20 Law of General Average

Subject(s):

Seafarers — Nationality of ships — Straits

This chapter examines the law of general average, a legal principle of maritime law. The law states that if the common adventure consisting of the ship and the cargo is exposed to peril at sea, losses and expenses which are intentionally incurred to save the common adventure from the peril shall be shared by the saved interests in proportion to their values. The first codification of general average was the York-Antwerp Rules (YAR) 1890, which presented the rights and obligations of ship and cargo owners when cargo must be jettisoned to save a ship. The chapter highlights the YAR 1994 which first added the provision that when the community of interest between the ship and the cargo is finished, there is no longer a common adventure and there will be no general average allowance made for any sacrifice or expenditure arising after that moment.