Legal Remedies for Attacks on Merchant Ships in the Red Sea under the Maritime Law System

DOI: https://doi.org/10.62517/jel.202414515

Author(s)

Haiwei Zhang

Affiliation(s)

Hainan University, Haikou, Hainan, China

Abstract

Since the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the Houthis in Yemen have launched attacks on specific merchant ships. Under the current maritime law system, direct losses incurred by merchant ships in the event of an attack can be compensated for by the war risk insured in the marine insurance policy, and measures taken by the merchant ship to avoid further expansion of the loss or to avoid the ship from capsizing in the aftermath of the attack belong to the common sea loss, for which a request for a share can be made to the owner of the ship, the owner of the cargo and so on. If the merchant ship is in danger and other ships carry out rescue and salvage operations, the rescuer has the right to get the remuneration for the rescue and claim other related rights. However, the pure maritime law system cannot provide relief to the shipping industry, which has been chilled by the tense situation. Only by resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and implementing the concept of the community of human destiny, so that the coastal countries can become participants and beneficiaries of the global trade, can the shipping industry and the maritime trade be developed in a sustainable way.

Keywords

Maritime Law, War Risks, Common Naval Loss, Salvage at Sea

References

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