Classification societies. set standards for the quality and integrity and performs surveys to determine whether vessels are in compliance with the classification society's rules and regulation, national laws and international conventions. They are charged with the technical supervision of maritime shipping to enhance the safety of life and property at sea by securing high technical standards of design, manufacture, construction and maintenance of seagoing vessels. Their contractual liability is usually limited by general terms and conditions incorporated in the classification rules and cases brought by typical contracting partners of classification societies, such as ship owner and shipyards, are not an issue in the current debate. However, the number of third party actions against classification societies has steadily increased worldwide.
This study focuses on third-party liability of classification societies. Ship buyers were one of first groups of third parties suing classification societies for damages. The group of potential third party claimants has expanded significantly: not only cargo owners tried to recover their losses, but ship insurers as well as passengers who came to harm. Therefore, it is necessary to comparative case analysis that liability issue might arise in legal systems different from those of their home countries. Thus, this paper provide a review of the classification society's third party liability under English, United states and France.
This study researched in point view of the classification societies are experts in matters of ship safety. These days the courts have gradually enlarged professional's liability for erroneous advice and recommendation, tort of negligent misrepresentation, tort of negligence, fault on a contract and agreement with protective effect towards third parties. Thus, a likelihood approach is to be a classification society's third-party liability whether liability rules applied for professionals, such as accountants can serve as a yardstick for liability of classification societies.
The important thing is settled law that classification societies have a duty to survey a ship in accordances with their classification rules, but the ship owner remains solely responsible for the vessel's seaworthiness. Classification societies are liable to those third parties covered by protective ambit of the classification agreement under the concept of contracts with protective effects towards third parties.
Stipulations limiting liability are normally included into classification agreements by reference to the classification rules. These rules contain a section for limitation of liability clauses and recognize the standard form contract regulation act. Therefore there can be little doubt as to its validity of clauses of liability limitation in the classification rules.
In addition, neither the issuance of a class certificate which is produced to third parties nor the general allowance given to interested parties to consult the classification register can be regarded as an implied declaration of will to form a contract. The certificates and the register contain only technical information about the vessel's conditions and cannot be interpreted as a promise to be liable towards any party relying on these documents.