Decree-Law No. 28 of 1980 Promulgating the Maritime Commerce Law

Decree-Law No. 28 of 1980
Promulgating the Maritime Commerce Law

Articles of Promulgation

Article One

The provisions of the attached Maritime Commerce Law shall not apply to:
1- Warships.
2- Ships owned by the Government or by a public juristic person and allocated by it to a non-commercial public service.
3- Small ships whose gross tonnage does not exceed one hundred and fifty tons.
4- Primitively built wooden ships.

Article Two

Ships chartered by the Government or by a public juristic person, whether for a period of time or for a specific voyage or voyages, may not be the subject of arrest, seizure or detention when they are allocated to a non-commercial public service, without prejudice to the other rights and actions of the persons concerned.

Article Three

By way of exception to the provisions of the first and second paragraphs of Article One, the persons concerned may bring the following actions against the Government or public juristic persons – without the latter being entitled to invoke their immunity:
1- Actions arising from maritime collision and other accidents of maritime navigation.
2- Actions arising from acts of assistance and salvage and from general average.
3- Actions arising from repairs, supplies and other contracts relating to the ship.

Article Four

The provisions of the attached Law which shall not apply to coastal navigation shall be determined by a decision of the Competent Minister.

Article Five

The Competent Minister may, by a decision issued by him, amend the amounts provided for in Articles (94) and (193) of the attached Law so that they remain equivalent to those provided for in international conventions.

Article Six

Amiri Decree No. 3 of 1959 referred to above, and every other provision that conflicts with the provisions of this Law, are hereby repealed.

Article Seven

This Law shall come into force two months after the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

Article Eight

The Ministers – each within his competence – shall implement this Law, and it shall be published in the Official Gazette.

Maritime Commerce Law

Part One – The Ship

Chapter One – General Provisions

Article 1

1- A ship, for the purposes of this Law, is any structure fit in itself for navigation that ordinarily operates, or is intended to operate, in maritime navigation, even if it does not aim at profit.
2- The appurtenances of the ship necessary for its exploitation shall be deemed part of it.

Article 2

A ship shall be deemed movable property subject to the general legal rules and to the provisions contained in this Law.

Article 3

1- A ship shall acquire Kuwaiti nationality if its owner enjoys that nationality and it is registered in the register of ships in Kuwait.
2- If the ship is owned by several persons in co-ownership, all the owners shall enjoy Kuwaiti nationality. If ownership of a share in the ship devolves to a foreigner by way of inheritance or bequest, the foreign heir or legatee shall dispose of his share to a Kuwaiti within six months from the date on which ownership devolved to him. If he fails to do so, any of the other owners may, within the following six months, request the Court of First Instance to render judgment for the compulsory sale of the share to a Kuwaiti, and the judgment shall set out the manner and conditions of the sale.
3- If the owner is a company, it shall take the form of a general partnership, a limited partnership, a shareholding company or a limited liability company, and its head office shall be in Kuwait.
4- If the owner is a general partnership or a limited partnership, all the general partners shall be persons enjoying Kuwaiti nationality, and the proportion of Kuwaiti capital in the limited partnership shall not be less than 51%.
5- If the owner is a shareholding company, two thirds of the members of the Board of Directors, including the Chairman of the Board, shall be persons enjoying Kuwaiti nationality, and at least 51% of the capital shall belong to persons enjoying that nationality.
6- If the owner is a limited liability company, at least one of the partners shall be Kuwaiti, and at least 51% of the partners’ shares shall be owned by Kuwaitis.
7- The capital proportions set out in the three preceding paragraphs may be amended by a resolution of the Council of Ministers.
8- A ship abandoned at sea and picked up by a Kuwaiti ship, as well as a ship confiscated in accordance with the laws of the State of Kuwait, shall be deemed to be a ship enjoying Kuwaiti nationality, subject to the provisions of Article (11) of this Law.

Article 4

Every ship enjoying Kuwaiti nationality shall fly the Kuwaiti flag, and it may not adopt any other flag.

Article 5

1- Every ship enjoying Kuwaiti nationality shall adopt a name approved by the Ships Survey and Registration Office. This name shall be written in Arabic and Latin characters in a conspicuous place on both sides of the bow of the ship, and the name shall also be written on its stern together with the name of the port of registry.
2- The owner of the ship shall have its net and gross tonnage officially determined, and the determination of such tonnage shall be entrusted to the Ships Survey and Registration Office, which shall give the persons concerned a certificate to that effect.
The owner shall write the registration number of the ship and its registered net tonnage in Arabic and Latin characters on its main beam.

Article 6

In the event of a violation of the provisions contained in the two preceding Articles, the owner and the master shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month and by a fine not exceeding one thousand dinars, or by either of these two penalties.

Article 7

1- Coastal navigation, fishing, towage and pilotage in the territorial waters shall be restricted to ships enjoying Kuwaiti nationality.
2- Nevertheless, the Competent Minister may, in case of extreme necessity, grant a licence to ships bearing a foreign nationality to carry out, in the territorial waters, works relating to towage, recovery, fishing or scientific research, provided that this is for a specified period of time.

Article 8

1- Crimes committed on board a ship flying the flag of the State of Kuwait shall be deemed to have been committed on its territory.
2- With respect to the maintenance of order and discipline on ships flying the flag of the State of Kuwait, the special law thereon shall apply.

Article 9

1- Dispositions whose subject is the creation, transfer or extinction of the right of ownership of the ship, or of other principal rights in rem, shall be made by an official instrument or pursuant to a judgment that has acquired the force of res judicata.
2- If such dispositions take place in a foreign country, they shall be drawn up before the consul of the State of Kuwait, or before the competent official in that country where there is no consulate.
3- The said dispositions shall not be effective between the contracting parties or with respect to third parties unless they are recorded at the Ships Survey and Registration Office.

Article 10

1- Ownership of a Kuwaiti ship may not be transferred to a foreigner if it is owned by a company in which the State holds shares or which the State supports in any form whatsoever, except after obtaining permission to that effect from the Competent Minister.
2- Any disposition made without obtaining such permission shall be null and void by force of law.

Chapter Two – Registration of the Ship

Article 11

1- No ship may sail flying the Kuwaiti flag unless it is registered in accordance with the provisions of this Law.
2- Such registration shall be carried out by the Ships Survey and Registration Office. A special register called the register of ships shall be kept at that Office; its pages shall be numbered and each of them shall bear the seal of the Office.
3- A page shall be allocated to each ship in the said register, and its number shall be the registration number of the ship.

Article 12

1- Registration of the ship shall be made upon an application submitted by the owner to the Ships Survey and Registration Office, and the application shall in particular include the following particulars:
1- The present name of the ship and its former names.
2- The port of registry.
3- The date and place of construction of the ship.
4- The cause and date of acquisition of ownership of the ship.
5- The type of the ship, whether sailing or motor-driven, stating the type and power of the engine.
6- The dimensions of the ship in length, breadth and depth.
7- The gross and net tonnage of the ship.
8- The name, surname, occupation, domicile and nationality of the owner or the co-owners, stating the share of each of them.
9- The name, surname, nationality and domicile of the operator.
10- The rights in rem attaching to the ship.
11- The arrests that have been made on the ship.
2- The applicant for registration shall attach to the application all the documents and papers necessary to prove the accuracy of the particulars submitted, in particular the documents of his ownership of the ship and of its nationality, and he shall submit an official certificate of the deletion of the ship from the foreign register of ships in which it was entered. The Ships Survey and Registration Office shall annotate the application with the date and hour of its receipt.

Article 13

The application for registration shall be submitted within thirty days from the date of construction or acquisition of the ship. If the ship was built or its ownership was acquired abroad, this period shall commence from the date on which the ship enters one of the ports of Kuwait.

Article 14

The Ships Survey and Registration Office shall keep a book called the Applications Book, in which the applications for registration and their supporting documents shall be entered under consecutive numbers according to the chronological order of their receipt, and the applicant for registration shall be handed a receipt stating the entry number and its date and hour.

Article 15

1- The Ships Survey and Registration Office shall enter the particulars set out in Article (12) in the register of ships, and shall keep the originals of the documents and papers submitted with the application for registration or an official copy thereof.
2- The Ships Survey and Registration Office shall hand the owner of the ship a certificate of registry containing all the particulars recorded on the page allocated to the ship in the register.
3- If such certificate is lost or destroyed, the person concerned may obtain from the Ships Survey and Registration Office a certificate in lieu thereof after paying the prescribed fee.

Article 16

1- The dispositions and judgments provided for in Article (9) shall be recorded in the ship’s register upon the request of the persons concerned. If any of them refuses to do so, the matter may be referred to the court to order it.
2- The transfer of ownership or of rights in rem by reason of inheritance shall also be recorded upon the request of the heirs, after they submit proof of their right of inheritance and of the share of each of them.

Article 17

1- The owner of the ship shall notify the Ships Survey and Registration Office of every amendment occurring to the particulars contained in the register.
2- The application for amendment shall be submitted, accompanied by the documents necessary to prove the accuracy of the new particulars, within thirty days from the date on which the amendment occurred. The Office shall record the content of the amendment on the ship’s page, and the certificate of registry shall be submitted with the application for amendment to be annotated to show that the amendment has occurred.

Article 18

Every action whose subject is a right in rem in the ship shall be annotated on the registration page. The plaintiff shall immediately notify the Ships Survey and Registration Office of the filing of the action so that the said annotation may be made, and the Court Clerk’s Office shall notify the Office of the judgment rendered therein.

Article 19

1- The registration shall be deleted if the ship is lost, if it loses Kuwaiti nationality, or if a final judgment ordering deletion is rendered.
2- Entries relating to rights in rem and actions in rem shall be deleted upon the agreement of the persons concerned or by a final judgment.

Article 20

1- The persons concerned shall submit the application for deletion within thirty days from the date on which its cause arises, and the application shall include the following particulars:
1- The name, surname, nationality, domicile and occupation of the applicant for deletion.
2- The name of the ship and its registration number.
3- The right in rem or the particular whose deletion is requested.
4- The cause of deletion and the documents necessary to prove its validity.
2- The deletion shall be annotated on the certificate of registry, and the Ships Survey and Registration Office shall grant the applicant a certificate stating that the deletion has taken place.

Article 21

Any person may request from the Ships Survey and Registration Office a copy of the particulars contained in the ship’s registration page, and any person concerned may also request a copy of the documents kept at the Office.

Article 22

The ranking of registration shall be according to the priority of submission of the applications for registration.

Article 23

1- Any person who sails a ship flying the Kuwaiti flag without its being registered in accordance with the provisions of this Law shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two months and by a fine not exceeding two thousand dinars, or by either of these two penalties, subject to what international custom provides.
2- The court may order the confiscation of the ship.

Article 24

The following shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month and by a fine not exceeding one thousand dinars, or by either of these two penalties:
1- The owner of the ship who does not request the entry of amendments in accordance with Article (17).
2- The owner of the ship who does not request the deletion of the registration in the cases mentioned in Article (19).

Chapter Three – Documents and Control of Ships

Article 25

1- Every ship registered in Kuwait shall obtain a navigation licence, safety certificates and load line certificates.
2- With respect to the conditions for granting such certificates, regard shall be had to the provisions of the international conventions in force in Kuwait relating to the safety of life at sea and to load lines, and to the rules issued by a decision of the Competent Minister.

Article 26

1- The application for a navigation licence shall be submitted to the Ships Survey and Registration Office on the form prepared by the Office for that purpose.
2- The Office shall issue this licence after verifying the seaworthiness of the ship and the fulfilment of all the conditions required by laws and regulations.
3- If the ship is abroad, the consul of Kuwait shall issue the navigation licence with the assistance of one of the recognised maritime supervisory bodies designated by a decision of the Competent Minister. If there is no consul of Kuwait, the inspection and the grant of this licence may be carried out by the competent maritime administration at the foreign port where the ship is located, provided that this licence is submitted, as soon as the ship arrives in Kuwait, to the Ships Survey and Registration Office for approval.

Article 27

1- The navigation licence shall be valid for one year, renewable. In all cases, the conditions for granting the licence shall continue to be fulfilled in the ship throughout the term of the licence.
2- If, during this term, the ship sustains damage likely to expose it to danger, or substantial alterations are made to it, the master shall immediately notify the Ships Survey and Registration Office so that it may order the suspension of the navigation licence, and the licence may not be reinstated except after the ship has been inspected and the necessary certificates in this regard have been obtained.
3- If the term of the licence expires during the voyage, its validity shall be extended by operation of law until the ship enters the first port in Kuwait or the first foreign port at which the ship can be surveyed, and the term of the licence shall in no case be extended for more than sixty days.

Article 28

In case of necessity, the Ships Survey and Registration Office, or the consul of Kuwait abroad, may grant the ship a temporary navigation licence to make a specified voyage or to complete that voyage.

Article 29

No foreign ship may sail from any of the ports of Kuwait, or pass through or be present in its territorial waters, unless it fulfils the safety conditions in accordance with the provisions of the international conventions in force in Kuwait relating to the safety of life at sea and to load lines.

Article 30

1- The competent maritime administration shall at all times have the right of control and inspection over Kuwaiti ships and over foreign ships passing through or present in the territorial waters of Kuwait.
2- With respect to Kuwaiti ships, such control shall include verifying the registration of the ship and its obtaining of a navigation licence; the fitness of the machinery and boilers for operation and their maintenance; the fulfilment of the legal conditions as to the number of mariners and their qualifications; observance of the permitted number of passengers; the adequacy of life-saving and rescue equipment; observance of load lines and of the technical rules for loading goods in the ship or on its deck; and the availability of medical and health services on board.
3- With respect to foreign ships, the control shall include verifying the fulfilment of the conditions provided for in the international conventions relating to the safety of life at sea and to load lines.
4- In carrying out the control, regard shall be had, as far as possible, to not delaying the commercial operations carried out by the ship.

Article 31

Representatives of the competent maritime administration, the consuls of Kuwait abroad and the experts whom they appoint shall have the right to board Kuwaiti ships to inspect them and to verify the fulfilment of the conditions and the existence of the documents required by law, and they shall have the right to examine the said documents. Their work shall be recorded in reports deposited with the competent authorities and entered in the ship’s book.

Article 32

The head of the competent maritime administration, or whoever acts in his place at the port where the ship is located, may order that the ship be prevented from sailing if it does not fulfil the conditions set out in Article (30), and he may order the lifting of the prohibition and permit the ship to sail.

Article 33

1- Decisions refusing to grant a navigation licence, refusing its approval, refusing to grant safety and load line certificates, or prohibiting the ship from sailing shall be reasoned. Refusal decisions shall be communicated to the applicant, and decisions prohibiting or permitting sailing shall be communicated to the master immediately upon their issuance.
2- The persons concerned may file a grievance against the said decisions with the Competent Minister, or whomever he delegates for that purpose, within ten days from the date of notification of the decision, and the decision issued in this regard shall be final.

