영국법상 예비항해의 법리에 관한 연구

A Study on the Legal Aspect of the Preliminary Voyage in English Law

It will rarely be the case that at the time when a vessel is chartered it will already be in berth at the port of loading ready to perform the charter. In the great majority of cases it will be at some distance from that port and will in all probability be trading under a prior voyage charter. It will therefore be necessary for the vessel to undertake a preliminary voyage to the agreed port of loading.. By the way, the important legal issues arise in the approach voyage as well as the laden voyage. The approach voyage is often considered something of poor relation in legal terms, and the rights and obligations attendant upon it sometime overlooked. Namely, whether the vessel s current position, the expected ready to load and an express or implied obligation to proceed on the approach voyage with reasonable speed indicated in the voyage charter are conditions or warranties. And whether the obligation of shipowner on the seawortiness commences on the stage of the preliminary voyage. The purpose of this paper is to present the interpretive standards as to the legal relationship in the contracting parties of the preliminary voyage focusing the above the problems. To review the interpretive standards, I would like to study the most widely applied English law and the clauses of some major contract forms in the governing law of the voyage charter of the international shipping business circles.