Topic: Special characteristics of seafarer, ship and seaworthiness

Date: April 17, 2019 (Wednesday)

Time: 15:30 p.m.

Venue: Room 114, Law Building, DMU

Language: English

Abstract:

Seaworthiness is a concept that runs through maritime law in at least five contractual relationships. It deals with the fitness and readiness of a ship and its fundamental ability to sail safely to its destination. Its standard extends to all aspects of a ship-including seafarers and a ship’s physical structure, documentation, cargo worthiness and so on. It is one of the most important concepts in the maritime regulatory regime, and takes many forms. However, seaworthiness is a subjective and relative concept. It is submitted that the determination of seaworthiness should consider the special characteristics of seafarer and ship.

About the speaker:

Prof. Capt. Pengfei Zhang is a qualified and experienced Master Mariner with a PhD from the University of Greenwich (previous Royal Navy College) and rich management experience on ships and in port operations. Pengfei has very strong links with the British and Chinese maritime communities both in academia and in industry. He taught as a senior lecturer at Shanghai Maritime University (SMU) of China and at Southampton-Solent University of UK.

Pengfei’s research covers a number of issues, such as maritime labour, ship collisions, and ship management and so on. Over the last several years, he has published more than sixty journal articles and book chapters, covering a list of prestigious journals and publishers, including Marine Policy, Journal of Navigation, and Springer. In the meantime, he has led and participated a number of research projects, such as the GEM project (Gender, Empowerment and Multicultural Crews), the ORC project (International Regulations for the Prevention of Ships Collisions with Offshore Platforms and Installations), and the SWiC (Seafarers’ Welfare in Chinese Ports).