Hamburg Rules 1978
The UN carriage convention that abolished the navigational fault defence, and where it applies.
The Hamburg Rules are the United Nations Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea, adopted on 31 March 1978 and in force since 1 November 1992, with 36 States parties recorded on the UNCITRAL status page consulted on 1 September 2026.
They matter to a voyage charterer chiefly through the bill of lading. Where the Hamburg Rules apply compulsorily to a bill issued under a charter incorporating the Hague or Hague-Visby regime, the owner’s exposure to the holder is wider than its recourse against the charterer, because Hamburg removes the navigational fault defence the older regimes preserve.
The full article will cover the scope provisions, the liability basis, the abolition of the nautical fault exception, the limitation figures, the time bar, and the practical consequences for a charter chain that straddles two regimes.