ABSTRACT
The increasing sophistication of global maritime operations coincided with the development of international law regulating the relationship between States. The obligations owed between Convention States essentially hinge upon the nature of a ship as being a physical part of the sovereignty of the Flag State; thus, the ship is entitled to the protection which any part of a State has from intervention or injury by another State. By the same token, the Flag State must be accountable for harm inflicted by the ship upon another State. In all respects, the Flag State must be able to manage the risks, which it does by delegating responsibility – and accountability – to the individual in whom it has reposed its confidence by the accreditation of Master. In addition, as a sovereign part of the Flag State, the rights and obligations conferred by the laws of the Flag State must be managed within the vessel, which naturally falls to the task of the Master. As a result, the Master must accept criminal accountability to the State which put him in that position of responsibility in the first place.
