This book presents a study on civil liability for accidents at sea, with a focus on the interests of parties that are not contractually participating in the maritime enterprise. Shipping and the maritime offshore industry are among the most international businesses in the world, and the operation of ships and facilities at sea can involve very different interests in a wide variety of relationships.

Although there is an international legal framework that covers the most frequent types of cases, questions remain regarding the interplay of international and national legislation. Addressing those questions, the first part of this study analyses the rules and the limits of international regulation applicable at sea, namely regarding compensation for pollution damage. The second part focuses on the jurisdictional rules and conflict-of-law rules that may be used to deal with cases beyond the scope of international legislation, in accordance with the law of the sea.