The Netherlands is one of the State Parties to the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims and its Protocol of 1996 (after this: LLMC). The provisions of the LLMC grant the ship owners (and other parties mentioned) the right to limit their liability for certain specified claims by constituting one or more limitation funds. The Netherlands has implemented the LLMC in articles 8:750 u/i 8:759 of the Dutch Civil Code.
If there are/is (a) claim(s) for which the ship owner may limit his liability and the specific circumstances give rise to doing so, the ship owner is entitled to limit his liability. He can do so by constituting one or more limitation funds. When a sea-going vessel is involved, the following limitation funds can be constituted for certain claims arising out of one distinct occasion according to Dutch law to limit liability:
| i. | the personal injury fund for claims for loss of life or personal injury of persons (not being passengers of the vessel); |
| ii. | the passenger funds for claims for loss of life or personal injure of the vessel’s passengers; |
| iii. | the wreck removal fund for claim in respect of the raising, removal, destruction or the rendering harmless of a vessel which is sunk, wrecked, stranded or abandoned, its cargo and anything that is or has been on board such vessel; |
| iv. | the property fund for all other claims. |
The amount of these limitation funds are based on the gross tonnage of the vessel involved. As of 8 June 2015 the limitation amounts of the LLMC will be increased. This will happen when the Adoption of amendments of the limitation amounts in the Protocol of 1996 to the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, 1976, adopted on 19 April 2012, comes into effect in the Netherlands (and in other States party to the 1996 Protocol).
As of 8 June 2015 the limitation funds pursuant to the LLMC will be calculated as follows in the Netherlands:
i. the personal injury fund:
a. SDR 3,02 million for a vessel with a tonnage of less than 2,000 tonnes;
b. for a vessel with a tonnage more than 2,000 tonnes, SDR 3,02 million to be increased with:
i. SDR 1,208 per ton for a vessel with a gross tonnage between 2,001 en 30,000 tonnes;
ii. SDR 906 per ton for a vessel with a gross tonnage between 30,0001 and 70,000 tonnes;
iii. SDR 604 per ton for a vessel with a gross tonnage of more than 70,000 tonnes.
ii. the passenger fund:
| a. | an amount of SDR 175,000, multiplied by the number of passengers which the vessel is authorized to carry according to the vessel’s authorized to carry; |
iii. the wreck removal and property fund:
a. SDR 1,51 million for a vessel with a tonnage of less than 2,000 tonnes;
b. for a vessel with a tonnage more than 2,000 tonnes, SDR 1,51 million to be increased with:
| i. | SDR 604 per ton for a vessel with a gross tonnage between 2,001 en 30,000 tonnes; |
| ii. | SDR 453 per ton for a vessel with a gross tonnage between 30,0001 and 70,000 tonnes; |
| iii. | SDR 302 per ton for a vessel with a gross tonnage of more than 70,000 tonnes. |
These amendments have a significant influence on the amounts of the sea-going vessel’s limitation funds. For example, this increase will result in approximately a 50% increase of the MAERSK MC-KINNEY MOLLER’s limited amount for property claims.
Should you have any further questions concerning the limitation of liability of sea-going vessels or inland vessels, please do not hesitate to contact one of our lawyers.