VIETNAM MARITIME CODE

Section K: MARITIME LIEN ON CARGO

            Article 113

 1.         For securing privileged debts, a creditor is entitled to a statutory lien on the cargo, even such cargo has been liened, mortgaged, or hypothecated for security of other debts arising from a contract or judicial decision.

2.         The privileged debts are settled in the following order:

a)           Law costs and costs of judicial execution; expenses incurred in order to preserve, to sell the cargo and to distribute the proceeds of its sale; duties and other public charges.
b)          Salvage remuneration falling on the cargo as well general average contribution due from the cargo;
c)           Compensation for damages caused by the cargo;
d)          Interests of the carrier.

            Article 114

 1.         A creditor may even exercise a maritime lien on the amount of indemnity due to the cargo for damages to the cargo incurred but not repaired, as well as to the general average contribution due to the cargo.
2.         A creditor may not exercise a lien on insurance indemnity due to the cargo.

            Article 115

 1.         Maritime liens on cargo extinguish on the delivery of cargo to the legitimate consignee.
2.         Maritime liens on the amounts due to the cargo extinguish on payment of such amounts to the parties entitled thereto.

CHAPTER VI

CONTRACT OF CARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS AND LUGGAGE

             Article 116

 1.         A contract of carriage of passengers and luggage is a contract signed between a carrier and a passenger whereby a carrier agrees to carry a passenger by sea-going vessel, in return for passage money to be paid to him by the passenger, from the port of embarkation to the port of destination.
          Legal relationship between the carrier and the passenger is governed by such a contract, while the ticket issued to the passenger constitutes evidence of the conclusion of the contract for passage.

2.         The passenger is bound to pay the passage money, the freight for his luggage and other service charge to the carrier.

3.         Any agreement limiting the rights of the passenger or lessening or relieving the liabilities of the carrier as provided for in the present Code shall be null and void.

4.         Where the passage is performed by a sea-going vessel other than a passenger vessel, the carrier has the right to substitute the ticket by another similar voucher.

            Article 117

 1.         The passenger is obliged to observe the command of the master and follow all rules and guidelines on board.

2.         The passenger is entitled to the interests in compliance with the classified ticket and not to pay the money for the carriage of his hand baggage within the limit of weight and kind designated by the carrier.

            Article 118

 1.         The carrier is bound to exercise due diligence that the vessel is seaworthy and in every respect fit for the carriage correspondently as provisions laid down in Article 67 of the present Code.

2.         The carrier is bound to take due care and to properly protect the passenger together his luggage from the time he has embarked on board upto the time he has safely together with his luggage left the gangway at the port of destination; where during the voyage an extraordinary and unexpected event has occurred, the carrier is liable to absorb the fare necessary to cover the transportation of the passenger from and to the vessel as well as costs of meal, and services for staying on board together with entertainment fees.

            Article 119

           The carrier is exempted from the occurrence during the voyage that the passenger has been arrested by the competent authorities by way of causes on the latters individual part at the port at which the vessel has called.

            Article 120

 1.         Any person who is on board the vessel without the passenger ticket is bound to pay full passage money for the covered distance and a fine of a correspondent amount.

2.         The master may disembark such person or transfer him onto a vessel going to the port at which such person boarded the vessel, the master is bound to give the competent authorities information concerning the name, age, citizenship of that person, the port at which he boarded and concealed himself on the vessel. The person who is on board without the passage ticket is still obliged to comply with the provision set out in item 1 of this Article.

            Article 121

 1.         The carrier is entitled not to refund the collected passage money if the passenger has not been present on board at the fixed time including the period the vessel calls at en-route port during the voyage.

2.         Where the passenger has fallen seriously ill that he cannot embark the vessel or die within twenty four hours before the commencement of or during the voyage and where the passenger refuses to continue the voyage on account of causes on part of the carrier, the passenger is entitled to take back the whole or part of passage money corresponding to the remaining distance.

3.         In case the vessel is unable to reach the port of destination or fails to reach there within the fixed time by way of causes beyond the carriers responsibilities, the carrier is bound to refund to the passenger the passage money corresponding to the remaining distance of the voyage or to absorb the costs connecting with carrying the passenger back to the embarkment port or port of destination, whichever the latter wishes, by the sea-going vessel or other means of transport if impossible to carry him by the passenger vessel.

