Types of contracts for the carriage of goods by sea

the article is devoted to the systematization and doctrinal differentiation of types of contracts used in maritime cargo transportation under Russian law, with a comparison of the approaches of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (CC RF), the Merchant Shipping Code of the Russian Federation (MSC RF), and international conventions (Hague-Visby, Hamburg, and Rotterdam Rules). It demonstrates that the basic division of contracts for the carriage of goods by sea into two types – those with a condition providing all (or part of) the vessel’s capacity (charter) and those without such a condition (bill of lading contract) – correlates with the two systems of shipping organization: tramp and liner shipping. The article identifies terminological collisions of “freight/charter/carriage” between the CC RF and the MSC RF, as well as the practice of mixing contracts of carriage with contracts of leasing a means of transport (time and bareboat charter). The article substantiates the advisability of using the terms “charter carriage contract” and “bill of lading carriage contract” for different models of risk and duty allocation between parties. On the basis of comparative legal analysis, the article proposes an editorial amendment to Article 787 of the CC RF, eliminating ambiguity and harmonizing civil law terminology with industry-specific maritime law and international standards.

sea carriage, charter, bill of lading, liner shipping, tramp shipping, chartering, time charter, bareboat charter