Article 34

Every ship shall have a medical and health service in accordance with the decision issued in that regard by the Competent Minister.

Article 35

1- There shall be on board every ship registered in Kuwait the certificate of registry, the seamen’s book, the navigation licence, the safety and load line certificates, the ship’s book, the engine book, the passports of the master and seamen, the sailing permit, a manifest of the ship’s cargo, and a health certificate issued by the port health office.
2- With respect to ships intended for fishing, there shall be on board the certificate of registry, the log book, the seamen’s book, the navigation licence and the licences relating to fishing.
3- Pleasure ships shall carry the certificate of registry, the seamen’s book and the navigation licence.

Article 36

The following shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two months and by a fine not exceeding two thousand dinars, or by either of these two penalties:
1- The owner of the ship who does not obtain a navigation licence.
2- The master who does not notify the Ships Survey and Registration Office of the damage or alteration mentioned in Article (27).
3- The operator and the master of the ship if the ship sails despite the issuance of a decision prohibiting it from sailing.
4- The master of a ship on board which the papers and documents provided for in Article (35) are not found.
5- Any person who violates the regulations and decisions relating to the organisation of work within ports and of navigation in the territorial waters.

Article 37

The following shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month and by a fine not exceeding one thousand dinars, or by either of these two penalties:
1- Any person who obstructs the work of the officials charged with inspecting ships.
2- The operator and the master of the ship if the medical and health services provided for in Article (34) are not available on the ship.

Chapter Four – Rights in Rem over the Ship

Section One – Shipbuilding

Article 38

The contract for the building of a ship shall be in writing, failing which it shall be null and void, and this provision shall apply to every amendment of the contract.

Article 39

Ownership of the ship shall remain with the shipbuilder, and ownership shall not pass to the person ordering the building except upon his acceptance of delivery of the ship after its trial, unless otherwise agreed.

Article 40

The shipbuilder shall warrant that the ship is free from latent defects, even if the purchaser has accepted delivery of the ship after its trial.

Article 41

The action on the warranty against latent defects shall be time-barred upon the lapse of one year from the time the defect became known; in all cases, actions relating to the warranty shall be time-barred upon the lapse of two years from the time of delivery of the ship.

Section Two – Co-ownership

Article 42

1- The opinion of the majority shall be followed in every decision relating to the exploitation of a ship owned in co-ownership, unless the law provides or it is agreed otherwise.
2- The majority shall be attained by the approval of at least half the number of the owners, provided that they hold more than half of the shares in the ship, unless the law provides or the owners agree on another majority.

Article 43

1- A co-owner shall be liable for the obligations arising from the ship in proportion to his share therein.
2- If one of the co-owners has not approved an act carried out by the majority referred to in the preceding Article, he may relinquish his share to the other owners, in which case he shall be discharged from the obligations arising from that act, and that share shall be distributed among the other owners in proportion to their shares in the ship.

Article 44

1- The owners may, by a decision, entrust the management of the co-ownership to one or more managers, and the manager may be one of the owners or another person.
2- The manager shall carry out all acts of management and shall represent the co-owners before the courts in all matters relating to such acts. His powers may not be restricted except by a written decision issued by the majority provided for in Article (42), and such decision may not be invoked against third parties except from the date of its recording in the register of ships.
3- The manager may not sell the ship, mortgage it or create any other right in rem over it except by a special authorisation from the owners.

Article 45

1- If one of the co-owners sells his share in the ship, the purchaser shall officially notify the other owners of the sale and of the agreed price, and each owner may, within fifteen days from the date of notification, redeem the share sold, provided that he pays the price and the expenses within that period.
2- The redemption shall be effected by a notice served by the person requesting redemption on both the seller and the purchaser.
3- If more than one owner requests redemption, the share sold shall be divided among the persons requesting redemption in proportion to their shares.

Article 46

1- The co-ownership shall come to an end by the sale of the ship by consensual sale or by judicial sale.
2- The ship may not be sold by consensual sale except by a decision issued with the approval of those owning at least half of it, unless there is a written agreement to the contrary, and the decision shall set out the manner and conditions of the sale.
3- In the event of a dispute between the owners that renders it impossible to continue the co-ownership in a beneficial manner, each owner may request the Court of First Instance to terminate the co-ownership by the sale of the ship, and the judgment shall set out the manner and conditions of the sale.

Section Three – Maritime Liens

Article 47

The following debts, and no others, shall be privileged:
1- Judicial costs incurred for the preservation of the ship, its sale and the distribution of its price; tonnage dues, port dues and other dues and taxes of the same kind; pilotage dues; compensation for damage caused to port installations, docks and waterways; the expenses of removing obstructions to navigation caused by the ship; and the expenses of guarding and maintenance from the time the ship entered the last port.
2- Debts arising from the employment contract of the master, seamen and others bound by an employment contract on the ship.
3- Rewards due for assistance and salvage, and the ship’s share in general average.
4- Compensation due for collision and other accidents of navigation, compensation for bodily injuries sustained by passengers and seamen, and compensation for loss of or damage to goods and baggage.
5- Debts arising from contracts concluded by the master and operations carried out by him outside the ship’s port of registry, within the limits of his legal powers, for an actual need required for the maintenance of the ship or the continuation of the voyage, whether or not the master is the owner of the ship, and whether the debt is due to him, to suppliers, to the persons who repaired the ship or to other contracting parties.

Article 48

Maritime liens shall not be subject to any formality or to any special condition of proof.

Article 49

1- The liens provided for in this Law shall attach to the ship, to the freight for the voyage during which the debt arose, and to the appurtenances of both the ship and the freight earned since the commencement of the voyage.
2- Nevertheless, the lien provided for in the second clause of Article (47) shall attach to the freight due for all the voyages made during the same employment contract.
3- Passenger fares and, where applicable, the amount corresponding to the limitation of liability of the owner of the ship shall be deemed freight.

Article 50

1- The following shall be deemed appurtenances of both the ship and the freight:
1- Compensation due to the owner for material damage sustained by the ship and not repaired, or for loss of freight.
2- Compensation due to the owner in respect of general average, if it arises from material damage sustained by the ship and not repaired, or from loss of freight.
3- Rewards due to the owner for assistance or salvage services rendered up to the end of the voyage, after deduction of the amounts due to the master, seamen and others bound by an employment contract on the ship.
2- Compensation due to the owner under insurance contracts, and bounties, subsidies or aid granted by the State, shall not be deemed appurtenances of the ship or the freight.

Article 51

The lien on the freight shall subsist as long as the freight is payable or is in the hands of the master or of the owner’s representative, and the same shall apply to the lien on the appurtenances of the ship and the appurtenances of the freight.

Article 52

1- Privileged debts relating to a single voyage shall be ranked according to the order of the liens set out in Article (47).
2- The debts set out in each clause of Article (47) shall rank equally and shall share in the distribution in proportion to the amount of each of them.
3- The debts set out in the third and fifth clauses of Article (47) shall be ranked, for each clause separately, in the reverse order of the dates on which they arose.
4- Debts relating to a single incident shall be deemed to have arisen on the same date.
5- Privileged debts arising from any voyage shall take precedence over privileged debts arising from a previous voyage.
6- Nevertheless, debts arising from a single employment contract covering several voyages shall all rank together with the debts of the last voyage.

Article 53

Privileged debts shall follow the ship into whosesoever hands it may pass, and the lien shall rank immediately ahead of the mortgage.

Article 54

1- Maritime liens on the ship shall be extinguished:
1- By the judicial sale of the ship.
2- By the consensual sale of the ship, subject to the following conditions:
First: Registration of the contract of sale in the register of ships.
Second: Publication on the notice board at the Ships Survey and Registration Office, such publication to include a statement that the sale has taken place, the price, and the name and domicile of the purchaser.
Third: Publication in the Official Gazette of a summary of the contract stating the price and the name and domicile of the purchaser, in addition to publication twice, eight days apart, in a widely circulated daily newspaper.
2- The maritime liens shall be transferred to the price if, within thirty days from the date of the last publication in the newspapers, the privileged creditor officially notifies both the former owner and the new owner of his objection to payment of the price; nevertheless, the creditors’ lien shall continue to subsist on the price unless it has been paid or distributed.

Article 55

1- Maritime liens on the ship shall be extinguished upon the lapse of one year, except for maritime liens securing debts for supplies referred to in the fifth paragraph of Article (47), which shall be extinguished upon the lapse of six months.
2- The period referred to in the preceding paragraph shall begin to run as follows:
1- With respect to maritime liens securing the reward for assistance and salvage operations, from the day on which such operations end.
2- With respect to maritime liens securing compensation for collision, other accidents and bodily injuries, from the day on which the damage occurred.
3- With respect to the lien relating to the loss of or damage to goods and baggage, from the day of delivery of the goods or baggage or from the day on which they should have been delivered.
4- With respect to repairs, supplies and all other cases referred to in the fifth paragraph of Article (47), from the day on which the debt arose.
3- In all other cases, the period shall run from the day on which the debt falls due.
4- The payment of sums in advance or on account to the master, the seamen and other persons bound by an employment contract on board the ship shall not cause their debts referred to in the second paragraph of Article (47) to be deemed payable before the due date fixed for them.
5- The limitation period shall be extended to three years if it was not possible to arrest the ship subject to the lien in Kuwaiti territorial waters; only persons of Kuwaiti nationality, persons domiciled in Kuwait or persons who are nationals of a State that treats Kuwaiti nationals reciprocally may benefit from this extension.

Article 56

The competent maritime administration shall have the right to retain the wreck of the ship as security for the expenses of removing the wreck, and it may sell it administratively by auction and recover its debt from the price in priority over any other creditor, and the balance of the price shall be deposited in the court treasury.

Article 57

The provisions of this Section shall apply to ships operated by an operator who is not the owner or by the principal charterer; nevertheless, the said provisions shall not apply if the owner has lost possession of the ship by an unlawful act and the creditor was in bad faith.

Section Four – Maritime Mortgage

Article 58

1- A ship shall be mortgaged by way of official mortgage.
2- The mortgage shall be made by an official contract, failing which it shall be void.

Article 59

1- A mortgage created on a ship or on a share therein shall subsist on its wreck.
2- A mortgage created on a ship shall not extend to the freight or to rewards, subsidies or grants awarded by the State.

Article 60

A ship may be mortgaged while under construction, and the entry of the mortgage shall be preceded by a declaration at the registration office within whose jurisdiction the place of construction of the ship is located, stating that place, the length of the ship, its other dimensions and its approximate tonnage.

Article 61

A mortgage shall be entered in the register of ships at the Ships Survey and Registration Office in order to be effective against third parties; and if the mortgage is created on a ship while under construction, it shall be entered in the register of ships at the registration office referred to in the preceding Article.

Article 62

For the entry to be made, an official copy of the mortgage contract shall be submitted to the Ships Survey and Registration Office, accompanied by a schedule in two original copies signed by the applicant for entry, containing in particular the following:
1- The full name, place of residence and occupation of each of the creditor and the debtor.
2- The date of the contract.
3- The amount of the debt stated in the contract.
4- The conditions relating to payment.
5- The name and description of the mortgaged ship, and the date and number of the certificate of registry or the declaration of construction of the ship.
6- The creditor’s address for service within the jurisdiction of the registration office at which the entry is made.

Article 63

The Ships Survey and Registration Office shall record the contents of the schedule in the register and shall deliver to the applicant a copy thereof endorsed to indicate that the entry has been made, and shall record the same on the certificate of registry.

Article 64

1- Debts secured by mortgage shall rank according to the date of their entry; and if two or more mortgages are entered on a ship or on a share therein, they shall rank in order of priority of entry, even if they were entered on the same day.
2- The entry shall preserve the rank of the mortgage for a period of five years from the date on which it was made, and the entry shall lapse if it is not renewed before the end of that period.

Article 65

Mortgagees of a ship or of a part thereof shall follow it into whosesoever hands it may pass, and the mortgaged ship may not be disposed of after the arrest report has been entered in the register of the ship.

Article 66

1- If the mortgage covers a part not exceeding one half of the ship, the mortgagee may only arrest and sell that part; and if the mortgage covers more than one half of the ship, the Court of First Instance may, at the request of the creditor after the arrest has been made, order the sale of the entire ship.
2- In the two cases provided for in the preceding paragraph, the other co-owners shall be officially notified, fifteen days before the commencement of the sale proceedings, to pay the debt due or to take enforcement proceedings.

Article 67

The judgment awarding the auction shall purge the ship of all mortgages, and the rights of the creditors shall be transferred to the price.

Article 68

If ownership of the mortgaged ship or of part thereof is transferred before the arrest report is entered, the mortgagee who has taken enforcement proceedings against the ship shall serve the arrest report on the holder, together with an official demand that he pay the debt.

Article 69

If the holder wishes to avoid the sale proceedings, he shall, before such proceedings commence or within the fifteen days following the demand, notify the creditors entered in the register of ships, at their address for service, of a summary of the contract stating its date, the name of the seller, the name, type, tonnage and price of the ship and the expenses, together with a list of the entered debts with their dates and amounts and the names of the creditors; and the holder shall declare his readiness to pay the debts secured by the mortgages immediately, whether or not they are due for payment, within the limits of the price of the ship.

Article 70

1- In the case set out in the preceding Article, any creditor may request that the ship or a part thereof be sold by auction, declaring an increase of one tenth and furnishing security for the price and the expenses.
2- This request, signed by the creditor, shall be served on the holder within ten days from the date of the notification provided for in the preceding Article, and the request shall include a summons to the holder to appear before the Court of First Instance within whose jurisdiction the ship is located, or within whose jurisdiction the ship’s port of registry is located if the ship is not in one of the ports of Kuwait, in order to hear judgment ordering the sale by auction.

Article 71

If no mortgagee submits the request referred to in the preceding Article, the holder may purge the ship of the mortgages by depositing the price in the court treasury, and in such case he may request the cancellation of the entry without following any other procedures.

Article 72

1- A ship mortgaged in Kuwait may not be sold voluntarily abroad, failing which the sale shall be void by operation of law, unless the creditor waives the mortgage in the contract of sale itself, subject to the provisions of Article (10) of this Law.
2- In the event of a violation of the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the seller shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months and a fine not exceeding six thousand dinars, or by either of these two penalties.

