Shipping, admiralty or maritime law is concerned with navigation or shipping. American shipping law extends not only to tidal waters but also to inland navigation for inter state trade and commerce and recreational boating.
The congress and the courts seek to promote a uniform body of admiralty laws both nationally and internationally to facilitate trade and commerce.
Bankers financing the acquisition of ships, vendors supplying the vessel with necessaries and fuels and seamen or crews with unpaid wages have lien on the ship. The federal district courts with original jurisdiction over major admiralty matters are alone competent to provide remedies of detention or arrest of a vessel for enforcement of such lien on the ship. Further, federal courts can only entertain any petition for limiting the ship owner’s liability to the value of the salvaged ship after a major accident or for partition of the vessel among the different claimants or stakeholders.
Other maritime actions constituting most of shipping litigations, such as dispute over salvage award for property lost at sea, claims for damage to cargo, injuries to crews or passengers, collision between vessels, shipping pollution etc. can be brought either in federal or state courts. State courts trying maritime cases must decide according to the federal admiralty laws.
However, under admiralty the flag of the ship or vessel determines the applicable law. The flag will also decide the criminal law to be invoked for the ship’s crew. For instance, English admiralty laws shall govern a ship flying the Union Jack on American waters.