          Article 122

 1.         The passenger may rescind the contract and demand the refund of passage money if his cancellation of the trip has been notified to the carrier latest seven days-in international passenger transport; and one day-in domestic passenger transport before the commencement of the voyage.
          The carrier is entitled to retain twenty five per cent of passage money if he fails to sell such a ticket to another person.

2.         The passenger may rescind the contract and demand the refund of passage money in full where a passenger vessel has not set out the voyage at latest within three days, and any other vessel within seen days, of the schedule date of the commencement of the voyage.

            Article 123

 1.         Where the carriage is to be performed by a vessel other than a passenger vessel, the carrier has the right, before the commencement of the voyage, to rescind the contract of passage and refund passage money to the passenger if the voyage has not materialized without the carriers fault.

2.         For the reason as set out in item 1 of this Article the carrier may also during the voyage rescind the contract of passage but he is obliged to comply with the provisions set out in item 3 of Article 121 of the present Code.

            Article 124

           Where before the commencement of the voyage or during the voyage the cases as set out in item 1 of Article 105 of the present Code occur, either party may rescind the contract without obligation to compensate for damage sustained by other party; the carrier is liable to refund a portion of passage money calculated in proportion to the part of the voyage not made by the passenger.

            Article 125

 1.         The contract of passage is automatically dissolved in the event of the vessel being lost, sunk, destroyed or unfit for repairs or not worth repairing economically.

2.         Passage money will be refunded to the passenger as provided for in Article 124 of the present Code.

            Article 126

 1.         The carrier is liable for loss of life or personal injury and damage to health of the passenger which have occurred in the course of carriage if he fails to prove that he himself or his representatives, servants have not had fault in occurrence of the accidents causing the damage by reason of or in connection with collision, shipwreck, destruction, running aground, explosion or fire. Any agreement lessening or relieving this liability of the carrier is invalid.

2.         If the carrier proves that the accident has occurred due to the intentional fault or gross negligence on the part of the passenger he is partly lessened in the liability set out in item 1 of this Article.

3.         The course of carriage is deemed to be included the period during which the passenger remains on board, including embarking and disembarking as well as the transportation of the passenger by water from land to vessel or vice versa, if the fare for such transportation is included in the price of the total ticket, or if the means of transferring the passenger supplied by the carrier.

            Article 127

 1.         For loss of life or personal injury and damage to health of the passenger, the carrier is liable within the limitation of liability determined by the Council of Ministers or by the international treaties signed, or recognized by Vietnam.

2.         The carrier is not entitled to the benefit of this limitation of his liability where the damage has resulted from the personal fault of the carrier or from the fault of his representatives, servants on board when they perform the obligations designated by the carrier.

            Article 128

 1.         The carrier is liable for loss of or damage to the passengers luggage according to the provisions concerning the liability of the carrier for loss of or damage to the cargo determined in Chapter V of the present Code.

2.         The carrier is only liable for loss of or damage to the passengers hand baggage which her or his servants on board has knowingly or unintentionally caused or which has occurred by undue care of the carrier when he has received the baggage for custody.

3.         In respect of valuables, money, valuable documents, works of arts or other particularly valuable objects, the carrier is liable only where on delivering such for carriage as baggage they have been specifically declared with indication of their characteristics and value to the master or the officer appointed by him for this purpose.

            Article 129

 1.         The carrier, for securing his interests, has a statutory lien on the passengers luggage until when his interests have been settled or otherwise properly secured.

2.         The passengers luggage which has not been collected will be solved according to Article 96 of the present Code.

            Article 130

 1.         Any loss of life or personal injury and damage to health of the passenger should be immediately notified to the carrier after it has occurred and the claimant is bound to lodge with the carrier the claim in writing at latest fifteen days of disembarkation.

2.         The claim for loss of or damage to the passengers luggage should be lodged with the carrier within seven days from the day on which the luggage has been delivered or should have been delivered.

