Ship registration and choice of law in relation to contacts of employment

Abstract

In 2016, the Norwegian Supreme Court decided that the law applicable to a seaman’s employment contract is the law of the flag of the vessel on which he served – HR-2016-1251-A. At this stage it is sufficient to state the basic facts of the case: a Norwegian citizen was engaged by a Norwegian company – Eimskip – as a second mate, and he served on a vessel registered in Antigua. The vessel was on bare boat charter party to a Faroe Islands company and rechartered to Eimskip on time charter terms. The mate was discharged for breach of contract, and the correctness of this action by the employer should – according to the Supreme Court – be decided on the basis of Antiguan law. Further details of the case will be presented later on.