Maritime Law & Regulations
Terms from Admiralty Law to Wreck Removal Convention, each linked to related terms and to the desks that work with them.
Entries updated May 2026
Related desks
Terms in Maritime Law & Regulations
21 termsAdmiralty Law
The body of private international law governing maritime activities and disputes, including navigation, shipping, salvage, pollution, and seafarers' rights.
Arrest of Ship
A legal procedure in admiralty law by which a claimant detains a vessel to obtain security for a maritime claim.
Barecon
A standard bareboat charter party form published by BIMCO, widely used in the shipping industry for bareboat or demise charter agreements.
Cabotage
The restriction of commercial shipping operations within a country's coastal waters to vessels flying the national flag.
Classification Society
An organization that establishes and maintains technical standards for the construction and operation of ships and offshore structures.
Flag State
The country in which a vessel is registered and whose flag it flies.
General Average
A principle of maritime law under which all parties to a sea venture proportionally share any losses resulting from a voluntary sacrifice of part of the ship or cargo to save the whole in an emergency.
IMO
The International Maritime Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping.
ISM Code
The International Safety Management Code, adopted by the IMO, which establishes an international standard for the safe management and operation of ships and for pollution prevention.
ISPS Code
The International Ship and Port Facility Security Code, a comprehensive set of measures to enhance the security of ships and port facilities developed in response to the perceived threats to ships and port facilities after the September 2001 attacks.
Limitation of Liability
A legal principle in maritime law that allows a shipowner to limit the amount of their financial liability for claims arising from maritime incidents.
Maritime Lien
A privileged claim against a vessel arising from maritime services rendered to the ship or damage caused by the ship.
MARPOL
The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, the main international convention covering prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships from operational or accidental causes.
MLC
The Maritime Labour Convention, adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2006, which sets out seafarers' rights to decent conditions of work across a wide range of subjects.
P&I Club
Protection and Indemnity Club, a mutual insurance association that provides cover for its shipowner and charterer members against third-party liabilities arising from the operation of ships.
Port State Control
The inspection of foreign-flagged ships in national ports to verify that the condition of the vessel and its equipment complies with the requirements of international conventions.
Salvage
The rescue of a vessel, its cargo, or other property from peril at sea, for which the salvor is entitled to a reward.
SOLAS
The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, the most important international treaty concerning the safety of merchant ships.
Tonnage Certificate
An official document issued by a classification society or flag state authority certifying a vessel's gross tonnage (GT) and net tonnage (NT) as measured under the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships (1969).
UNCLOS
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a comprehensive international agreement that defines the rights and responsibilities of nations with respect to their use of the world's oceans.
Wreck Removal Convention
The Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, adopted in 2007, which provides a legal basis for states to remove or have removed shipwrecks that pose a hazard to navigation or the marine environment.