Australian Maritime Law

Justice Sarah Derrington joins longstanding author, Dr Michael White OAM QC, for the fourth edition of this leading maritime law text. There has been much legislative change and development in the case law in the six-year period since the third edition, and the authors have thoroughly updated the text to capture the state of the law as it stands in 2020. Justice Derrington has principally contributed the chapters on the ‘dry’ aspects of shipping, while Dr White has mostly contributed the chapters on the ‘wet’ aspects of shipping.

There are 16 chapters, starting with Admiralty jurisdiction and the Australian constitutional background, then to the Admiralty Act 1988 (Cth) and related matters. The chapters move on to cover the ‘dry’ shipping topics: carriage of goods by sea (in two parts); carriage of passengers; marine insurance and general average; ownership, registration, and securities; and navigation and shipping safety. The chapters addressing the ‘wet’ aspects of shipping concern: navigation, shipping, and safety; maritime labour law; collisions; salvage, wreck, and underwater cultural heritage; towage; pilotage; limitation of liability; marine pollution; and criminal jurisdiction. This fourth edition also includes a new section addressing some of the competition law issues relevant to shipping in Australia.

Australian Maritime Law remains a must-have reference work for all practitioners with any involvement in shipping in Australia.