3.         Any claim for compensation for loss of life or personal injury or damage to the health of the passenger is barred after two years from the date when the passenger has disembarked; in the event of a passengers death on board, this period runs from the day on which the passenger should have disembarked.

          In the event of a passengers death occurring after completion of the voyage, the claim is barred after three years from the day when the passenger has disembarked.

4.         Any claim for compensation of loss of or damage to the passengers luggage is barred after six months from the day when the luggage has been delivered or should have been delivered to the consignee.

CHAPTER VII

CHARTER PARTIES

             Article 131

 1.         When a shipowner agrees for remuneration to place at the disposal of a charterer an entire vessel  for a specified period of time or for the duration of several consecutive voyages for the purpose as provided by the contract, such an agreement is called the charter party. The charter party determines the legal relationship between the shipowner and the charterer.
2.         The charter party is concluded in the form agreed by and between the parties concerned.

            Article 132

           When by a charter party the shipowner undertakes to place at the disposal of the charterer a crewed vessel, such a charter party is called the time-charter party.
           Where the charter party provides that the shipowner places at the disposal of the charterer a vessel without crew, such a charter party is called bare-boat charter party.

            Article 133

 1.         By the agreement provided in the contract, the charterer may sublet the vessel to the third party, this, however, does not relieve the charterer of the obligation to execute the contract concluded by him with the shipowner.
2.         When subletting the vessel to the third party, the charterer is entitled to the benefit of the rights, and is bound to fulfill the obligations of the shipowners provided for in this Chapter.

            Article 134

 1.         The shipowner is bound to deliver to the charterer at the right agreed place and on the right agreed date the vessel in a seaworthy condition, properly supplied and adapted for the purposes of employment determined in the contract.
2.         In case of time-charter, the shipowner is also bound to supply a complement of crew qualified for the purposes of employment determined in the contract and to pay the wages and secure the other legitimate interests of crew throughout the currency of the charter.

            Article 135

 1.         The charterer is entitled to dispose of the entire space in the vessel appropriated for the carriage of cargo and for the accommodation of passengers.
2.         Without the shipowners consent, the charterer is not entitled to dispose of the other space on board the vessel for the purposes set out in item 1 of this Article.

            Article 136

 1.         Under the time-charter party, the charterer is relieved of the obligation to pay to the shipowner the charter hire for any period during which the vessel is unfit for operation on account of technical breakdown and or lacking supplies, or on account of the crew being incompetent. In this case the charterer is also relieved of the obligation to pay the costs of the vessels operation.
2.         Where the vessels unfitness for operation has resulted from he reason on the part of the charterer, the shipowner is entitled to the agreed charter hire and to the compensation for damage connected therewith.

            Article 137

 1.         During the currency of the time-charter party, the master and other members of the crew remain employees of the shipowner and are under his labour control. The shipowner is completely liable for all matters pertaining to crew.
2.         During the employment of the vessel, the master is the representative of the charterer and should comply with the instructions given by charterer.
3.         For the acts of the master determined in item 2 of this Article, the shipowner is liable jointly and severally with the charterer, unless the master has clearly stated, when contracting, that he acts in the name of the charterer.

            Article 138

           If during the currency of the time-charter party the vessel involves in salvage services, the remuneration due to her is divided equally between the shipowner and the charterer after deducting, first, the sum covering losses caused through salvage and, then, the share of remuneration due to the crew.

            Article 139

 1.         The charterer is obliged to employ the vessel for the purposes as determined in the contract and to take due care of the shipowners interests.
2.         When the period for time-charter has terminated, the charterer is obliged to redeliver the vessel to the shiponwer at the agreed place and time and in technical conditions as concluded in contract.
          The charterer is obliged to pay charter-hire until the redelivery of the vessel to the shipowner.
3.         The charterer is obliged to carry out the maintenance of the vessel as well as of the other equipments on board, unless otherwise provided for in the contract.
4.         The charterer during the currency of the bare-boat charter party is also obliged to repair the damages of the vessel and to keep the shipowner advised thereof. The shipowner is liable  refund the repair costs occurred beyond the scope of the charterers liability.

