The Act on Prevention of Collision of Ships B.E. 2522

History
Before the implementation of the Act on Prevention of Collision of Ships B.E.2522 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'), the matter of collision of ships was governed by the Act for Prevention of Collisions at Sea B.E.2497 which was replaced by the Act in 1979.

The reason of implementation of the Act was that the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1948 to which Thailand was a party, was repealed and replaced by the COLREG 1972 (the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972). It was, therefore, considered by the Royal Government of Thailand necessary to have the previous legislation amended.

As Thailand is a party to the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972, the principles in the Act and most of the rules in the Ministerial Regulations are in accordance with the said Convention.

Application
The Act mainly deals with the rules of navigation of every ship, regardless of her nationality, in Thai waters including the rivers, canals, lakes and other inland waters within the territory of Thai Kingdom. However, the Act also provides the rules for Thai ships during her voyage at high sea.

Regulations Issued under the Act
The Act comprises ten sections only. Therefore, the Act itself does not directly stipulates any rules for prevention of collision of ships but empowers the Ministry of Communications to issue the Ministerial Regulations. There are three crucial Ministerial Regulations issued the Act.

The first regulation was issued in 1979, the same year of the implementation of the Act, stipulating the rules for preventing of collision of every ship during sailing in sea waters within the territory of Thai Kingdom including the navigation of Thai ships at high sea.

The second regulation was issued in 1981 to govern the navigation of any ship in the rivers, canals, lakes and other inland waters within the territory of Thai Kingdom. The reason of issuing the second regulation was to provide the rules for preventing any collision of ships in canals, rivers, lakes and other inland waters which were not covered by the first regulation.

The third regulation was issued in 1990 to amend the first an the second regulations. There were many rules in the previous regulations, being amended by this third Ministerial Regulations. The cause of amendment was a necessity to make the rules accordant with the amendment of the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972 which was ratified in the year 1979 by the Royal Government of Thailand.

Besides the aforesaid international conventions, the Traffic Separation Schemes stipulated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) are also recognized by the Act.

Ship
The Act applies to not only any motored and non-motored ships capable for water transport, but also seaplane and aircraft of every kind built to move on the surface of the water.

Ship's Liability
The rules no. 2 of the first and the second Ministerial Regulations provide the same principles of liability that the ship or the owner, the Master or crew shall be liable for any consequence resulting from their neglect to comply with the Ministerial Regulations or their neglect of any precaution which may be required by the ordinary practice of seaman, or by the special circumstances of the case.

As the regulations provide only the rules for preventing collisions of ships, neither prescription of time for compensation arising out of a collision nor criminal penalty in case of violating the rules, is imposed by the Act and the Ministerial Regulations.

Under sections 7 and 8 of the Act, it can, however, be deemed that the Act is part of and must be applied with the provisions of the Act on Navigation in Thai Waters B.E.2456. As a result, any person who violates or fails to comply with the rules issued under the Act, shall be liable and punished with the same provisions of the Act on Navigation in Thai Waters B.E.2456.

Owners' Limitation of Liability
Due to the following reasons, the owners, in a collision case, are not entitled under Thai law to limit liability;

1. Thailand is not a party to the 1957 abd 1976 Limitation Conventions. As a result, the tonnage and global limitation are not applicable in Thai Courts.

2. The matter of compensation for claim arising out of a collision is governed by the provisions of the Civil and Commercial Code in respect of 'wrongful act' under which no limitation is provided.

As for cargo claims, the owners may, subject to the cause of collision, be entitled to limit liability for damage, loss and delay in delivery of goods under the provisions of the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act B.E.2534.

Prescription of Time
According to the precedent of the Supreme Court judgment No. 828/2499, the one-year prescription of time of the Civil and Commercial Code in respect of 'wrongful act' applies to the claims arising out of a collision.

The above is only a short description, for an in depth analysis please contact us: tpni@tpni.co.th
The information is prepared in cooperation with Pramuanchai Law Office.