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.