The National Maritime Authority recently published the first draft of what could become the new Colombian maritime code. The draft aims to consolidate the main regulations applicable to maritime activities at the domestic level in a single piece of legislation (ie, a maritime code). Among other things, it incorporates regulations on subjects such as navigation-related issues, contracts for vessel exploitation and court procedures for resolving traditional maritime incidents (eg, collisions).
A new resolution, which was recently released at the local level, has introduced requirements for tugboats operating in Colombian waters. The resolution establishes national rules on the organisation, planification and performance of towage operations in line with International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Resolution A 765(18) and other IMO regulations on safety requirements for towed ships and other floating objects.
For local lawyers working in the shipping and transport sector at the domestic level, the question of whether Colombia really is a Hague/Hague-Visby Rules jurisdiction has been posed on many occasions. In particular, despite the fact that Colombia has not yet properly ratified any of the existing instruments available internationally, the relevant section of the Commercial Code has supposedly been founded on the Hague Rules.
The implications of the new International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) amendment on verified gross mass have been widely discussed in the shipping industry. The concept of 'estimated weight' was recently abandoned and all interests must now collaborate to determine the 'verified gross mass' of any packed container that is to be loaded on board any ship to which Chapter IV of SOLAS applies. Resolution 2793 addresses this issue in Colombia.
Although contracts pertaining to the multimodal carriage of goods are not regulated at the international level, some jurisdictions have their own instruments which address the matter at a regional level, such as the Andean Multimodal Regime. Although case law on the application of the regime is minimal, a recent court decision recognised its mandatory nature in a case pertaining to liability under a multimodal carriage contract.