Chapter Five – Arrest of the Ship

Section One – Conservatory Arrest

Article 73

1- A conservatory arrest may be imposed on a ship by order of the Judge of Summary Matters at the Court of First Instance, and such arrest may only be imposed in satisfaction of a maritime debt.
2- A maritime debt means a claim to a right arising from one of the following causes:
1- Damage caused by the ship by collision or otherwise.
2- Loss of life or bodily injury caused by the ship or arising from its operation.
3- Assistance and salvage expenses.
4- Contracts relating to the use or hire of the ship under a charterparty or otherwise.
5- Contracts relating to the carriage of goods under a charterparty, a bill of lading or otherwise.
6- Loss of or damage to goods and baggage carried by the ship.
7- General average.
8- Towage of the ship.
9- Pilotage.
10- The supply of products or materials necessary for the operation or maintenance of the ship, wherever the supply took place.
11- The construction, repair or equipping of the ship, and dock charges.
12- The wages of the master, officers and seamen.
13- Sums disbursed by the master, shippers, charterers or agents on account of the ship or on account of its owner.
14- Disputes as to the ownership of the ship.
15- Disputes as to the ownership of a co-owned ship, its possession or its operation, or as to the rights of the co-owners to the sums resulting from its operation.
16- Maritime mortgage.

Article 74

1- Any person invoking one of the debts referred to in the preceding Article may arrest the ship to which the debt relates or any other ship owned by the debtor, if such ship was owned by him at the time the debt arose.
2- Nevertheless, a ship other than the one to which the debt relates may not be arrested if the debt is one of the debts provided for in the last three clauses of the second paragraph of the preceding Article.

Article 75

1- If the debtor who charters the ship has its nautical management and is solely liable for a maritime debt relating to it, the creditor may arrest that ship or any other ship owned by the charterer, and no other ship of the owner lessor may be arrested by virtue of that maritime debt.
2- The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply in all cases in which a person other than the owner of the ship is liable for a maritime debt.

Article 76

1- The Judge of Summary Matters at the Court of First Instance shall order the release of the arrest if security or another guarantee sufficient to satisfy the debt is provided.
2- Nevertheless, the release of the arrest may not be ordered if the arrest was imposed by reason of the maritime debts referred to in Clauses (14) and (15) of the second paragraph of Article (73); in such case, the President of the Court may authorise the holder of the ship to operate it if he provides sufficient guarantee, or may regulate the management of the ship during the period of arrest in the manner he determines.

Article 77

A copy of the arrest report shall be delivered to the master of the ship or to the person acting in his place on board, a second copy to the competent maritime authority at the port in which the arrest was made in order to prevent the ship from sailing, and a third copy to the Ships Survey and Registration Office.

Article 78

1- The arrest report shall include a summons to appear before the Court of First Instance within whose jurisdiction the arrest was made, in order to hear judgment on the validity of the arrest and the establishment of the right, whatever its amount.
2- The hearing shall be set on a date not exceeding the fifteen days following the date of the arrest report, the court shall hear the action expeditiously, and no allowance for distance shall be added to this time limit.

Section Two – Executory Arrest

Article 79

1- An executory arrest may not be imposed on a ship until twenty-four hours have elapsed after service of the enforceable instrument, and such service shall include a demand that the debtor pay.
2- The instrument shall be served on the owner of the ship in person or at his domicile; and if the matter relates to a maritime debt on the ship, the service may be delivered to the master or to the person acting in his place on board.

Article 80

1- An executory arrest on a ship shall be made by a report drawn up by the enforcement officer, which shall include, in addition to the particulars required to be stated in service documents, the name of the enforcement officer, the date and place of the arrest, a statement of the enforceable instrument and of the amount for which the arrest is made, a description of the arrested ship and the signature of the enforcement officer.
2- The arrest report shall also include a summons to appear before the Court of First Instance on a date not less than fifteen days and not exceeding thirty days from the date of the arrest, in order to hear the order of sale.
3- The report shall be served on the debtor if he was not present at the time of the arrest.

Article 81

1- A copy of the arrest report shall be delivered to the master of the ship or to the person acting in his place on board, a second copy to the competent maritime authority at the port in which the arrest was made in order to prevent the ship from sailing, and a third copy to the Ships Survey and Registration Office for entry in the register.
2- A copy of the report shall also be served on the holder and on the creditors entered in the register of the ship.

Article 82

1- If the court orders the sale, it shall determine the conditions of sale and the base price, and it may seek the assistance of experts in determining the base price; it shall also set the hearing at which the auction is to be held.
2- The Court Clerk’s Office shall announce the sale by publication in one of the widely circulated daily newspapers and in the Official Gazette, and shall also announce the conditions of sale at the Ships Survey and Registration Office, at the stock exchange and at any other place designated by the court.
3- The announcement shall include the following:
1- The name and domicile of the arresting party.
2- A statement of the instrument under which enforcement is being carried out.
3- The amount for which the arrest is made.
4- The domicile elected by the arresting party within the jurisdiction of the court in which the ship is located.
5- The name and domicile of the owner of the ship.
6- The name and domicile of the debtor whose property is arrested.
7- The description of the ship.
8- The name of the master.
9- The place where the ship is located.
10- The base price and the conditions of sale.
11- The day, place and hour at which the sale is to take place.
4- The sale may not take place until fifteen days have elapsed from the date of completion of publication.

Article 83

1- The sale shall take place after two hearings held seven days apart; the highest bid at the first hearing shall be accepted provisionally and shall be taken as the basis for bidding at the second hearing, at which the sale shall be made finally to the bidder who submitted the highest bid at the two hearings.
2- Before a bidder takes part in the auction, the court shall collect from him a cash deposit or a letter of guarantee of a value determined by the court.

Article 84

If no offer is made on the day set for the sale, the court shall fix a new base price lower than the first and shall set the hearing at which the auction is to be held, and the announcement procedures provided for in Article (82) shall be followed.

Article 85

The successful bidder shall pay the price and the expenses into the court treasury within seven days at most from the date of the award of the auction, failing which the ship shall be resold at his risk.

Article 86

1- The judgment awarding the auction may not be challenged except for a defect in the procedures.
2- Once the judgment has become final, the Court Clerk’s Office shall communicate it to the Ships Survey and Registration Office for annotation in the register.

Article 87

The rules set out in the Civil and Commercial Procedure Law shall apply with respect to the distribution of the price realised from the auction.

Part Two – Persons of Maritime Navigation

Chapter One – The Owner and the Operator

Article 88

The operator is the person who operates the ship for his own account in his capacity as its owner or charterer. The owner shall be deemed to be the operator until the contrary is proved.

Article 89

The technical matters relating to the equipping of the ship, the composition of its seamen and its means of safety shall be regulated by a resolution of the Competent Minister, with due regard to the international conventions in force in Kuwait and to maritime custom.

Article 90

The owner of the ship shall be civilly liable for the acts of the master, the seamen, the pilot and any other person in the service of the ship, when committed by them during or by reason of the performance of their duties; and he shall also be liable for the obligations of the master arising from the contracts which he concludes within the limits of his legal powers.

Article 91

1- The owner of the ship may limit his liability to the extent set out in Article (94) in respect of obligations arising from one of the following causes:
1- The death of or injury to any person on board the ship for the purpose of carriage, and the loss of or damage to any property on board the ship.
2- The death of or injury to any other person on land or at sea, and the loss of or damage to any other property or the infringement of any right, if the damage arose from the act or fault of any person for whom the owner is responsible, whether or not that person was on board the ship. In the latter case, the act or fault shall relate to navigation, to the management of the ship, to the loading, carriage or discharge of goods, or to the embarkation, carriage or disembarkation of passengers. However, if the liability of the owner under the two preceding clauses arises from a contractual obligation in connection with the carriage of persons or goods, the rules on limitation of liability set out in Chapter Four of Part Three of this Law shall apply.
2- The owner of the ship shall have the right to limit his liability for the obligations referred to in the preceding paragraph even if the establishment of such liability does not require proof of his fault or of the fault of the persons for whom he is responsible.
3- Invoking the limitation of liability shall not constitute an admission of such liability.

Article 92

If a debt is owed to the owner of the ship by one of the creditors arising from the same incident, the limitation of liability shall apply only to the amount remaining after set-off between the two debts.

Article 93

Liability may not be limited in the following cases:
1- If the event giving rise to the obligation results from a personal fault of the owner.
2- Obligations arising from assistance and salvage and from contribution to general average.
3- The rights of the master, the seamen and every other employee of the owner of the ship who is on board or whose work relates to its service, and the rights of their heirs and successors.

Article 94

1- The owner’s liability shall be limited as follows:
1- To an amount of twenty-five dinars for each ton of the ship’s tonnage if the incident has resulted in property damage only.
2- To an amount of fifty dinars for each ton of the ship’s tonnage if the incident has resulted in bodily injury only.
3- To an amount of seventy-five dinars for each ton of the ship’s tonnage if the incident has resulted in both property damage and bodily injury; of that amount, fifty dinars per ton shall be allocated to compensation for bodily injury and twenty-five dinars per ton to compensation for property damage, and if the amount allocated to bodily injury is insufficient to pay such claims in full, the unpaid balance thereof shall rank together with the property damage claims in the amounts allocated to compensation for the latter damage.
2- The distribution within each of the groups referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be made in proportion to each undisputed debt.
3- If, before the distribution of the amounts allocated to compensation, the owner of the ship has paid one of the debts referred to in Article (91), he may be subrogated to the creditor in the distribution to the extent of the amount he has paid.
4- The court may provisionally retain part of the amounts allocated to compensation in order to pay the debts whose holders have not come forward to claim them.

Article 95

The tonnage of the ship shall be calculated for the purposes of the preceding Article as follows:
1- For motor ships, on the basis of the net tonnage of the ship with the addition of the space occupied by the machinery and engines.
2- For sailing ships, on the basis of the net tonnage of the ship.
3- The minimum net tonnage of the ship shall be deemed to be three hundred tons, even if its tonnage is less than that.

Article 96

1- The amounts fixed for compensation for bodily injury and property damage arising from a single incident shall constitute a separate unit allocated to the payment of the compensation due in respect of that incident, irrespective of the debts that have arisen or may arise from another incident.
2- The creditor may not take any measure against the property of the owner of the ship if the amounts allocated to compensation have actually been placed at the creditor’s disposal, or if a guarantee from a bank acceptable to the court has been provided.

Article 97

1- The provisions on limitation of liability shall apply to the operator of the ship who is not the owner, to the charterer, to the managing operator, and to the master and the seamen; they shall also apply to the other employees of the owner, the operator, the charterer or the managing operator in respect of the performance of their duties and on the same conditions as apply to the owner, provided that the liability of the owner and that of the said persons in respect of a single incident shall not exceed the limits set out in Article (94).
2- If an action is brought against the master or the seamen, they may invoke the limitation of their liability even if the incident from which the damage arose is attributable to a personal fault committed by them. Nevertheless, if the master or the seaman is at the same time a sole owner or a co-owner, an operator, a charterer or a managing operator, this provision shall apply only if the fault was committed by him in his capacity as master or seaman.

Chapter Two – The Master

Article 98

The operator of the ship shall appoint and dismiss the master, and a dismissed master shall have the right to compensation in accordance with the general rules.

Article 99

1- The master alone shall have command of the ship and the direction of the voyage, and the officer immediately below him in rank shall take his place in the event of his death or absence or of any other impediment.
2- In commanding the ship, the master shall observe the technical rules of maritime navigation, international conventions, maritime custom and the provisions in force in the ports of the State in which the ship is located.
3- He shall maintain the seaworthiness of the ship and shall ensure the sufficiency of provisions and supplies during the voyage.

Article 100

1- The master may not relinquish command of the ship from the commencement of the voyage until the ship arrives at a safe anchorage or port.
2- Nor may he leave the ship or order that it be left except by reason of certain danger and after consulting its officers; in such case, he shall save the money, the ship’s papers and the most valuable goods, if possible.

Article 101

The master shall personally direct the navigation of the ship when it enters or leaves ports, anchorages or rivers and, in general, in all circumstances in which navigation encounters particular difficulties, even if he is obliged to engage a pilot.

Article 102

1- The master shall have notarial authority on board the ship.
2- He shall be responsible for maintaining order on the ship and may impose disciplinary penalties in accordance with the law relevant thereto.

Article 103

The master shall register births and deaths occurring on the ship, and shall record these events in the ship’s book and report them to the Consul of Kuwait at the first port at which the ship calls, and to the competent administrative authorities in Kuwait upon return thereto.

Article 104

1- If a crime is committed on board the ship, the master shall gather the necessary information until the arrival of the competent authorities, and may, where necessary, order the arrest of the accused, the search of the passengers and seamen, and the taking of the measures necessary to preserve the items that serve to prove the crime.
2- The master shall draw up a report of the procedures taken and shall deliver this report, together with the investigation record and the seized items, to the Public Prosecution at the first port in Kuwait.

Article 105

1- The master shall be deemed the legal representative of the operator and shall represent him before the courts, and shall exercise the powers conferred on him by law vis-à-vis whoever has an interest in the ship or the cargo, without the need to mention the name of the operator; any restriction on this representation may not be invoked against third parties acting in good faith.
2- The master shall not have the capacity of legal representative of the operator except in a place where neither the operator nor an agent of his is present.
3- The representation shall cover the acts necessary for the ship and the voyage; nevertheless, the master may carry out the ordinary acts relating to the management of the ship, minor repairs, and the engagement and dismissal of seamen in a place where the operator or an agent of his is present.
The operator or his agent shall not invoke his presence against third parties unless such third parties were aware thereof.

Article 106

The master shall, in respect of his commercial functions, follow the instructions of the operator, and shall notify him, in accordance with custom, of every matter relating to the ship or the cargo.

Article 107

The master shall keep on board the ship during the voyage the documents required by law relating to the ship, the seamen, the passengers and the cargo.

Article 108

1- The master shall keep a ship’s book; the pages of this book shall be numbered and endorsed by the competent maritime administration.
2- The ship’s book shall record the incidents occurring and the decisions taken during the voyage and the daily observations on the state of the weather and the sea; the book shall include a list of revenues and expenses, a statement of the offences that may be committed by the seamen or passengers and the disciplinary penalties imposed on them, and the births and deaths that occurred on the ship.
3- The master of a motor ship shall also keep a special engine log book in which he shall record the quantity of fuel taken on at departure, the quantity consumed daily, and everything relating to the engines.

Article 109

The master shall, within twenty-four hours of the ship’s arrival at the port of destination or at the place where it has called voluntarily or under necessity, submit the ship’s book to the competent maritime administration for endorsement; outside Kuwait, the endorsement shall be made by the competent local authority.

Article 110

1- If extraordinary incidents relating to the ship, to the persons on board or to the cargo occur during the voyage, the master shall prepare a report thereon.
2- The master shall submit the report to the competent maritime administration within twenty-four hours of the ship’s arrival at the port or anchorage; outside Kuwait, the report shall be submitted to the Consul of the State of Kuwait or, in his absence, to the competent local authority.
3- The authority that received the report shall refer it as soon as possible to the President of the Court of First Instance, or to the competent judicial authority abroad, for investigation, by questioning the seamen and passengers, gathering the information that helps to establish the truth, and drawing up a record of all of this.
4- If the report has not been investigated in the foregoing manner, it shall not be admissible as evidence before the courts.
5- In all cases, evidence may be adduced contrary to the contents of the report.
6- Except in cases of extreme necessity, the master may not begin unloading the ship before submitting the said report.

