DISTRIBUTING RESPONSIBILITY BETWEEN SHIPMASTERS AND THE DIFFERENT STATES INVOLVED IN SAR DISASTERS

The duty to save life at sea can today be considered a rule of general inter- national law. However, the concept of “duty to save life at sea” hides a complex web of international regulations, scattered across several treaties providing obli- gations both for shipmasters and a plurality of States (namely flag States, coastal States, States receiving distress signals, etc.). This paper addresses the question of the respective responsibility of the different subjects involved in search and res- cue activities. After a short introduction to the evolution of international law in this field, the paper investigates the relationship between shipmasters and States. This first part of the study show…