Maritime Safety Compliance: the Frame and the Actors
The Maritime Code of Georgia makes maritime safety compliance a precondition for a ship's operation. Under Article 38 of the Code, a ship is allowed to navigate if its condition conforms to the requirements established by Georgia's international treaties on the safety of navigation, the protection of the marine environment and maritime security, or by Georgian legislation. Conformity is determined by the Agency and/or a recognized organization under the relevant chapter of the Code. Every departure of a ship to sea therefore depends on maintaining conformity with the safety requirements, and responsibility for that conformity is distributed by law among defined actors.
The central figure is the shipowner. Under Article 14 of the Code, the shipowner is the owner of the ship — a natural or legal person registered in the relevant book of the State Register of Ships of Georgia. Article 44-1 extends this circle: the operator of a ship is the shipowner or any other person — a manager or a bareboat charterer — to whom the shipowner has entrusted the responsibility for managing the ship and who, upon assuming that responsibility, has declared consent to perform all obligations provided for by Georgian legislation and to bear the respective liability.
The Shipowner's Obligations
Article 14 imposes on the shipowner a whole range of duties: to ensure the seaworthiness of the ship and the safety of navigation; to prevent damage to persons, the ship and cargo; to maintain the technical fitness of the ship; to create safe working conditions for the crew; to supply the ship with provisions, water, lubricants and fuel; to create normal living conditions for crew members and passengers; and to perform other duties imposed by Georgian legislation and the norms of international law.
In the field of maritime labour the shipowner may appoint a representative — a natural or legal person who exercises the rights and performs the duties arising from the Maritime Labour Convention. That person may be the same person appointed with respect to a ship of 500 tons or more of gross tonnage and certified in accordance with the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention. Where another person is appointed for the purposes of the Convention's provisions, that person is indicated as the shipowner in the maritime labour declaration of conformity and certificate and in other certificates.