Article 111

1- The master shall take the necessary measures required to safeguard the interests of the owner of the ship, the operator, the seamen, the passengers and the holders of rights in the cargo, in accordance with custom.
2- He may not load goods on the deck of the ship except with the consent of the shipper or where there is a custom to that effect.
3- The master shall, in cases of necessity, carry out every urgent act required for the safety of lives and the preservation of the ship and the cargo; nevertheless, he shall notify the operator before deciding to take an extraordinary measure, if circumstances so permit.
4- The master shall be liable for his faults, even if slight.

Chapter Three – Seamen and the Regulation of Maritime Work

Section One – General Provisions

Article 112

Every person bound by an employment contract on board the ship shall be deemed a seaman, and the master shall be deemed one of the seamen in respect of the employment contract concluded between him and the operator.

Article 113

Every ship shall be provided with a sufficient number of competent seamen; the law, regulations, international conventions and maritime custom shall specify what is meant by the master, officers and marine engineers who shall be present on board the ship, their number, and the qualifications they shall possess.

Article 114

1- Persons holding Kuwaiti nationality may not perform any work on ships sailing outside territorial waters except after obtaining a seaman’s passport from the competent maritime administration.
2- The regulation of seamen’s passports and the conditions for granting them shall be issued by a special law.

Article 115

1- A foreigner may not work on a ship engaged in coastal navigation, fishing, towage or pilotage in territorial waters except under a licence from the competent maritime administration.
2- On ships engaged in navigation on the high seas, the number of foreign seamen may not exceed the percentages determined by a decision of the Competent Minister.

Section Two – Maritime Employment Contract

Article 116

The provisions of the Law of Labour in the Private Sector and the Social Insurance Law shall apply to the maritime employment contract in respect of matters not provided for in this Law.

Article 117

The maritime employment contract may not be proved except in writing; nevertheless, if the contract is not in writing, the seaman alone may prove it by all means.

Article 118

1- The maritime employment contract shall be drawn up in three original copies, one of which shall be delivered to the employer, the second deposited with the competent maritime administration and the third delivered to the seaman, unless the contract is a joint one, in which case the employer shall retain this last copy, and the seaman may obtain an extract of the particulars relating to him therein.
2- The contract shall state the date and place of its conclusion; the name, age, nationality and domicile of the seaman; the type of work he undertakes to perform; his wages, the manner of their determination and the time and place of their payment; the number, date and place of issue of the seaman’s passport; the date of departure; and the port from which the voyage begins and the port at which it ends if the contract is for a single voyage.
3- The employer shall give the seaman a receipt for any papers the seaman has deposited with him.

Article 119

The seaman shall perform the agreed work and obey the orders of his superiors in respect of the service of the ship, and may not leave it except with permission. In case of danger, he shall work to save the ship, the persons on board and the cargo; in this case, the seaman shall be granted a reward for each additional hour equivalent to the same rate prescribed for overtime pay in the Law of Labour in the Private Sector, regardless of the number of overtime hours.

Article 120

Neither the master nor any of the seamen may load any goods on the ship for his own account except with the permission of the employer; violation of this prohibition shall render the violator liable to pay freight for the carriage of the goods equal to the highest freight stipulated at the place and time of loading, and the master may order such goods to be thrown overboard if they endanger the safety of the ship, the persons on board or the cargo, or entail the payment of fines or expenses, in addition to compensation where warranted.

Article 121

The employer shall pay the seamen’s wages at the time and place specified in the contract or prescribed by maritime custom.

Article 122

If the wages are fixed by the voyage, they may not be reduced if the voyage is shortened by the act of the operator or the master; however, if the said act results in the voyage being prolonged or postponed, the wages shall be increased in proportion to the extension of the period. This last provision shall not apply to the master if the postponement or prolongation of the voyage results from his fault.

Article 123

1- If the seaman is engaged by the voyage for the outward journey only, he shall be entitled to his full wages if he dies after the commencement of the voyage.
2- If he is engaged for both the outward and return journeys, he shall be entitled to half his wages if he dies during the outward journey or at the port of arrival, and to his full wages if he dies during the return journey.

Article 124

1- Once the seaman’s sailing has been decided, he may obtain an advance not exceeding one quarter of his basic wages; a statement of the advance shall be entered in the seamen’s book or the log book, as the case may be, and signed by the seaman. The employer may refuse the request for an advance.
2- The advance may be paid to the seaman’s wife, children, ascendants or descendants, or other persons residing with him and whom he supports, provided that there is an authorisation to that effect. The said advance may not be recovered upon termination of the contract for any reason whatsoever, unless otherwise agreed.

Article 125

1- If force majeure prevents the commencement or the continuation of the voyage, the seaman engaged by the voyage shall be entitled to his wages for the days he actually spent in the service of the ship; nevertheless, the seaman shall share in any insurance sums or compensation that the owner or the operator may obtain, to the extent of the remainder of his wages.
2- In the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, the seaman may not claim any reward or compensation.

Article 126

1- If the seaman is engaged by the voyage on the ship and the ship sinks, is confiscated, is lost or becomes unfit for navigation, the employer may request the court to exempt him from paying all or part of the seamen’s wages if the damage sustained by the ship resulted from their act or from their failure to save the ship, the wreck, the passengers or the cargo.
2- In the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, the employer may terminate the maritime employment contract without prior notice.

Article 127

The seaman’s wages may not be attached except within the limits set out in the Law of Labour in the Private Sector.

Article 128

1- The employer shall, during the voyage, provide the seaman with food and accommodation on board the ship free of charge, and this shall be regulated by a decision of the Competent Minister.
2- In case of violation of the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the employer shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding one month and a fine not exceeding one thousand dinars, or by either of these two penalties.

Article 129

1- The employer shall provide the seaman with medical treatment free of charge if he is injured or falls ill while in the service of the ship; if the injury or illness results from insubordination or other instances of misconduct, the employer shall pay the costs of treatment, provided that he may deduct them from the wages due to the seaman.
2- The employer’s obligation to treat the seaman shall cease if it becomes evident that the injury or illness is incurable.

Article 130

1- A seaman who is injured or falls ill while in the service of the ship shall be entitled to his full wages during the voyage.
2- With regard to entitlement to wages after the end of the voyage, the provisions of the Law of Labour in the Private Sector shall apply.
3- The employer shall also compensate the seaman if the injury or illness results in total or partial disability, in accordance with the provisions of the Law of Labour in the Private Sector.
4- The seaman shall not be entitled to any wages or compensation if the injury or illness results from insubordination or other instances of misconduct.

Article 131

If the seaman dies while in the service of the ship, the employer shall pay his funeral expenses, whatever the cause of death.

Article 132

1- The employer shall repatriate the Kuwaiti seaman to Kuwait if, during the voyage, something occurs that requires his disembarkation from the ship, unless this is pursuant to an order of the foreign authority or pursuant to an agreement between the employer and the seaman.
2- If the seaman was engaged at one of the ports of Kuwait, he shall be returned to that port; if he was engaged at a foreign port, the seaman shall be returned, at his option, to that port or to any port in Kuwait.
3- A foreign seaman shall be returned to the port at which he was engaged, unless the contract provides for his return to one of the ports of Kuwait.
4- The obligation to repatriate the seaman shall include the costs of his food and accommodation, in addition to his transport.

Article 133

If the employment contract is concluded for a fixed term and that term expires during the voyage, the contract shall be extended by operation of law until the end of the voyage; if the ship passes through the port to which the seaman is to be returned in accordance with the provisions of the preceding Article, the contract shall be extended until the ship enters that port.

Article 134

If the seaman is dismissed, the master may not compel him to leave the ship while it is at a foreign port except with the permission of the Consul of Kuwait or, in his absence, the local maritime authority, unless that port is the port at which the seaman was engaged. The dismissal decision, its date and its reasons shall be recorded in the seaman’s book, failing which the dismissal shall be deemed unlawful.

Article 135

All actions arising from the maritime employment contract shall be time-barred upon the lapse of one year from the date of expiry of the contract.

Chapter Four – Maritime Agents

Section One – Ship Agent

Article 136

1- The ship agent is the agent of the operator in places where he has no branches.
2- The ship agent shall receive the goods before the commencement of the voyage for the purpose of loading them, and shall deliver them to the persons concerned upon the ship’s arrival.
3- He shall also collect the freight, and may be entrusted with the ordinary acts relating to the needs of the ship or the voyage that are performed by the master in accordance with Article (105); in this case, the debts arising from such acts shall be secured by the lien provided for in Clause (5) of Article (47).

Article 137

The ship agent shall be liable to the operator as a remunerated agent, and shall not be liable to the shippers or consignees except in the case of his personal fault.

Article 138

The ship agent shall be deemed to represent the sea carrier in actions arising from sea carriage operations brought by or against the carrier in the place where the agent’s office is located.

Article 139

1- No person may engage in ship agency business unless he holds Kuwaiti nationality and is entered in the register kept for that purpose at the Ministry of Communications.
2- The agent shall deposit with one of the Kuwaiti banks a cash deposit or a bank guarantee to secure the enforcement of judicial judgments issued against his principals.
3- The regulation of the register of ship agents and the determination of the amount of the deposit or guarantee to be deposited shall be issued by a decision of the Minister of Communications after obtaining the opinion of the Public Ports Corporation.
4- The following shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding two months and a fine not exceeding two thousand dinars, or by either of these two penalties:
1- Any person who engages in ship agency business, or advertises by any means of publication that he carries out the business of such agency, without his name being entered in the register.
2- Any person who intentionally submits incorrect information to the Ministry of Communications for entry in the register.

Section Two – Cargo Agent

Article 140

The cargo agent shall represent the persons concerned with the goods in receiving them upon arrival and in paying the freight due thereon.

Article 141

The cargo agent shall take the procedures and measures necessary to preserve the rights of the persons concerned with the goods vis-à-vis the carrier; otherwise, he shall be presumed to have received the goods in the condition and quantity stated in the bill of lading, unless the cargo agent proves otherwise.

Section Three – Loading and Unloading Contractor

Article 142

1- The loading and unloading contractor shall carry out all the physical operations relating to loading the goods on the ship and unloading them therefrom.
2- The loading and unloading contractor shall act on the instructions of the sea carrier, who alone is bound to deliver the goods, and may act on the instructions of the shipper or the consignee under a clause in the charterparty or the bill of lading.
3- The loading and unloading contractor shall be liable for his faults, and his liability shall be towards the person who instructed him to perform the work, who alone may bring a direct action against him.

Article 143

The loading and unloading contractor may be entrusted with the functions of the cargo agent, in which case the provisions prescribed in Articles (140) and (141) shall apply to him.

Article 144

The provisions on limitation of liability and exemption therefrom and the provisions on limitation of actions prescribed in respect of the sea carrier shall apply to the loading and unloading contractor, the ship agent and the cargo agent in respect of actions arising from the activity of each of them.

Part Three – Exploitation of the Ship

Chapter One – General Provisions on the Chartering of the Ship

Article 145

1- The chartering of a ship is a contract whereby the lessor undertakes to place at the disposal of the charterer, in return for freight, a ship or part thereof, for the purpose of maritime exploitation, for a specified period or for the performance of a specified voyage or voyages.
2- If the ship is designated by name in the contract, the lessor may not substitute another ship for it, unless otherwise agreed.

Article 146

The contract for the chartering of a ship shall be proved in writing by an instrument called a charterparty; if the term of the contract exceeds one year, it shall not be effective against third parties unless it is entered in the register of ships, the entry being made by recording the names of the lessor and the charterer and the term of the contract.

Article 147

1- The charterer may not sub-charter the ship or assign to third parties the rights arising from the charter contract except with the written consent of the lessor.
2- Sub-chartering shall not give rise to a direct relationship between the lessor and the sub-charterer.
Nevertheless, the lessor may have recourse against the sub-charterer to an extent not exceeding what is owed by that sub-charterer to the original charterer.

Article 148

1- The lessor of the ship shall have a right of retention over the goods owned by the charterer at the port of arrival to obtain payment of the freight due to him, unless a guarantee assessed by the Judge of Summary Matters at the Court of First Instance is provided to him. Where the right of retention is exercised, the judge shall order the deposit of the goods with a custodian appointed by him, and may order the sale of the goods or of part thereof in payment of the freight, and shall fix a date for the sale and the manner of conducting it.
2- The lessor shall have a lien on the charterer’s goods on board the ship or deposited with a custodian in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, and the lien shall secure the freight debt and its accessories.

Chapter Two – Chartering of an Unequipped Ship

Article 149

1- The chartering of an unequipped ship is a contract whereby the owner undertakes to enable the charterer to use a specified ship without equipping it with provisions, supplies or seamen.
2- The charterer shall have the management of the ship in both its nautical and commercial aspects.

Article 150

1- The lessor shall deliver the ship in a condition fit for navigation together with the documents relating to it, and shall also repair damage arising from force majeure and damage necessitated by wear and tear arising from the ordinary use of the ship for the agreed purpose; if such damage results in the ship being out of use, no freight shall be due for the period during which the ship remains out of use.
2- The lessor shall be liable for damage resulting from delivering the ship unfit for navigation, unless he proves that this results from a latent defect that could not have been discovered by ordinary examination.

Article 151

1- The charterer shall pay the freight on the agreed dates. He shall also use the ship for the agreed purpose in accordance with its technical characteristics as stated in the navigation licence.
2- The charterer shall return the ship upon the expiry of the charter contract at the port where he received it and in the condition in which it was at the time of delivery, taking into account wear and tear arising from ordinary use.
3- If the charter period expires during a voyage, the contract shall be extended by operation of law until the end of that voyage, and the lessor shall be entitled to the freight stipulated in the contract for the additional days.
4- In case of delay in returning the ship for a reason attributable to the charterer, he shall pay compensation equal to double the freight for the period of delay, unless the lessor proves that the damage exceeds this compensation.

Article 152

The charterer shall indemnify the lessor against recourse by third parties for a reason relating to the exploitation of the ship.

Article 153

Actions arising from the contract for the chartering of an unequipped ship shall be time-barred upon the lapse of one year from the date of expiry of the contract, or from the date of the ship’s return to the lessor in the case set out in the last paragraph of Article (151), or from the date of its deletion from the register of ships in the event of its loss, or from the date of the recourse of third parties against the lessor in the case set out in the preceding Article.

Chapter Three – Chartering of an Equipped Ship

Article 154

1- The chartering of an equipped ship is a contract whereby the lessor undertakes to place a specified, fully equipped ship at the disposal of the charterer for the performance of a specified voyage or voyages, or during the period agreed in the contract, on the terms stated therein or prescribed by custom.
2- If the ship is chartered in its entirety, the charter shall not include the cabins and spaces allocated to the master and the seamen.

