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Title 46 — ShippingRelease 119-73not60

§30706 Defenses

Title 46 › Subtitle Subtitle III— Maritime Liability › Chapter 307— LIABILITY OF WATER CARRIERS › § 30706

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

If a carrier took all reasonable steps to make the ship seaworthy and to properly crew, equip, and supply it, then the carrier and the ship are not responsible for loss or damage caused by a mistake in navigating or running the ship. They are also not responsible for loss or damage caused by any of these: dangers of the sea or other navigable waters; acts of God; public enemies; lawful seizure; defects in the goods themselves; poor or insufficient packing; actions or failures by the shipper, the goods’ owner, or their agent; or efforts to save life or property at sea, including any detour made to do that.

Full Legal Text

Title 46, §30706

Shipping — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)If a carrier has exercised due diligence to make the vessel in all respects seaworthy and to properly man, equip, and supply the vessel, the carrier and the vessel are not liable for loss or damage arising from an error in the navigation or management of the vessel.
(b)A carrier and the vessel are not liable for loss or damage arising from—
(1)dangers of the sea or other navigable waters;
(2)acts of God;
(3)public enemies;
(4)seizure under legal process;
(5)inherent defect, quality, or vice of the goods;
(6)insufficiency of package;
(7)act or omission of the shipper or owner of the goods or their agent; or
(8)saving or attempting to save life or property at sea, including a deviation in rendering such a service.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 3070646 App.:192.Feb. 13, 1893, ch. 105, § 3, 27 Stat. 445. This section is restated as two subsections to clarify that the exercise of due diligence in making the vessel seaworthy is a condition only to the defense of error in navigation or management restated in subsection (a). See May v. Hamburg-Amerikanische Packetfahrt Aktiengesellschaft (The Isis), 290 U.S. 333, 353 (1933). The words “transporting merchandise or property to or from any port in the United States of America” are omitted because of section 30702(a) of the revised title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

46 U.S.C. § 30706

Title 46 — Shipping

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60