A Brief History of Maritime Laws

As with all types of laws, maritime laws will vary depending on the particular jurisdiction. However, because of the nature of maritime laws, they will differ on international terms from country to country. Maritime law is usually referred to in the context of international trading and shipping and all types of maritime commerce.

However, maritime laws can prove to be more general, dealing with matters in regards to general navigation practices as well. Because maritime laws are usually employed the most during commercial applications, there have been attempts to provide for a more formal and unified set of maritime laws that have international breadth.

The first set of rules are first employed in the form of the Comite Maritime International, which was founded in 1897 for the purpose of providing international conventions. However, many of its functions have been taken over by the International Maritime Organization, created by the United Nations in 1958. Many of the conventions created by the International Maritime Organization have revolved around the formation of maritime laws regarding safety issues, such as the Safety of Life at Sea Convention and the Standards for Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping.

Maritime laws has more information about customary maritime laws.

NEXT: Shipping with the United States Merchant Marine