Who Is the Carrier?: -A comparative study on identification of carrier in Korea and U.S.-

Under the civil law tradition, the Korean Commercial Act regulates liabilities and responsibilities of shipowner and charterer as the confirmed carrier. There have been some revisions of this particular clause to govern the matter of subcontracting carriage of goods by sea. According to its latest version, where a voyage charterer or a time charterer has entered into the contract of carriage with a third party under his own name, that charterer and shipowner shall be jointly and severally liable to the third party to the extent that the fulfillment of the contract belongs to the duties of the master. On the other hand, based on its practical approach method, U.S. maritime law focuses on interpretation of the contract of carriage or charter party to decide the issue: who is the carrier. From those factual findings, the vessel, shipowner or charterer, or all of them shall be liable as carrier to the cargo interests. Although the two legal systems adopted different methods to identify the carrier, it seems that both are flexible concerning identity of carrier for the same purpose - offering more protection to the innocent cargo owners.