            Article 140

 1.         Where the failure to comply with the obligations set out in item 1 of Article 134 of the present Code has resulted from the fault on the part of the shipowner, the charterer is entitled to rescind the contract and to the compensation for the damages connected therewith.
2.         Either party may rescind the time-charter party without compensation to other if owing to an outbreak of war, civil commotions or the actions condemned by the authority hindering the performance of the contract of which the circumstances are unable to come to and end within a reasonable time.

            Article 141

 1.         The charter party is automatically terminated when the vessel has been lost, sunken, destroyed or has been considered unfit for repair or not worth repairing economically.
2.         In case the vessel under the charter party has been lost, the charter hire is calculated until the date when the last report of the vessel is received.

            Article 142

           Any claim arising from a charter is barred at the expiration of two years from the day on which the contract expired.

CHAPTER VIII

SHIPS AGENT AND SHIPBROKER

Section A: SHIPS AGENT

            Article 143

 1.         By a contract of agency, the ships agent undertakes for remuneration to act as a permanent representative of the shipowner at a given port or in a certain area.
2.         The shipowner concludes with his ships agent a contract of agency for a certain call or for a specific period of time as mutually agreed. The scope of authority given by the shipowner to the ships agent must be clearly described in the contract of agency.
3.         The contract of agency shall constitute ground to determine the legal relationship between the two parties and also an evidence of the shipowners authority to his agent in relation to a third party.

            Article 144

 1.         By a contract of agency, the ships agent is authorized to undertake, in the name of the shipowner, to perform routine services connected with shipping trade including arrangement of all necessary formalities in connection with ships operation at the port, to conclude on behalf of the shipowner contracts of carriage, marine insurance contracts, contracts for cargo handling, charter parties, and recruitment agreements, to issue and sign bills of lading or similar documents, to receive and pay all amounts incident to the ships operation, and to pursue, in the name of the shipowner, claims arising from contracts of carriage and or marine accidents.
2.         When concluding a contract in the name of the shipowner the ships agent may also act on behalf of the charterer or other contracting party, provided that the shipowner has given his consent thereto.
3.         Where the ships agent, while performing a legal act in the name of the shipowner, has gone beyond the limits of his authority, the said the said act is nevertheless binding upon the shipowner unless the latter has, immediately upon receipt of information concerning the act, notified the other party that he does not ratify the act of the ships agent.

            Article 145

 1.         The ships agent should care for the interests of the shipowner; comply with his orders and instructions; render him immediately the necessary information about relevant developments; render accounts for the amount received and spent pertaining to the authorized services.
2.         The ships agent is obliged to indemnify the shipowner for losses and or damages resulting from his fault.

            Article 146

          The shipowner is obliged to instruct his agent to carry out the authorized service when necessary and to give the agent, on demand, adequate advances for meeting the expenses connected with the authorized agency services.

            Article 147

           The parties to the contract of agency shall mutually agree on the amount of the ships agents remuneration and in the absence of such agreement, it shall be determined by custom.

            Article 148

           Either contracting parties may rescind the contract in accordance with the provisions thereof.

            Article 149

           Claims arising from the contract of agency are barred at the expiration of two years from the day of their falling due.

Section B: SHIPBROKER

             Article 150

 1.         The shipbroker undertakes for remuneration to act, on the individual authority of his principal, as an intermediary in concluding contracts of carriage, of marine insurance, of charter, of sale and purchase of vessel, towage contracts, recruitment agreements and contracts of other activities pertaining to maritime shipping activities.

2.         The shipbroker is entitled to remuneration for his mediation only when the contract has been concluded as a result of his efforts. The shipbrokers commission is mutually agreed by and between the shipbroker and his principal, in the absence of agreement the shipbroker and his principal, in the absence of agreement the shipbrokers commission is determined by customs.

3.         On the authority of his principal, the shipbroker concludes contracts, and or receives payments in the name of the principal, unless the authority contains an express limitation known to other party.

            Article 151

           The shipbroker may undertake to act on behalf of both contracting parties where such have commissioned him, he is, however, obliged to advise each party of the fact that he is acting also on behalf of the other contracting party, and in acting as an intermediary he should consider the interests of both parties.

            Article 152

           Claims arising from the relationship between the shipbroker and his principal are barred at the expiration of two years from the day of their falling due.