ABSTRACT
The breadth and efficacy of the exceptions regularly used by shipowners led to concern among countries which were primarily cargo-owning, rather than ship-owning, namely the United States and the former British Dominions. The first step towards controlling such clauses was taken in the United States by the Harter Act of 1893, which imposed certain duties on the shipowner and forbade certain types of exclusion. The division of responsibility on which it was based was this: the shipowner could not contract out of a duty to use reasonable care to provide a seaworthy ship and in care of the cargo, and in return was exempted from liability for loss caused by his negligence in navigation and management of the ship (a concession partly based on the hazards of maritime adventures and partly on the assumption that the shipowner is likely to look after his own ship). Similar legislation was soon adopted in New Zealand (1903), Australia (1904) and Canada (1910).
