ECDIS Part 3: Legal implications

The legal effect of failure to meet the statutory ECDIS requirements and the effect on claims where levels of operation or knowledge of ECDIS are considered to be a factor or fundamental link in the chain of causation leading to an incident

This article entitled ‘Legal implications’ is the third in a series of three short articles that consider the effect of the new mandatory requirements of ECDIS. The first article in the series provided the reader with a general introduction to ECDIS and the legislation that governed its operation. The second article focused on the operational aspects of ECDIS considering the requirements of generic and type specific training in further detail.

This final article in the series now considers the legal effect of failure to meet the statutory ECDIS requirements and the effect on claims where levels of operation or knowledge of ECDIS are considered to be a factor or fundamental link in the chain of causation leading to an incident.

This review into the legal implications of ECDIS will commence with a closer look at the legislation relating to ECDIS operation and the effect on the vessel’s ability to operate in the event of a failure to comply with provisions of SOLAS, STCW 95 or indeed ISM Code statutory legislation.

The consequences of claims in tort, and under contracts of carriage will also be considered with the consequent change relating to how casualties of the future will be approached from a marine inspector’s viewpoint also considered.

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