Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1971


The Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1971 is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament. It incorporates into English Law the Hague-Visby Rules which are to be found as the Schedule to the Act. The Act does not use the term "Hague-Visby Rules" as such; instead, the Rules are referred to in that Act as the "Hague Rules As Amended".
Under Article X, the Rules apply if:
If the Rules apply, the entire text of Rules is incorporated into the contract of carriage as a "statutory contract", and any attempt to exclude the Rules is void under Article III.
Section 3 of the Act provides that there is no strict duty to provide a seaworthy ship. Under the Rules, the carrier must merely exercise due diligence, before and at the start of the voyage, to provide a seaworthy ship.
The Hague-Visby Rules were amended by a protocol in 1979, but not all signatories to the Rules have adopted the amendments.

Additional UK provisions

Although Article I of the Rules exempts live animals and deck cargo, section 1 of the Act permits parties to opt in to the Rules when the goods in the bill of lading are deck cargo or live animals. In which case, Article I will be read as if it did not exist.
Also, although Article III declares a bill of lading to be a mere prima facie evidence of the receipt by the carrier of the goods", section 4 of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1992 upgrades a bill of lading to be "conclusive evidence of receipt", thereby annulling the decision in Grant v Norway 1851.

Note

The Contracts Act 1999 does NOT apply to contracts for the carriage of goods by sea.