Article 155

1- Actions arising from the contract for the chartering of an equipped ship shall be time-barred upon the lapse of one year.
2- In the case of chartering by voyage, this period shall begin to run from the date of the end of each voyage or from the date of the occurrence of the incident that made the commencement or the continuation of the voyage impossible; the voyage shall end upon the ship’s arrival at the agreed port and the unloading of the goods placed on it by the charterer.
3- In the case of chartering by time, the period shall begin to run from the date of expiry of the term of the contract, or from the date of the end of the last voyage if the term has been extended in accordance with the second paragraph of Article (174), or from the date of the occurrence of the incident that made the performance of the contract or the continuation of its performance impossible.
4- In the case of presumed loss of the ship, the period shall begin to run from the date of its deletion from the register of ships.

Section One – Voyage Charterparty

Article 156

The charterparty shall state the names and domiciles of the lessor and the charterer; the name, nationality and tonnage of the ship and the part thereof chartered; the name of the master; the type, quantity and description of the cargo; the place and period agreed for loading and unloading; the amount of freight and the method of its calculation; the term of the contract; and a statement of the voyages agreed to be performed.

Article 157

1- The lessor shall place the specified ship at the disposal of the charterer in a condition fit for navigation and equipped with what is necessary to carry out the operations agreed in the charterparty, and shall keep the ship in this condition throughout the voyage or voyages that are the subject of the agreement.
2- The lessor shall likewise do everything necessary to perform these voyages.

Article 158

The lessor shall retain the nautical management and the commercial management of the ship.

Article 159

The charterer shall load and unload the goods within the periods agreed in the charter contract; if the contract does not provide for specific periods, recourse shall be had to custom, in which case the custom prevailing at the port where loading or unloading takes place shall be followed in calculating the periods and the commencement of their running; if there is no custom at that port, general maritime custom shall be followed.

Article 160

Upon the expiry of the discharge period, the master shall have the right to land the loaded goods at the expense and under the responsibility of the charterer, and in this case the master shall take the necessary measures to preserve the goods.

Article 161

The lessor may not load on the ship, or in the chartered part thereof, goods not belonging to the charterer without the charterer’s permission.

Article 162

The charterer shall be liable for the damage caused to the ship or to the goods loaded thereon if such damage arises from the act of the charterer or from a defect in his goods.

Article 163

1- The freight of the ship shall not be due if the goods loaded thereon are not delivered to the consignee or are not placed at his disposal at the port of arrival.
2- Nevertheless, the freight shall be due if the non-delivery arises from the fault of the charterer, or if the goods perish owing to a defect therein or by reason of their special nature, or if the master is compelled to sell them during the voyage by reason of defect or damage, or if the master orders their destruction by reason of their danger or harmfulness or the prohibition of their carriage and the lessor was not aware thereof when they were placed on the ship.
3- Likewise, the freight shall be due for animals that die during the voyage for a cause not attributable to the act of the lessor.

Article 164

1- The contract for the chartering of the ship shall remain in force, without compensation or increase in freight, if the ship is temporarily detained during the voyage for a cause not attributable to the act of the lessor or the master. In this case the charterer may request the discharge of his goods at his own expense, and may thereafter reload them on the ship, also at his own expense, and shall pay the freight in full in both cases.
2- If the ship is unable to resume the voyage, the master shall charter one or more ships, at expenses borne by him, to carry the goods to the designated place without any increase in freight being due; and if he is unable to do so, the freight shall be due only in proportion to the part of the voyage completed; all of the foregoing unless there is an agreement to the contrary.
3- The charterer may at any time request the delivery of the goods before their arrival at the agreed place, provided that he pays the freight in full and the additional expenses, and that the port at which he requests delivery of the goods is safe for the ship.

Article 165

The contract for the chartering of the ship shall be rescinded, without compensation payable by the lessor or the charterer, if trade is prohibited with the State in which the port designated for the discharge of the goods is situated, or if a force majeure arises that renders the performance of the voyage impossible.

Article 166

If the charterer does not load all the agreed goods, he shall be bound to pay the freight in full.

Article 167

1- The charterer shall not be discharged from paying the freight by abandoning the goods to the lessor.
2- Likewise, he shall not be discharged from paying the freight if the official authorities confiscate the goods before their delivery to the consignee.

Article 168

If the ship is unable to reach the port agreed for the delivery of the goods, the lessor shall direct the ship to the nearest place to the said port.
In this case the lessor shall bear the expenses of carrying the goods to the agreed port.

Section Two – Time Charterparty

Article 169

A time charterparty shall in particular contain the following particulars:
1- The particulars identifying the chartered ship.
2- The name of each of the lessor and the charterer.
3- The amount of the freight.
4- The duration of the charter.

Article 170

The lessor shall place at the disposal of the charterer, for the agreed period, the ship designated in the charterparty in a condition fit for navigation and for the agreed service, and he shall maintain such fitness throughout the term of the contract.

Article 171

The lessor shall retain the nautical management of the ship, while its commercial management shall pass to the charterer, who shall bear the burdens of such management, in particular supplying the ship with fuel, oils and lubricants, and paying port dues, pilotage dues and other expenses.

Article 172

The charterer shall pay the freight in full for the period during which the ship is at his disposal, even if it is immobilised by reason of navigational accidents; nevertheless, the freight shall not be due if the ship is lost or is immobilised by reason of force majeure or the act of the lessor.

Article 173

The lessor shall recover his right to dispose of the ship if he does not receive the freight due to him after serving formal notice on the charterer; nevertheless, the lessor shall carry the loaded goods to the port of arrival in return for freight at the market rate, without prejudice to his right to claim compensation.

Article 174

1- Upon the expiry of the charterparty, the charterer shall return the ship to the port at which it was placed at his disposal, unless otherwise agreed.
2- If the term of the charter expires during a voyage, the contract shall be extended by operation of law until the end of the voyage, and the lessor shall be entitled to the freight stipulated in the contract for the additional days.
3- The freight may not be reduced if the ship is returned before the agreed time, unless otherwise agreed.

Chapter Four – Contract of Carriage by Sea

Section One – Contract of Carriage of Goods

Article 175

1- A contract of carriage by sea is a contract whereby the carrier, whether he is the owner, operator or charterer of the ship, undertakes to carry goods on the ship to a designated port in return for freight.
2- The provisions of Articles 445 and 459/2 of the Commercial Law shall apply to the contract of carriage by sea with respect to the rights and obligations of the consignee.

Article 176

1- The contract of carriage by sea shall be evidenced by a bill of lading.
2- The bill of lading shall be written clearly in the Arabic language, and one of the international languages used in dealings may be added thereto.
3- The bill of lading shall be dated and signed by the carrier or by whoever acts on his behalf, and shall state the name and domicile of each of the carrier, the shipper and the consignee, the description of the goods as recorded by the shipper, and in particular the number of packages, the weight, volume or quantity of the goods, as the case may be, the marks of the goods and their apparent condition, the port of departure and the port of arrival, the name, tonnage and nationality of the ship, the amount of the freight and the method of its calculation if it is payable at the port of arrival, and the place and date of issue of the bill and the number of copies made thereof.
4- The marks placed by the shipper on the goods shall be sufficient to identify them and shall be affixed in such a manner that they remain legible until the end of the voyage.

Article 177

1- The bill of lading shall be made out in two originals, one of which shall be delivered to the shipper and the other to the carrier, the latter being stamped “non-negotiable”.
2- The carrier or whoever acts on his behalf shall sign the original delivered to the shipper, and such original shall give its lawful holder the right to receive the goods and to dispose of them.
3- Several identical copies may be made of the original delivered to the shipper; each such copy shall be numbered and shall state that it is non-negotiable, and such copies shall not give their holder the right to receive the goods or to dispose of them.

Article 178

1- The bill of lading shall be made out in the name of a specified person, or to his order, or to bearer.
2- The bill of lading shall be negotiated by endorsement if it is nominative or to order, and by delivery if it is to bearer.
3- Where the bill of lading is negotiated by endorsement, it may be agreed to limit the warranty to the existence of the goods and the validity of the contract of carriage at the time of endorsement; and the carrier may not invoke against an endorsee under an endorsement transferring ownership the defences which he may invoke against a previous holder of the bill.
4- The bill of lading may stipulate the prohibition of its negotiation or assignment, provided that this is done in a prominent and clear manner.

Article 179

1- The shipper shall furnish in writing the particulars relating to the goods before loading, and such particulars shall be entered in the bill of lading; the carrier or whoever acts on his behalf may refrain from entering the particulars relating to the marks, number, quantity or weight of the goods if he has serious grounds to doubt their accuracy or does not have adequate means of verifying them; in all cases, the reasons for refraining from entering the particulars shall be stated in the bill of lading, and the shipper or the person who received the goods may prove the accuracy of such particulars.
2- The shipper shall be liable towards the carrier for compensation for the damage resulting from the inaccuracy of the particulars he furnished concerning the goods, and the carrier may not invoke the inaccuracy of the particulars stated in the bill of lading against any person other than the shipper.

Article 180

If, before the departure, the master finds on the ship goods that differ from the declaration furnished in respect thereof and recorded in the bill of lading, he may remove them from the ship at the place of loading or keep them on board while collecting freight equal to the highest freight paid for goods of their kind at the said place, without prejudice to any compensation that may be due.

Article 181

1- If dangerous, inflammable or explosive goods are loaded on the ship, the carrier may at any time remove them from the ship, destroy them or render them innocuous without any compensation, if it is proved that he would not have consented to their loading had he known their kind or nature; moreover, the shipper shall be liable for the damage and expenses arising directly or indirectly from their loading on the ship.
2- If goods of this kind are loaded with the knowledge and consent of the carrier and become a danger to the ship or to its cargo, they may be landed from the ship, destroyed or rendered innocuous by the carrier without liability on his part, save in respect of general average where applicable.

Article 182

The carrier shall give the shipper a receipt for the goods before their loading on the ship, and, at the request of the shipper, such receipt shall be exchanged for a bill of lading after the goods are placed on the ship; the receipt shall have the evidential force established for the bill of lading if it contains the particulars provided for in the second paragraph of Article (176) and is endorsed with the word “shipped”.

Article 183

1- The bill of lading shall be deemed evidence of the particulars it contains, as between the carrier and the shipper and in respect of third parties.
2- In the relationship between the carrier and the shipper, proof contrary to the contents of the bill of lading may be adduced. As regards third parties, however, the carrier may not prove the contrary of its contents, but third parties may do so.
3- The consignee shall be deemed a third party for the purposes of this Article, unless he is the shipper himself.

Article 184

1- Any person entitled to receive the goods under the bill of lading may request the carrier to issue a delivery order for specified quantities thereof, provided that this is stipulated in the contract of carriage; delivery orders shall be issued in the name of a specified person, or to his order, or to bearer, shall be negotiated in the same manner as bills of lading, and shall be signed by the carrier.
2- If the bill of lading is negotiable, the carrier shall state thereon a note of the delivery orders he has issued and the goods specified therein, and if the entire cargo is distributed among several delivery orders, the carrier shall recover the bill of lading.
The delivery order shall give its lawful holder the right to receive the goods specified in the order.

Article 185

1- The carrier shall deliver the goods to the lawful holder of the bill of lading or of the delivery order.
2- If the person entitled to receive the goods does not appear or refuses to receive them, the carrier may request the Judge of Summary Matters at the Court of First Instance to authorise him to deposit them with a custodian appointed by the judge.

Article 186

The carrier shall load, stow, arrange, carry, keep, care for and discharge the goods with the necessary care and diligence.

Article 187

1- The freight shall not be due if the goods are not delivered to the consignee or are not placed at his disposal at the port of arrival.
2- Nevertheless, the freight shall be due if the non-delivery arises from the fault of the shipper or the consignee, or if the goods perish owing to a defect therein, or by reason of their special nature, or if the master is compelled to sell them during the voyage by reason of defect or damage, or if the master orders their destruction by reason of their danger or harmfulness or the prohibition of their carriage and the carrier was not aware thereof at the time of their loading.
3- Likewise, the freight shall be due for animals that die during the voyage for a cause not attributable to the act of the carrier.

Article 188

1- The shipper shall not be discharged from paying the freight by abandoning the goods to the carrier.
2- Likewise, he shall not be discharged from paying the freight if the official authorities confiscate the goods before their delivery to the consignee.

Article 189

1- The carrier shall have the right to retain the goods at the port of arrival in order to obtain payment of the freight due to him, unless a security assessed by the Judge of Summary Matters at the Court of First Instance is furnished to him. Where the right of retention is exercised, the judge shall order the deposit of the goods with a custodian whom he appoints. He may order the sale of the goods or of part thereof in settlement of the freight, and shall fix a date for the sale and the manner in which it is to be conducted.
2- The carrier shall have a lien on the goods loaded on the ship or deposited with a custodian in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, and the lien shall secure the debt of the freight and its accessories.

Article 190

The shipper shall be liable for the damage caused to the ship or to the goods loaded thereon if such damage arises from his act or from a defect in his goods.

Article 191

1- The carrier shall not be liable for loss of or damage to the goods resulting from unseaworthiness of the ship, unless such unseaworthiness is attributable to the carrier’s failure to exercise due diligence to make the ship seaworthy before and at the beginning of the voyage, or to ensure that it is properly manned, equipped and supplied with the necessary materials and provisions, or to make the holds, refrigerating and cool chambers and all other parts of the ship assigned for the loading of goods fit for the reception, carriage and preservation of the goods.
2- In all cases where loss of or damage to the goods arises from unseaworthiness of the ship, the burden of proving the exercise of due diligence shall fall on the carrier or on any other person invoking the exemption provided for in this Article.

Article 192

The carrier shall not be liable for loss of or damage to the goods or delay in their delivery if this arises from any of the following causes:
1- Act, fault or neglect of the master, seamen, pilot or any servant of the carrier in the navigation or in the management of the ship.
2- Fire, unless caused by the act or fault of the carrier.
3- Perils, dangers or accidents of the sea or other navigable waters.
4- Act of God.
5- Acts of war.
6- Acts of public enemies.
7- Any arrest or restraint by a government, authority or riot, or judicial seizure.
8- Quarantine restrictions.
9- Any act or omission of the shipper or owner of the goods, or his agent or representative.
10- Any strike, stoppage of work, lockout or incidental hindrance, if such acts would prevent the continuation of work wholly or partially.
11- Riots or civil commotions.
12- Saving or attempting to save life or property at sea.
13- Any deviation in saving or attempting to save life or property at sea, or any other deviation justified by a reasonable cause.
14- Wastage in bulk or weight, or any other loss or damage arising from latent defect in the goods, or from their special nature, or from inherent vice therein.
15- Insufficiency of packing.
16- Insufficiency or inadequacy of marks.
17- Latent defects not discoverable by ordinary examination.
18- Any other cause not arising from the act or fault of the carrier or of his agents or servants. The burden of proof shall be on the person invoking this defence to show that neither the act nor the fault of such persons contributed to the loss or damage.

