Your vessel, a 18,000 GT bulk carrier, collides with a 3,000 GT general cargo vessel at night. Both vessels are damaged but remain afloat. No crew are injured. What are your immediate legal obligations under the Merchant Shipping Act and what actions do you take?

A. POST-COLLISION legal obligations (Merchant Shipping Act 1995, Section 92 — duty to render assistance after collision): (1) DUTY TO ASSIST: immediately determine whether the other vessel and her crew require assistance. S.92 MSA 1995: the master of a vessel involved in a collision must (if safe to do so) stand by the other vessel and render all assistance; render assistance to survivors; state name and port of registry of own vessel; (2) IMMEDIATE ACTIONS: assess own vessel's damage and structural integrity; muster crew and account for all persons; check for flooding — sound tanks and bilges; post collision watch (for flooding in forward spaces); broadcast on VHF Ch 16 to the other vessel; (3) REPORTING: MAIB notification — collision is a Serious Marine Casualty; must be reported to MAIB within 24 hours (MAIB Investigation of Marine Accidents SI 2012/1741); Coast Guard notification; flag state notification; (4) PRESERVE EVIDENCE: do NOT alter VDR settings, ECDIS or radar recordings; photograph damage from both vessels; obtain AIS tracks; retain bridge team (do not end their watch without recording their account); (5) P&I CLUB: notify immediately — they appoint correspondents and surveyors; (6) PROTEST: note a Sea Protest at first available port; (7) LOG BOOK: detailed entry of the collision, weather, visibility, actions taken.

B. After establishing your own vessel is not sinking, proceed to the next port. The other vessel is smaller and can deal with its own damage. Your P&I Club handles all collision matters.

C. Your primary obligation is to your shipowner — do not speak with the other vessel or admit any navigational fault. File all communications through your lawyers.

D. Collision reporting only applies if there are fatalities. A collision with no injuries and both vessels afloat has no mandatory reporting obligation until you reach port.

A. LLOYD'S OPEN FORM (LOF 2020) — the standard maritime salvage contract: Key characteristics: (1) NO CURE — NO PAY: the salvor is only paid if the salvage operation is successful (salved property is brought to a place of safety). If the vessel is lost, the salvor receives nothing (except potentially under the environmental protection enhancement — SCOPIC); (2) SCOPIC CLAUSE (Special Compensation P&I Club): a supplement to LOF that provides the salvor a safety net of "special compensation" for costs plus uplift if their efforts protect the environment, even if the salvage itself fails — to encourage salvors to attempt environmentally beneficial but risky operations; (3) AWARD DETERMINATION: the salvage award is fixed by Lloyd's arbitration (not the contract) — the salvor and shipowner are both bound to arbitration; (4) MASTER'S AUTHORITY: the Master has authority under admiralty law to sign a salvage agreement on behalf of the shipowner and cargo interests in cases of IMMINENT DANGER — the authority arises from necessity and the master's agency role. In this scenario — aground, salvage required — you MAY sign LOF on behalf of the shipowner. Immediately notify the owner and P&I Club. Consider inviting SCOPIC activation.

B. Never sign LOF without express authorisation from the shipowner. Wait until the owner is reached even if the vessel sinks. Only the shipowner can commit to a salvage contract.

C. LOF means the salvor is paid a fixed percentage of the vessel's value regardless of success. It is always better to negotiate a daily hire rate instead of LOF.

D. The master has no authority to sign any commercial contract. LOF can only be signed by the company's legal department. Reject LOF and request services under towage terms.

A. GENERAL AVERAGE (GA): a principle of maritime law whereby extraordinary sacrifices or expenditures made voluntarily for the common safety of the venture are shared proportionally by all parties (ship, cargo, and freight). York-Antwerp Rules 2016 — the modern standard governing GA: Rule A: there is a general average act when, and only when, any extraordinary sacrifice or expenditure is intentionally and reasonably made or incurred for the common safety for the purpose of preserving from peril the property involved in a common maritime adventure. REQUIREMENTS for GA: (1) Common peril — all parties (ship AND cargo) must face the same danger; (2) Voluntary act — intentional; (3) Reasonable — judged at the time; (4) Success — the property must be saved. In this scenario: flooding the engine room was voluntary, sacrificed cargo (destroyed by CO2 and flooding), and saved the ship — this is a classic GA act. DECLARATION: the master declares GA by noting it in the Official Log Book and notifying all B/L holders and cargo interests (through the P&I Club and average adjusters). The master appoints an Average Adjuster (Lloyd's Agents) to calculate each party's contribution. Cargo interests must provide a GA Bond and/or deposit before cargo is released.

B. General Average only applies if the ship's own cargo is sacrificed. Fire extinguishant damage to third-party cargo is a P&I liability, not General Average.

C. The master cannot declare General Average — only the shipowner can. The master's role is to record the facts; the insurance company declares GA.

D. General Average requires the sacrifice to be accidental. Since flooding the engine room was a deliberate decision, it is a tortious act and covered by hull insurance, not General Average.