The Supreme Court of Norway - ND-2011-260 - HR-2011-1797-A

The case centers on whether a shipping company can be held liable for cargo damage caused by a vessel's grounding when the immediate cause was a navigational error (the First Officer falling asleep), but the underlying cause was a systemic failure in watchkeeping practices. The court examined the interplay between the carrier's liability for negligence and the statutory exemptions for nautical errors under the Norwegian Maritime Code.

The Supreme Court analyzed the vessel's operational status at the start of the voyage. It evaluated whether the Master's established practice of single-person night watches—which violated mandatory safety regulations—constituted 'original unseaworthiness' at the commencement of the voyage. The court reviewed the evidence of the Master's prior knowledge of these safety deficits and the shipping company's failure to rectify them despite prior warnings from Port State Control.

The Court determined that the vessel was unseaworthy at the start of the voyage because the watchkeeping arrangement was a fixed, intentional practice that exposed the cargo to an unacceptable level of risk. Under the Norwegian Maritime Code, the exemption for 'nautical errors' (Section 276) does not apply if the loss is caused by unseaworthiness that the carrier failed to exercise due diligence to prevent. Because the Master’s systemic violation of safety rules was effectively attributed to the shipping company, the carrier could not rely on the nautical error defense. The court rejected the argument that the error was merely a spontaneous navigational mistake, ruling instead that the voyage must be assessed as a whole, and the pre-existing, unsafe watchkeeping protocol rendered the ship unseaworthy from the moment it departed.

This judgment clarifies the scope of the 'nautical error' exemption in maritime law. It establishes that carriers cannot hide behind the actions of their crew to avoid liability if those actions stem from a persistent, company-sanctioned violation of safety standards that creates a state of unseaworthiness. It reinforces the principle that the duty to provide a seaworthy vessel includes ensuring that operational procedures and crew management are compliant with safety regulations before the voyage begins.