Article 193

1- If the carrier is held liable for the total loss of or total damage to the goods, the compensation shall be calculated according to the usual value of goods of the same kind and type at the place and time of arrival.
The compensation payable by the carrier for partial loss or damage or for delay in delivery shall be equal to the diminution in the value of the goods in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, provided that such compensation shall not in any case exceed what would be due in the event of total loss of the goods.
2- In all cases, the carrier shall not be bound, by reason of loss of or damage to the goods or delay in their delivery, to pay an amount exceeding two hundred and fifty dinars per package or unit, or seven hundred and fifty fils per kilogram of the gross weight of the goods, whichever is the higher, unless the shipper has furnished before loading a declaration of the nature and value of the goods and the carrier has recorded such declaration in the bill of lading; the said declaration shall be deemed a presumption of the correctness of the value assigned by the shipper to the goods, and the carrier may prove the contrary.
3- If the packages or units loaded are consolidated in boxes, receptacles or other containers, and the number of packages or units contained in the container is stated in the bill of lading, each of them shall be deemed a separate package or unit for the purpose of determining the maximum limit of liability set out in the preceding paragraph; otherwise, the container together with its contents shall be deemed one package or unit.
4- By special agreement between the shipper and the carrier or whoever acts on his behalf, a maximum limit of the carrier’s liability different from the limit provided for in this Article may be fixed, provided that it is not lower than such limit.
5- In all cases, the carrier shall not be liable for loss of or damage to the goods if the shipper has intentionally furnished incorrect particulars relating to the nature or value of the goods for entry in the bill of lading.

Article 194

In the event of loss of or damage to the goods, each of the carrier and the person who received the goods shall afford the other the means of inspecting the goods and checking the number of packages.

Article 195

1- Any clause in the bill of lading or in any other similar document shall be void if its effect is to relieve the carrier from liability for loss of or damage to the goods or delay in their arrival arising from fault, negligence or failure in the obligations provided for in this Section, or if it lessens such liability.
2- Any clause assigning to the carrier the rights arising from the insurance of the goods, and any other similar clause, shall be deemed equivalent to clauses relieving from liability.

Article 196

1- The carrier may waive all or some of the rights and exemptions established for him, and may increase his obligations provided for in this Section, provided that such waiver or increase in obligations is stated in the bill of lading delivered to the shipper.
2- Conditions, reservations or exemptions relating to the obligations and liability of the carrier for loss of or damage to the goods, or to his obligation to keep, care for or stow them, may be agreed upon in respect of the period prior to loading or subsequent to discharge.

Article 197

It may be agreed to derogate from the provisions on liability contained in the preceding Articles if the nature and condition of the goods to be carried, the circumstances of their loading, and the circumstances, terms and times under which the carriage is to be performed are such as to justify the conclusion of a special agreement, provided that such agreement is not contrary to public order and does not relate to the care or diligence of the carrier’s servants or agents in respect of the loading, stowing, arranging, carriage, keeping, care and discharge of the goods carried by sea, and provided that the agreement is recorded in the bill of lading or in the receipt and both are endorsed as non-negotiable.

Article 198

1- In the event of loss of or damage to the goods, the person receiving them shall notify the carrier or whoever acts on his behalf at the port of discharge in writing of the loss or damage before or at the time of receipt; otherwise, they shall be presumed to have been delivered to him in the condition stated in the bill of lading until evidence to the contrary is adduced. If, however, the loss or damage is not apparent, the said notice shall be given within three days from the date of the actual delivery of the goods.
2- Notice shall not be required if the goods were surveyed at the time of delivery in the presence of the carrier or his representative and the person receiving the goods.

Article 199

1- The provisions on liability set out in this Section shall apply to carriage by sea under a bill of lading during the period between the loading of the goods on the ship and their discharge therefrom.
2- Such provisions shall not apply to carriage under a charterparty unless a bill of lading is issued under such charterparty, and then from the time at which such bill governs the relationship between its holder and the carrier.
3- Nor shall such provisions apply to the carriage of live animals or of goods which are stated in the contract of carriage to be carried on deck and are in fact so carried.

Article 200

1- The carrier may issue a through bill of lading whereby he undertakes to carry the goods from a specified place in successive stages; in this case, the carrier shall be liable for all obligations arising from the bill until the end of the carriage and shall be responsible for the acts of the subsequent carriers who receive the goods, while each of the subsequent carriers shall be liable only for the damage occurring while he is carrying the goods.

Article 201

1- Actions arising from the contract of carriage by sea shall be time-barred upon the lapse of one year from the date of delivery of the goods or from the date on which delivery should have taken place.
2- In the case of recovery of what was paid without right, this period shall commence from the day on which the person who paid what was not due becomes aware of his right to recovery.
3- The running of the limitation period shall be interrupted by a claim made by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, and shall also be interrupted by settlement negotiations conducted between the parties or by the appointment of an expert to assess the damage, in addition to the causes established by law.

Section Two – Contract of Carriage of Persons

Article 202

A contract of carriage of passengers is a contract whereby the carrier undertakes to carry the passenger on a specified sea voyage in return for a fare.

Article 203

1- The contract of carriage of passengers by sea shall be evidenced in writing by an instrument called the passage ticket.
2- The passage ticket shall in particular state the name of the carrier and the name of the passenger, particulars of the voyage, the name of the ship, the date and place of departure and the place of arrival, the intermediate ports of call, the fare, the class occupied by the passenger on the ship and his place thereon, and the date and place of issue of the ticket.
3- The passage ticket may not be assigned to third parties except with the consent of the carrier.

Article 204

The carrier shall guarantee the safety of the passenger and shall be liable for the damage he sustains by reason of death or bodily injury if the accident from which the damage arose occurred during the period between the commencement of the passenger’s embarkation on the ship and the completion of his disembarkation therefrom.
The carrier may not disclaim his liability except by proving an extraneous cause.

Article 205

The carrier shall be liable for the damage arising from delay in arrival or from non-performance of his obligations arising from the contract, unless he proves that this arises from a cause extraneous to him.

Article 206

1- The provisions of the two preceding Articles shall apply to free carriage.
2- In the case of courtesy carriage, the carrier shall not be liable unless the injured party proves that the damage arises from fraud or gross fault on the part of the carrier or his servants.

Article 207

Any agreement providing for the exemption of the carrier from liability for the death of the passenger or for the bodily injuries he sustains shall be void; and, save in cases of intentional fault or gross fault of the carrier or his servants, the carrier may stipulate his exemption from liability for non-bodily damage or damage from delay sustained by the passenger.

Article 208

In the event of bodily injury, the carrier shall be notified of the injury in writing within ten days from the date on which the passenger leaves the ship; otherwise, he shall be presumed to have left the ship without injury unless the contrary is proven.

Article 209

1- If the ship is unable to sail for a reason not attributable to the carrier, the contract shall be rescinded by operation of law without compensation, and the carrier shall refund the fare collected from the passenger.
2- If the voyage is suspended for a period exceeding a reasonable limit, the passenger may rescind the contract and hold the carrier liable for compensation; the carrier shall be exempted from compensation if he proves that the suspension of the voyage is due to a cause not attributable to him.
3- Rescission may not take place if the carrier carries the passenger to the agreed place of arrival within a reasonable time and on a ship of the same class.

Article 210

The obligation of the carrier shall include the carriage of the passenger’s luggage within the limits specified by the contract or by custom.

Article 211

1- The carrier, his agent or the master shall issue a receipt for the luggage handed over to him by the passenger for carriage, and such luggage shall be recorded in a special book on board the ship; the provisions on the liability of the carrier prescribed for the carriage of goods shall apply to such luggage.
2- The carrier shall be liable for the luggage retained by the passenger where it is proven that the loss or damage is due to the fault of the carrier or of one of his servants.

Article 212

The carrier may retain the passenger’s luggage delivered to him, and shall have a lien on its price, in settlement of the fare.

Article 213

The provisions on the liability of the carrier shall not apply to stowaways.

Article 214

1- Actions arising from the contract of carriage of passengers and their luggage shall be time-barred upon the lapse of one year.
However, if the action arises from an act deemed a crime, it shall not be extinguished except upon the extinction of the criminal action.
2- The period shall run from the day on which the passenger leaves the ship, or from the day on which he should have left it.

Section Three – Commission Agency for Carriage

Article 215

1- The profession of commission agency for carriage by sea may not be practised except by a person holding Kuwaiti nationality and entered in the register prepared for that purpose at the Ministry of Communications.
2- The organisation of this register shall be governed by a resolution of the Minister of Communications after taking the opinion of the Public Ports Corporation.
3- The following shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding two months and a fine not exceeding two thousand dinars, or by either of these two penalties:
1- Any person who carries on the business of commission agency for carriage by sea, or advertises by any means of publication that he carries on the business of such agency, without his name being entered in the register.
2- Any person who intentionally submits incorrect particulars to the Ministry of Communications for entry in the register.

Chapter Five – Towage and Pilotage

Section One – Towage

Article 216

The towing ship and the towed ship shall be jointly and severally liable for the damage caused to third parties in the course of the towage operation.

Article 217

1- The towing ship shall be liable for the damage caused to the towed ship, unless it proves that the damage arose from force majeure, a fortuitous event, an inherent vice in the towed ship, or a fault of its master.
2- As for the damage caused to the towing ship, the towed ship shall not be liable for it unless its fault was the cause of such damage.

Section Two – Pilotage

Article 218

1- Pilotage shall be compulsory in the ports of Kuwait.
2- The laws and resolutions governing the organisation of pilotage, the designation of its areas, the fixing of the fees due for it and the penalty for violating its provisions shall apply in that respect.
3- Ships whose registered gross tonnage is less than four hundred tons shall be exempted from the obligation of pilotage.

Article 219

The command and management of the ship shall remain with the master while the pilot performs his work.

Article 220

1- The operator of the ship alone shall be liable for the damage caused to third parties by reason of the faults committed by the pilot in the course of performing the pilotage operation.
2- The pilot shall not be liable for the damage caused to the ship he pilots unless he commits gross fault in the course of performing the pilotage operation.

Article 221

The operator of the ship shall be liable for the damage sustained by the pilot vessel during the pilotage operation, unless the damage arose from gross fault of the pilot.

Section Three – Limitation

Article 222

Actions arising from towage and pilotage operations shall be time-barred upon the lapse of one year from the date of completion of such operations.

Part Four – Maritime Accidents

Chapter One – Collision

Article 223

1- If a collision occurs between seagoing ships, or between seagoing ships and inland navigation vessels, the compensation due for the damage caused to the ships, things and persons on board the ship shall be settled in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter, irrespective of the waters in which the collision occurred.
2- The said provisions shall apply, even if no physical collision occurs, to compensation for damage caused by a ship to another ship, or to things or persons on board such ship, if such damage arises from the movement of waves caused by the ship executing or omitting to execute a manoeuvre, or from non-observance of the laws and regulations.

Article 224

If the collision arises from force majeure, or if there is doubt as to its causes, each ship shall bear the damage it has sustained; this rule shall apply even if the ships, or one of them, were at anchor at the time of the collision.

Article 225

If the collision arises from the fault of one of the ships, that ship shall be liable to compensate the damage arising from the collision.

Article 226

1- If the fault is common, the liability of each ship shall be assessed in proportion to the fault committed by it; however, if the circumstances prevent the determination of the proportion of the fault committed by each ship, or if it appears that their faults are equal, the liability shall be apportioned equally between them.
2- The ships that participated in the fault shall be liable towards third parties, in the proportion referred to in the preceding paragraph and without joint and several liability between them, for the damage caused to the ships, goods, luggage or other property belonging to the seamen, the passengers or any other person on board the ship.
3- The liability shall be joint and several if the damage arises from the death of, or injury to, the persons on board, and the ship that pays more than its share shall have recourse against the other ships.

Article 227

The liability prescribed in this Chapter shall arise if the collision occurs through the fault of the pilot, even if pilotage is compulsory.

Article 228

Fault shall not be presumed with respect to liability arising from collision.

Article 229

The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to a collision occurring between the towing ship and the towed ship, nor to any other case in which a contractual relationship exists between the two ships.

Article 230

1- The master of each of the colliding ships shall promptly render assistance to the other ship, its seamen and its passengers, within the limits of his ability and without exposing his own ship, its seamen and its passengers to serious danger; he shall also, as far as he is able, notify the other ship of the name of his ship, its port of registry, the place from which it is coming and the place to which it is bound.
2- The owner or operator of the ship shall not be liable merely by reason of a violation of the preceding provisions.

Article 231

1- The claimant may bring the action arising from collision before one of the following courts:
a- The court of the domicile of the defendant, or the court within whose jurisdiction one of the centres of operation of the ship is located.
b- The court of the place where arrest was effected on the defendant’s ship that caused the damage, or on another ship owned by him if its arrest is permissible, or the court of the place where arrest could have been effected and where the defendant provided a surety or other security.
c- The court of the place where the collision occurred, if it occurred in ports, harbours or internal waters.
2- The litigants may agree to bring the action before a court other than the courts mentioned in the preceding paragraph, or to refer the dispute to arbitration.

Article 232

Actions for compensation arising from collision shall be time-barred upon the lapse of two years from the date of occurrence of the accident.

Article 233

The right of recourse referred to in the last paragraph of Article (226) shall be time-barred upon the lapse of one year from the date of payment.

Chapter Two – Assistance and Salvage

Article 234

The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to the assistance and salvage of seagoing ships in danger, of the things they carry and of the freight; they shall also apply to services of the same kind rendered between seagoing ships and inland navigation vessels, irrespective of the waters in which such services are rendered or in which the assistance or salvage takes place.

Article 235

1- Every act of assistance or salvage that has a useful result shall give rise to a right to an equitable reward.
2- In all cases, the reward may not exceed the value of the things salved.
3- The reward shall be due even if the assistance or salvage takes place between ships owned by the same person.

Article 236

Persons who took part in the assistance operations shall not be entitled to any reward if the ship to which assistance was rendered had expressly and on reasonable grounds prohibited them from assisting it.

Article 237

In the case of towage or pilotage, no reward shall be due to the ship performing such operation for the assistance or salvage of the ship it tows or pilots or of the goods on board, unless the towing or piloting ship has rendered exceptional services that do not ordinarily form part of towage and pilotage operations.

Article 238

1- The amount of the reward shall be determined by the two parties; otherwise, it shall be determined by the court.
2- The proportion in which the reward is to be distributed among the ships that took part in the assistance or salvage operations, as well as the proportion of distribution between the owner, the master and the seamen of each ship, shall be determined in the same manner.
3- If the salving ship is foreign, the distribution between its owner, its master and the persons in its service shall be made in accordance with the law of the State whose nationality the ship holds.

Article 239

1- No reward shall be due for the saving of human lives.
2- However, persons who saved human lives shall be entitled to an equitable share of the reward granted to those who salved the ship and the goods on the occasion of the same accident.

