ABSTRACT

only shipowners are entitled to limit liability for oil pollution claims. This means there is no law in China which provides any right of limitation where pollution claims are brought against a party other than a shipowner. As discussed above, the shipowner includes only the charterer and operator in the Maritime Code (Article 204). Thus, salvors and other parties may not limit their liabilities for oil pollution claims. There appears a discrepancy between Article 3(b) of the 1976 Convention and the CLC 1969. This drawback, however, could have been solved by extending the application to other parties, in addition to the shipowners, in domestic legislation.