Maritime Law
Legal questions test the framework a master works inside: zones under UNCLOS, flag and port state control, the contract of carriage, and the casualty regimes that decide who pays. Egyptian candidates should also be able to point to the national maritime code and to the Suez Canal Authority's rules as the governing text for canal transits.
Zones and jurisdiction
Territorial sea 12 nm from baselines; contiguous zone 24 nm; exclusive economic zone 200 nm. Innocent passage in the territorial sea, transit passage through straits used for international navigation. The Suez Canal is not a strait but a canal, subject to the Constantinople Convention of 1888 and the SCA Rules of Navigation, which require compulsory pilotage - and note that pilotage does not relieve the master of responsibility.
Contracts and conventions
A bill of lading is a receipt, evidence of the contract and a document of title. The Hague-Visby Rules set the carrier's obligations, package limitation and a one-year time bar. SOLAS, MARPOL, STCW, MLC and the ISM and ISPS Codes provide the regulatory layer enforced by flag and port state control.
Casualty regimes
General average (York-Antwerp Rules) apportions a sacrifice made deliberately for the common safety. Salvage under the 1989 Convention rewards success (Article 13) with special compensation for environmental threat (Article 14), often implemented through SCOPIC. Pollution liability runs under CLC and the Fund, and under the Bunker Convention for fuel.
Worked example - general average contribution
A jettison and firefighting sacrifice totals 100,000. Contributory values at destination: ship 4,000,000; cargo 5,000,000; freight at risk 1,000,000. Total 10,000,000. Ship: 100,000 x 4/10 = 40,000. Cargo: 100,000 x 5/10 = 50,000. Freight: 100,000 x 1/10 = 10,000. The sacrifice is made good in full and apportioned in proportion to saved values; cargo interests pay their share even though they did not cause the loss.
Traps that cost marks
- Confusing general average (deliberate sacrifice) with salvage (reward for saving property in danger).
- Saying the pilot takes command - he advises.
- Quoting "no cure no pay" as if Article 14 did not exist.
- Mixing up the 12, 24 and 200 nm zones.