Article 240

1- The court may, at the request of either party, annul or amend any agreement on assistance or salvage concluded at the time of danger and under its influence, if it finds that the terms of the agreement are inequitable.
2- In all cases, the court may, at the request of the parties concerned, annul or amend the said agreement if it appears that the consent of either party was vitiated by fraud or concealment of the truth, or that the reward is, by excess or by deficiency, disproportionate to the services rendered.

Article 241

1- In determining the reward, the court shall take into account, according to the circumstances, the following two bases in the order in which they are mentioned:
a- The extent of the benefit resulting from the salvage, the efforts and skill of the salvors, the danger to which the assisted ship, its passengers, its seamen and the goods laden on it were exposed, the danger to which the salvors and the assisting and salving ship were exposed, the time taken by such operations, and the expenses and damage resulting therefrom; the risks of liability and other risks to which the salvors were exposed, and the value of the equipment they used, taking into account, where necessary, the specialisation of the ship in assistance and salvage.
b- The value of the things salved.
2- The court shall take into account the two bases mentioned in the preceding paragraph when distributing the reward among the salvors if there are several of them.
3- The court may reduce or cancel the reward if it appears that the salvors committed faults which made the assistance or salvage necessary, or if they committed thefts, concealed stolen things or committed other fraudulent acts.

Article 242

1- Every master shall, within the limits of his ability and without exposing his ship, its seamen or its passengers to serious danger, render assistance to every person found at sea in danger of perishing, even if such person is an enemy.
2- The master of the ship who fails to render the assistance referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be punished by imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months and a fine not exceeding six thousand dinars, or by either of these two penalties; the owner or the operator shall not be liable for any compensation awarded to third parties by reason of this crime.

Article 243

Actions claiming the reward for assistance and salvage shall be time-barred upon the lapse of two years from the date of completion of such operations.

Chapter Three – General Average

Article 244

The provisions set out in this Chapter shall apply to maritime average in so far as no special agreement has been made in respect thereof between the parties concerned; if there is no agreement or provision, the rules established by maritime custom shall apply.

Article 245

Maritime average is either general or particular.

Article 246

1- Any extraordinary sacrifice or expenditure intentionally and reasonably made or incurred by the master for the purpose of securing the common interests, in order to avert a danger threatening the ship and its cargo, shall be deemed general average.
2- Any loss to which the provisions of the preceding paragraph do not apply shall be deemed particular average.
3- A loss shall be presumed to be particular average, and whoever claims that it is general average shall prove it.

Article 247

Particular average shall be borne by the owner of the thing that sustained the damage or by the person who incurred the expenditure, without prejudice to his right of recourse against the person who caused the damage or the person who benefited from the expenditure incurred.

Article 248

All the parties whose common interests were joined in the same maritime voyage shall contribute to bearing the general average.

Article 249

1- The loss shall be deemed general average even if the accident from which it resulted was caused by the fault of one of the participants in the voyage, without prejudice to the right of the parties concerned to have recourse against the person who committed the fault.
2- The person who committed the fault may not claim that the damage he sustained be treated as general average.

Article 250

1- Only the damage and expenditure arising directly from an act having the character of general average shall be admitted in general average.
2- Indirect damage and expenditure arising from the delay or detention of the ship, from a difference in the prices of goods or otherwise shall not be admitted in general average.
3- Expenditure incurred in substitution for other expenditure that would have been admitted in general average had it been incurred shall be deemed general average, provided that it does not exceed the expenditure not incurred.

Article 251

Goods laden on the deck of the ship contrary to maritime custom shall contribute to general average if they are saved; if they are jettisoned or destroyed, their owner may request that they be treated as general average if he proves that he did not consent to the manner of their loading.

Article 252

1- Loss of or damage to goods laden without the knowledge of the master, or goods in respect of which an incorrect description was intentionally given, shall not be admitted in general average.
2- If a statement of the value of the goods is given at less than their real value, they shall not be admitted in average except on the basis of the value stated in the statement.
3- However, if the goods laden without the knowledge of the master, or in respect of which an incorrect statement of their value or description was given, are saved, they shall contribute to general average on the basis of their real value.

Article 253

The rights and obligations arising from general average shall form two groups: a credit group and a debit group.

Article 254

The expenses and damage deemed to be general average shall be entered in the credit group, assessed as follows:
1- The value of the damage sustained by the ship shall be assessed at the port where the voyage ends; the assessment shall be made on the basis of the expenses actually incurred in repairing the damage sustained by the ship, or on the basis of the estimated expenses if no repairs are carried out on the ship; if the ship is totally lost or lost in a manner equivalent to total loss, the amount admitted in general average shall be determined on the basis of the value of the ship in sound condition immediately before the accident, after deducting the estimated value of the repairs that do not have the character of average and the proceeds of the sale of the wreck, if any.
2- The value of the damage sustained by the goods shall be assessed at the port of discharge; the assessment shall be made on the basis of the commercial value of such goods in sound condition at the said port, and, in the case of damage, on the basis of the difference between their value in sound condition and their value in damaged condition, as at the last day of discharge of the ship at the port originally designated for its arrival, or on the day on which the maritime voyage ends if it ends at a port other than the said port; if the damaged goods are sold, the damage admitted in general average shall be determined on the basis of the difference between the net proceeds of the sale and the value of the goods in sound condition on the last day of discharge of the ship at the port originally designated for its arrival, or on the day on which the maritime voyage ends if it ends at a port other than the said port.

Article 255

If one of the parties concerned does not pay the funds required of him as contribution to general average, the expenses incurred to obtain such funds, or their equivalent, shall be admitted in general average.

Article 256

The ship, the freight and the goods laden on the ship shall be entered in the debit group, assessed as follows:
1- The ship shall be assessed at its value at the port where the maritime voyage ends, with the addition, where necessary, of the value of the sacrifices it has sustained.
2- The gross freight for the carriage of goods and the fare for the carriage of persons, which have not been stipulated as due in all events, shall be assessed at two-thirds.
3- Goods saved shall be assessed at their real commercial value at the port of discharge, and goods sacrificed shall be assessed at their estimated commercial value at the said port.

Article 257

The passengers’ luggage for which no receipt has been issued by the carrier, his agent or the master shall not contribute to bearing the general average; however, if such luggage is lost or damaged, it shall contribute to general average at its estimated value.

Article 258

1- If the owners of the goods provide cash sums to secure their contribution to general average, such sums shall be deposited forthwith in a joint account opened in the name of a representative of the operator and a representative of the owners of the goods at one of the banks agreed upon by the two parties; such sums shall be held to secure the satisfaction of the rights of the parties concerned in general average, and no payments may be made out of such sums nor may they be returned to the person who paid them except with the written permission of the average adjuster, without prejudice to the rights and obligations arising from the final adjustment.
2- In the event of disagreement, the Judge of Summary Matters at the Court of First Instance shall appoint a representative of the owners of the goods and shall also designate the bank in which such sums are to be deposited.

Article 259

General average shall be apportioned among all the parties concerned in the maritime voyage on the basis of the ratio between the credit group and the debit group.

Article 260

1- General average shall be adjusted by one or more average adjusters, appointed by the Judge of Summary Matters at the Court of First Instance if all the parties concerned do not agree on the appointment.
2- Such average adjusters may seek the assistance of others in performing their task.

Article 261

If not all the parties concerned accept the adjustment, it shall be referred to the court, at the request of any of them, for a decision thereon.

Article 262

The master may refuse to deliver the goods that are required to contribute to general average unless their owner provides sufficient security for the payment of their share of the average; if the two parties do not agree on the security, the matter shall be referred to the Judge of Summary Matters at the Court of First Instance to appoint an expert to assess the security.

Article 263

1- Debts arising from general average shall be privileged debts.
2- With respect to the sums due to the operator of the ship, such lien shall attach to the goods saved or the proceeds of their sale.
3- With respect to the sums due to the owners of the goods, the lien shall attach to the ship saved, its freight and its accessories.
4- The expenses of the adjustment of general average shall be paid in priority to all other debts.

Article 264

There shall be no joint liability among those obliged to contribute to general average; however, if one of them is unable to pay his share of such average, the unpaid portion shall be apportioned among the others in proportion to the share borne by each of them in the general average.

Article 265

1- If a general average occurs, the master shall record in the ship’s book the circumstances that led to it and the sacrifice made or the expenditure incurred for the purpose of securing the common interests, and he shall communicate such information to the operator as soon as possible.
2- A claim to participate in the adjustment of general average in respect of damage sustained by the goods shall not be admitted unless the operator or the master is notified of the claim in writing within thirty days from the receipt of the goods; if the claim relates to damage sustained by the ship, the owners of the goods shall be notified of it within the said period from the day on which the voyage ends.

Article 266

1- The action for participation in general average shall be time-barred upon the lapse of two years from the day on which the ship arrives at the port designated for its arrival or at the port at which the maritime voyage was interrupted.
2- The running of the limitation period shall be interrupted by the appointment of the average adjuster, in addition to the causes prescribed by law.

Part Five – Marine Insurance

Chapter One – General Provisions

Section One – The Insurance Contract

Article 267

1- Marine insurance is a contract whereby the insurer undertakes to cover the damage arising from maritime risks in consideration of a specified premium paid by the insured.
2- The contract of marine insurance shall be deemed a contract of indemnity, and it may not result in the insured benefiting from the occurrence of the risk by more than the actual extent of the damage. Any agreement to the contrary shall be void.

Article 268

1- The contract of insurance may not be proven except in writing.
2- The insurance policy containing the terms of the contract may be an official instrument or a private instrument.
3- Any amendments made to such policy shall also be proven in writing.

Article 269

1- The insurance policy shall be written in the Arabic language, and one of the international languages used in commercial dealings may be added to it.
2- The printed terms concerning the cases in which the right of the insured is exposed to nullity or forfeiture, or which limit the cover, shall also be made prominent by being written in more conspicuous or larger characters; otherwise, the term shall be void.

Article 270

1- The insurance policy may be made out in the name of the insured, to his order or to bearer.
2- The contract of insurance may be concluded for the benefit of an unspecified person.
3- The lawful holder of the policy shall have the right to claim compensation, and the insurer may invoke against him the defences that he may raise against the original contracting party, even if the insurance policy is made out to order or to bearer.

Article 271

1- The insurance policy shall contain the following particulars:
1- The date of the contract of insurance, stating the day and the hour.
2- The place of contracting.
3- The name and domicile of each of the insurer and the insured.
4- The property insured.
5- The risks covered by the insurance and those excluded from it, and their time and place.
6- The sum insured and the premium.
2- The insurance policy shall be signed by the insurer or his representative.

Article 272

The following conditions contained in the policy shall be void:
1- A condition providing for the forfeiture of the right to insurance by reason of a breach of laws and regulations, unless such breach constitutes a felony or an intentional misdemeanour.
2- A condition providing for the forfeiture of the right of the insured by reason of his delay in notifying the authorities of the accident insured against or in submitting the documents, if it appears from the circumstances that the delay was due to an acceptable excuse.
3- An arbitration clause, if it is contained in the policy among its printed general conditions and does not take the form of a special agreement separate from the general conditions.
4- Any other arbitrary condition where it is proved that its breach had no effect on the occurrence of the accident insured against.

Article 273

1- Any lawful interest, including expected profit, may be the subject of insurance.
2- No person may be a party to, or a beneficiary of, a contract of insurance unless he has an interest in the risk not occurring.

Article 274

1- The insurer may reinsure the property insured or the liability towards third parties.
2- The insured may not rely on the contract of reinsurance concluded by the insurer.

Article 275

If a risk is insured under a single contract by several insurers, each of them shall be bound in proportion to his share in the sum insured and within the limits of that share, without joint liability between them.

Article 276

1- The insurance shall have no effect if ninety days have elapsed from the date of the contract of insurance, or from the date fixed for the risk to begin to run, without the risk insured against having begun to run.
2- This provision shall not apply to floating policies except with respect to the first shipment.

Article 277

1- A contract of insurance concluded after the risk insured against has materialised or after it has ceased shall be void if it is proved that the news of its materialisation or cessation reached the place where the insured was before he gave his order to effect the insurance, or reached the place where the contract was signed before the insurer signed it.
2- If the insurance is concluded subject to the condition of good or bad news, it shall not be void unless it is proved that the insured knew that the risk had materialised or that the insurer knew that it had ceased.

Article 278

The insured shall be bound as follows:
1- To pay the premium, fees and expenses at the place and time agreed upon.
2- To exercise reasonable care to preserve the ship or the goods.
3- To give, upon contracting, a true statement of the circumstances known to him which would enable the insurer to assess the risks being insured.
4- To inform the insurer, while the contract is running, of any material change that occurs and that would increase the risks, within the limits of his knowledge thereof.
5- To notify the insurer of every incident that may render the insurer liable, within a period not exceeding five days at most from the date of his knowledge of its occurrence, unless it is agreed to extend or shorten this period. If the insured fails to give notice within the specified period, the amount of indemnity may be reduced by the amount of damage sustained by the insurer as a result of the delay in giving notice, and the right to indemnity shall be forfeited if the insurer proves that the failure to give notice was intentional with the aim of preventing him from ascertaining in due time the causes of the materialisation of the risk.

Article 279

1- If the insured does not pay the premium due, the insurer may suspend the insurance or rescind the contract. The suspension or rescission shall not take effect until fifteen days have elapsed after the insured has been notified of the demand for payment. The notice may be given by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, or by telegram, at the last domicile of the insured known to the insurer.
2- The notice of suspension of the insurance shall not preclude the necessity of giving a further notice of rescission of the contract, so long as the premium and expenses have not been paid.
3- The contract of insurance shall resume producing its effects for the future upon the lapse of twenty-four hours after payment of the premiums and expenses.
4- The rescission of the contract shall oblige the insurer to refund the premium in a measure corresponding to the outstanding risks, without prejudice to any indemnities due.
5- The effect of the suspension or rescission shall not extend to a third party in good faith to whom the ownership of the insurance policy was transferred before the occurrence of any accident and before notification of the suspension or rescission.
6- In the event of the occurrence of an accident, the insurer may invoke set-off against the third party to the extent of the premium due.

Article 280

1- The insurer may request the annulment of the contract of insurance if the insured, even without bad faith, has provided incorrect particulars, or has concealed with ill intent the necessary particulars, and this has had the effect of appreciably reducing the insurer’s assessment of the gravity of the risk.
2- Annulment may be requested even if the incorrect statement or the concealment has no connection with the damage sustained by the thing insured.
3- The insurer shall be entitled to the premium in full if ill intent on the part of the insured is proved.

