Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation has published a regulation that will make the owner of the vessel liable for damage to the cargo incurred due to the negligence of the crew. The regulation will come into effect after three months.
The regulation on the loading and unloading of goods for vessels state that the owner or operator of the vessel is liable to provide compensation for damage to goods caused by the negligence of the captain or crew during loading or unloading. However, the owner or operator of the vessel will not be liable for damage to property caused by accidents.
Additionally, the regulation requires the captain to provide a receipt after loading goods upon request of the owner or importer of the goods. It also details the safety measures for vessels to adhere to during the transportation of goods.
Furthermore, the owner of the vessel will have to accept responsibility for any fire maintained in areas where goods are kept, as well as for the vessel carrying excess weight or transporting banned goods. As such, a fine of USD65-326 will be issued to the individual or the owner or operator of the vessel for violation of the rules, add the ministry will add USD65 to the fine for each repeated offence.