Ports are the main infrastructure of the country where sea and land transportation and logistics are connected. Since the movement of various transportation, goods, and people occurs, the risk and frequency of accidents are high, and the damage caused...
Ports are the main infrastructure of the country where sea and land transportation and logistics are connected. Since the movement of various transportation, goods, and people occurs, the risk and frequency of accidents are high, and the damage caused by accidents is relatively large. However, the laws and regulations governing the port are not unified, and when an accident occurs, a complex legal relation is formed according to the applicable laws and regulations.
Depending on the type of marine accident occurring in the port, the composition and issues of accident handling and liability for damages are different. In the event of ship collision in a port, the responsibility of liability for damages between the parties varies depending on whether the commercial law applies and the cause of the accident. For example, there is a problem that provisions of ship collision under the Commercial Act are not applied, and the provisions of the Civil Act are applied, in a collision in a port between inland vessels operating only in a port or in a calm water area.
When a ship is stranded and sunk and becomes a wreck, in principle, the ship owner is responsible for the removal, and the ship owner, who is the victim of the collision, might claim compensation for damages equivalent to the perpetrator's fault ratio. However, damages resulting from the removal order must be acknowledged as the enforceability and necessity of the order, otherwise the victim cannot claim compensation for damage, and there is a problem in that the victim is left in a 'hypothetical' condition in which he can bear the obligation to remove the wreckage in the future. On the other hand, since Korea does not currently force ships entering the port to purchase liability insurance, if the state executes removal and makes a claim for compensation, it might not be possible to recover all of the cost.
In the event of oil pollution accidents, there is a problem that reimbursement or compensation process are often excessively delayed, and damage relief is not carried out quickly because it is difficult for victims to prove the causal relationship between accidents and damages.
In the event of a fire accident on a ship, the carrier would excessively bear the burden of proof of fire from dangerous goods or the carrier and the ship owner would not be protected due to the duplicated initiation of limitation of liability procedure for victim.
Therefore, this paper suggested improvement measures for each problem in order to expedite the handling of large marine accidents occurring in the port and to relieve damage through compensation for damages.
This paper referred to basic textbooks on ports and marine accidents and the date of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. In addition, previous studies published in domestic degree papers and academic journals were referred, and recent precedents related to port and marine accidents were analyzed and reviewed.
As for the improvement plan, it was intended to review and refer to the plans presented in the books and previous domestic research papers, and to propose an improvement plan that is practically applicable.
First, in order to resolve the difference in laws and regulations applied to Sea-going Vessels and Inland vessels in case of collisions, it was proposed that the contents of the Commercial Act be revised so that the ship collision regulations of the Commercial Act would be applied to the collision between vessels of inland navigation occurring in the port.
Second, it was suggested that the relevant laws and regulations need to be revised to clarify the procedure for determining and the procedure for determining the validity of the shipwreck removal order. In addition, it was proposed that the ratification of the ‘Wreckage Removal Convention’ was necessary to prevent the case where the cost could not be recovered after the state’s execution by proxy of the removal of wreckage.
Third, it was proposed to ease the burden of proof of victims in the event of an oil pollution accident and seek rapid damage relief through active intervention by the state. Fourth, in order to protect the carriers and ship owners from fire accidents on ships, it was proposed to alleviate their excessive burden of proof and to ratify the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims. At last, the improvement measures to operate the Port Disaster Fund and introduce a Protection and Indemnity Insurance for terminal operators were reviewed to prevent the deterioration of port functions and the spread of damage caused by large marine accidents.
The competitiveness of a port is determined not only by tangible factors such as location and port facilities, but also by intangible factors such as efficiency and legal stability. Despite the importance of ports today, legal regulations and research related to ports are insufficient. Since most of the laws governing ports only function as administrative regulations with weak enforcement power, laws that can regulate the judicial relations regarding the port or unified legal principles are needed.
In this regard, it is expected that this paper will be able to supplement the deficiencies of the current system related to damage compensation of marine accidents in ports and help resolve disputes between concerned parties.
On the other hand, for the operation of advanced international ports, it is expected that more in-depth research on judicial principles will be conducted in addition to Public Law Regulations such as administrative guidance related to port operation and safety.