenient port which was decided upon determining that there is well-founded fear of seizure, privateers, or pirates or by reason of any accident of the sea disabling it to navigate

Steps to undertake if arrival under stress is justified:

a. the captain should determine during the voyage if there is well founded fear of seizure, privateers and other valid grounds

b. the captain shall then assemble the officers

c. the captain shall summon the persons interested in the cargo who may be present and who may attend but without right to vote

d. the officers shall determine and agree if there is well founded reason after examining the circumstances; the captain shall have a deciding vote

e. the agreement shall be drafted and the proper minutes shall be signed and entered in the log book;

f. objections and protests shall likewise be entered in the minutes

Protest- captain has the duty to present himself, when making a port in distress, to the maritime authority if in the Philippines, and to the consul of the Republic of the Philippines if in a foreign country, before 24 hours have elapsed, and to make a statement of the name registry, and port of departure of the vessel, of its cargo, and the cause of arrival which declaration shall be vised by the authority or the consul, if after examining the same it is found to be acceptable, giving the captain the proper certificate proving his arrival in distress and the reasons therefor; in the absence of the maritime authority or of the consul, the declaration must be made before the local authority

When arrival is improper:

a. If the lack of provisions arise from the failure to take the necessary provisions for the voyage according to usage and customs, or if they should have been rendered useless or lost through bad stowage or negligence in their care

b. If the risk of enemies, privateers, or pirates should not have been well-known, manifest, and based on positive and provable facts

c. If the defect of the vessel should have arisen from the fact that it was not repaired, rigged, equipped, and prepared in a manner suitable for the voyage, or from some erroneous order of the captain

d. When malice, negligence, want of foresight, or lack of skill on the part of the captain exists in the act of causing the damage

*if arrival under stress is proper, the shipowner and the ship agent will only be liable for the expenses for the same arrival

*if arrival under stress is improper, the shipowner and the ship agent shall be liable for the same expenses and, in addition, they shall be solidarily liable for damages caused to the cargoes by such arrival under stress

*extraordinary diligence is exercised by the carrier

*arrival under stress is improper when malice, negligence, want of foresight, or lack of skill on the part of the captain exists in the act causing the damage and if the ship is unseaworthy

Shipwreck- the demolition or shattering of a vessel caused by their driving ashore or on rocks and shoals in the midseas, or by the violence of winds and waves in tempest

Protest- necessary in shipwrecks; it is the obligation of the ship captain to make the proper protest in due form at the first port of arrival, before the competent authority or the Philippine consul, within 24 hours, specifying therein all the incidents of the wreck

No freightage for:

1. merchandise lost by reason of shipwreck

2. merchandise lost by reason of stranding

3. merchandise seized by pirates or enemies

*if freightage has been paid in advance, it shall be returned UNLESS there is an agreement to the contrary

*in case of shipwreck, the amount liable for the payment of the loan shall be reduced to the proceeds of the goods saved, after deducting the costs of the salvage

*if the loan should be on the vessel or any of its parts, the freightage earned during the voyage for which said loan was contracted shall also be liable for its payment, as far as it may reach

*if the same vessel or cargo should be the object of a loan on bottomry or respondentia and marine insurance, the value of what may be saved in case of shipwreck shall be divided between the lender and the insurer, in proportion to the legitimate interest of each one, taking into consideration, for this purpose only, the principal with respect to the loan, and without prejudice to the right of preference of other creditors