Article 281

1- The insured shall notify the insurer of material circumstances that arise while the contract is running and that would increase the risks borne by the insurer, within three days from the date of his knowledge thereof, excluding official holidays. If notice is not given within the said period, the insurer may rescind the contract.
2- If notice is given within the period referred to in the preceding paragraph and it appears that the increase in the risks did not result from an act of the insured, the insurance shall remain in force in return for an additional premium. If, however, the increase in the risks resulted from an act of the insured, the insurer may either rescind the contract within three days from the date of his knowledge of the increase in the risks, while retaining the right to the premium, or maintain the contract while claiming an additional premium in return for the increase in the risks.

Article 282

If the insured, in bad faith, makes a declaration not conforming to the truth in respect of the accident, his right to the sum insured shall be forfeited.

Article 283

1- Upon the occurrence of the risk insured against, the insured shall do all in his power to save the things insured, and he shall take all conservatory measures to preserve the right of recourse against the liable third party. This shall not affect the rights of the insured arising from the contract of insurance.
2- The insured shall be liable towards the insurer for the damage sustained by the latter by reason of the non-performance of this obligation as a result of the fault or negligence of the insured.

Article 284

1- The insurer may request the annulment of the contract if the sum insured exceeds the value of the things insured and deceit on the part of the insured or his agent is proved.
In this case, the premium shall remain due to the insurer in full.
2- If there is no deceit, the contract shall be deemed valid to the extent of the value of the things insured.
3- If, however, the sum insured is less than the actual value of the things insured, the insurer shall not be bound except within the limits of the sum insured.

Article 285

1- Except in the case of fraud, if a risk is insured under several contracts, whether concluded on the same date or on different dates, and the total of the sums insured stated in these contracts exceeds the value of the thing insured, the contracts of insurance shall be deemed valid, and the insured may have recourse, within the limits of the damage and up to no more than the value of the thing insured, against the several insurers, without order of priority between them, each in the proportion which the sum insured for which he is bound bears to the actual value of the thing insured.
2- The insured who requests the settlement of the damage sustained by him shall declare to the insurer the existence of the other insurances known to him; otherwise his request shall be inadmissible.
3- If fraud on the part of the insured is proved, each of the several contracts of insurance shall be voidable at the request of the insurer.
4- In all cases, the premium in its entirety shall be due to the insurer in good faith.

Article 286

The insurer shall be liable for the damage resulting from the occurrence of the risk insured against, provided that this does not exceed the value of the insurance.

Article 287

The insurer shall be liable for the material damage sustained by the things insured by reason of the occurrence of a maritime risk or of an accident deemed to be force majeure, and he shall also be liable:
1- For the contribution of the property insured to general average, unless it arises from a risk excluded from the insurance.
2- For the expenses incurred by reason of a risk insured against in order to protect the property insured from material damage or to limit such damage.

Article 288

1- The insurer shall be liable for the material damage sustained by the things insured through the act or fault of the insured or of his shore-based servants, unless the insurer proves that the damage arose from an intentional fault or a gross fault on the part of the insured, or from his negligence in exercising the reasonable care necessary to protect the things insured.
2- The insurer shall also be liable for the material damage sustained by the things insured through the act or fault of the master or the seamen, without prejudice to the provisions of the second paragraph of Article (304).

Article 289

The insurance shall not cover the following risks unless otherwise agreed:
1- The risks of civil or foreign war, acts of piracy, riots and revolutions, strikes, lockouts, acts of sabotage and terrorism, and damage arising from atomic explosions or radiation, whatever their cause, as well as seizure and restraint issued by a public authority in any State.
2- Damage caused by the things insured to other property or to persons, save as provided for in Article (305).

Article 290

If the insurance of war risks is agreed upon, this insurance shall cover the damage sustained by the things insured by reason of hostile acts, reprisals, capture, seizure, detention and constraint, if committed by governments or authorities, whether recognised or [not] recognised, or by reason of the explosion of mines and other implements of war, even if war has not been declared or has ended.
* Completed from the context.

Article 291

If it is impossible to ascertain whether the damage was caused by a war risk or by a maritime risk, it shall be deemed to have arisen from a maritime risk unless the contrary is proved.

Article 292

The insurer shall not be liable for the following:
1- Material damage arising from an inherent vice in the goods insured or from the insufficiency of their packing or packaging.
2- Natural wastage of the goods in transit.
3- Material damage arising from fines, confiscation, placing under receivership, requisition, sanitary measures, disinfection, blockade running, acts of smuggling and the carrying on of prohibited trade.
4- Compensation due by reason of arrest, and the security furnished for the release from arrest.
5- Damage that does not constitute material damage directly sustained by the things insured, such as loss of use, delay, price differences and obstacles affecting the commercial operation conducted by the insured.

Section Two – Settlement of Losses

Article 293

Damage shall be settled by way of indemnity in accordance with the provisions of Article (286), unless the insured elects to abandon the thing insured in the cases where the agreement or the law permits him to follow this method.

Article 294

The insurer shall not be bound to repair or replace the things insured.

Article 295

The insurer shall pay the share of the things insured in the contribution to general average and to the expenses of assistance and salvage, within the limits of the sum insured after deduction of the particular average borne by the insurer, if any.

Article 296

1- Abandonment may not be partial or conditional.
2- Abandonment shall entail the transfer of the ownership of the things insured to the insurer and his obligation to pay the sum insured in full.
3- The transfer of ownership shall take effect between the two parties from the day on which the insured notifies the insurer of his wish to abandon.
4- The insurer may, without prejudice to his obligation to pay the sum insured, refuse the transfer of the ownership of the things insured to him.

Article 297

1- Abandonment shall be notified to the insurer by formal notification or by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.
2- The insurer shall pay the sum insured within three months from the date on which he was notified of the abandonment.

Article 298

The insured, upon notifying his wish to abandon, shall declare all the contracts of insurance which he has effected or of whose existence he is aware.

Article 299

The insurer shall be subrogated by law, to the extent of the indemnity paid by him, to the actions which the insured has against whoever caused, by his act, the damage giving rise to the liability of the insurer.

Section Three – Limitation

Article 300

1- Every action arising from a contract of marine insurance shall be time-barred upon the lapse of two years.
2- This period shall begin to run as follows:
1- From the date on which the premium falls due, with respect to an action claiming it.
2- From the date of occurrence of the accident giving rise to the action, with respect to an action claiming compensation for damage sustained by the ship.
3- From the date of arrival of the ship, or the date on which it should have arrived, with respect to an action claiming compensation for damage sustained by the goods. If, however, the accident occurred after either of these two dates, the limitation period shall run from the date of occurrence of the accident.
4- From the date of occurrence of the accident, with respect to an action claiming the settlement of damage by way of abandonment. If a period is fixed in the contract for bringing the action of abandonment, the limitation period shall run from the date of expiry of that period.
5- From the date on which the insured made payment, with respect to an action for contribution to general average, or an action claiming the reward due for assistance.
6- From the date on which the third party brings the action against the insured, or from the day on which the insured made payment, with respect to his action against the insurer by reason of the recourse of the third party.
3- An action for the recovery of sums paid without right shall likewise be time-barred upon the lapse of two years. This period shall begin from the date on which the person who paid such sums became aware of his right to recovery.
4- The running of the limitation period shall be interrupted by a claim made by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, and it shall also be interrupted by settlement negotiations conducted between the two parties or by the appointment of an expert following the occurrence of the accident, in addition to the causes established by law.

Chapter Two – Special Provisions on Certain Types of Insurance

Section One – Insurance of the Ship

Article 301

Insurance on the ship shall be effected for a single voyage, for several successive voyages, or for a specified period.

Article 302

1- In voyage insurance, the insurer’s cover shall run from the commencement of the loading of the goods until the completion of their discharge, provided that the period during which the insurance runs shall not in any case exceed fifteen days from the arrival of the ship at the place of destination.
2- If the ship is empty of goods, the insurer’s cover shall run from the time she gets under way for the voyage until she berths in the agreed port.
3- If the insurance covers several successive voyages, the port agreed upon for the end of the last voyage shall be deemed the place where the contract ends.

Article 303

If the insurance is for a specified period, the insurer’s cover shall begin and end on the dates specified in the contract.

Article 304

1- The insurer shall be liable for damage arising from a latent defect in the ship.
2- He shall not be liable for damage arising from intentional faults committed by the master.

Article 305

Except for injury to persons, the insurer shall be bound to pay compensation of whatever kind owed by the insured to third parties in the event of a collision between the ship insured and another ship, or of her striking a fixed, moving or floating object, unless it is agreed that a specified proportion of such compensation is to be covered.

Article 306

1- If the insurance on the ship is for a single voyage or for several successive voyages, the insurer shall be entitled to the premium in full as soon as the risks insured against begin to run.
2- If the insurance is for a specified period, the insurer shall be entitled to the premium for the entire period of the insurance if the ship is totally lost or the insured decides to abandon her and the loss or abandonment is for the account of the insurer. If, however, the loss or abandonment is not for the account of the insurer, he shall be entitled only to that part of the premium which corresponds to the period between the date on which the risks began to run and the date of occurrence of the accident that led to the loss of the ship or to the notification of her abandonment.

Article 307

1- The insurer shall remain liable for the risks covered by the insurance on the ship if the master is compelled to change her route or voyage without the intervention of the insured.
2- If the change of route or voyage is not compulsory and would increase the risks insured against, the insurer shall be liable only for the accidents that are proved to have occurred on the agreed part of the route.

Article 308

The insurer shall cover, within the limits of the sum insured, the damage arising from each accident occurring while the insurance policy is running, even if the accidents are several.
The insurer may stipulate, upon contracting, that a supplementary premium be payable following each accident.

Article 309

Where the insurance is settled by way of indemnity, the insurer shall be bound to pay the expenses of replacing parts and the repairs necessary to make the ship fit for navigation, but not other compensation arising from the reduction in the value of the ship, from her loss of use, or from any other cause.

Article 310

1- The agreed value of the ship shall include the hull of the ship, her propelling machinery and the appurtenances owned by the insured, including provisions and fitting-out expenses.
2- Any other insurance, whatever its date, effected solely on the appurtenances owned by the insured shall, in the event of total loss or abandonment, entail a reduction of the agreed value by an amount equal to the value of such appurtenances.

Article 311

The insured may abandon the ship to the insurer in the following cases:
1- If the ship is totally lost.
2- If there has been no news of the ship for a period of three months after the arrival of the last news of her.
3- If the ship has sustained damage that is impossible to repair.
4- If the costs of repairing the ship are equal to at least three quarters of her value.

Article 312

1- Insurances effected on several ships belonging to a single operator shall apply as though each of those ships belonged to a different operator.
2- The goods and other property owned by the operator shall be deemed, with respect to the insurer of the ship, as though they were owned by a third party.

Article 313

1- If the ownership of the ship is transferred or she is chartered unequipped, the insurance shall continue by operation of law for the benefit of the new owner or the charterer, provided that the insurer is notified within fifteen days from the date of transfer of ownership or from the date of the charter. The new owner or the charterer shall perform all the obligations incumbent upon the insured towards the insurer under the contract of insurance. Nevertheless, the insurer may rescind the contract within one month from the date on which he was notified of the transfer of ownership or the charter, and in this case the contract shall remain in force for a period of fifteen days from the date of notification of the rescission.
2- The original insured shall remain bound towards the insurer to pay the premiums due up to the date of transfer of ownership or the date of the charter.

Article 314

1- The provisions of this Section shall apply to a contract of insurance on ships that is limited to the period during which the ship is in a port, anchorage or dry dock or in any other place.
2- These provisions shall also apply to insurance on the ship while she is under construction.

Section Two – Insurance of Goods

Article 315

Insurance on goods shall be effected by a policy for a single voyage or by a floating policy (open cover).

Article 316

1- The goods shall be covered by the insurance without interruption at any place where they may be during the voyage specified in the policy.
2- If, during the voyage, the goods are the subject of land, river or air carriage complementary to that voyage, the rules of marine insurance shall apply to them during the said period of carriage unless otherwise agreed.

Article 317

The sum insured may not exceed the ordinary price of the goods at the place and time of loading, plus the expenses incurred on them until they reach the place of arrival, and the expected profit.

Article 318

The losses sustained by the goods shall be assessed by the difference between their damaged value and their sound value at the same time and place, and the percentage of depreciation shall be applied to the sum insured.

Article 319

The insured may abandon the goods to the insurer in the following cases:
1- If there has been no news of the ship for a period of three months after the arrival of the last news of her.
2- If the ship becomes unfit for navigation during the voyage and it is impossible to carry the goods by any other means to the agreed place of arrival within three months from the date on which the insured notified the insurer of the unfitness of the ship for navigation.
3- If the goods are lost or damaged to an extent equal to at least three quarters of their value.
4- If the goods are sold during the voyage by reason of their having sustained material damage, provided that the damage arose from a risk covered by the insurance.

Article 320

1- If the insurance is effected by a floating policy, the policy shall contain the conditions by which each of the insurer and the insured is bound, the maximum amount which the insurer undertakes to pay for each shipment, and the premiums. The goods insured, the voyages and ships, and other particulars shall be specified by endorsements issued for each shipment separately.
2- Under a floating policy, the insured shall be bound to notify the insurer of the shipments set out below, and the insurer shall be bound to accept their insurance:
1- All shipments made for the account of the insured, or in performance of contracts of purchase or sale that oblige him to effect insurance. The insurance shall cover such shipments automatically from the time they are exposed to the risks insured against, provided that the insured gives notice of them within the period stipulated in the contract.
2- All shipments made for the account of third parties, the insurance of which is entrusted to the insured, provided that he has an interest in the shipment in his capacity as commission agent, as bailee of the goods or otherwise. The insurance shall not cover such shipments except from the time the insurer is notified of them.

Article 321

1- If the insured breaches the obligations provided for in the preceding Article, the court may, at the request of the insurer, rescind the contract without a period of grace, the insurer recovering, by way of compensation, the premiums relating to the shipments of which he was not notified.
2- If the bad faith of the insured is proved, the insurer may recover what he has paid in respect of accidents relating to shipments subsequent to the occurrence of the first intentional breach on the part of the insured.

Article 322

In all cases of insurance on goods, the insured shall notify the insurer of the existence of damage within five days from the date of delivery of the goods insured; otherwise he shall be presumed to have received them in sound condition, unless the insured proves the contrary.

Section Three – Liability Insurance

Article 323

In the case of insurance to cover liability, the insurer shall not be bound to pay indemnity for the occurrence of the accident stated in the insurance policy unless the third party who sustained the damage has addressed an amicable or judicial claim to the insured. The obligation of the insurer shall be within the limits of the compensation which the insured is bound to pay.

Article 324

If the subject of the liability insurance is compensation for damage caused to third parties by the ship in accordance with the provisions of Article (305), the insurance shall not take effect unless the sum insured on the ship is insufficient to compensate for the damage.

Article 325

If several insurances are effected to cover liability, each insurer shall be bound in respect of each accident separately within the limits of the amount stated in the insurance policy, even if the accidents are several.

Issued on 18 May 1980 and published in the Official Gazette Kuwait Al-Youm.