Deviation in charter parties
Justified and unjustified deviation, the liberty clauses, and the effect of a deviation on the carriage regime and cover.
Deviation is a departure from the contractual or customary route. Under a contract of carriage the route is an implied term, so an unjustified departure is a breach, while deviation to save life, and in some circumstances property, is justified.
The consequences of an unjustified deviation are disproportionate to the departure itself: at common law it has been treated as displacing the contractual defences and exclusions, and it can prejudice cargo insurance and the carrier’s own cover. Liberty clauses in the standard forms widen the permitted route, but they are construed narrowly against the party relying on them.
The full article will cover the implied obligation as to route, justified deviation and the life salvage exception, the construction of liberty clauses, the effect of deviation on the Hague-Visby defences and the package limitation, and the insurance consequences for hull and cargo.