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Editor: Rod Sullivan
Profession: Maritime Attorney

Category: Boating Accidents

One of the unique aspects of maritime law is the ability of a shipowner to limit its liability to the value of a ship after a major accident. An example of the use of the Limitation Act is the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic in 1912. Even though the Titanic had never been to the United States, upon her sinking the owners rushed into the federal courts in New York to file a limitation of liability proceeding. The Limitation Act provides that if an accident happens due to a circumstance which is beyond the "privity and knowledge" of the ship's owners, the owners can limit their liability to the value of the ship after it sinks.

After the Titanic sunk, the only portion of the ship remaining were the life boats which had a collective value of about $3000. The owners of the Titanic were successful in showing that the sinking occurred without their privity and knowledge and therefor the families of the deceased passengers, as well as the surviving passengers who lost their personal belongings, were entitled to split the $3000 value of the remaining lifeboats.