### Carriage of Goods by Sea Ordinance 《海上貨物運輸條例》

1. Short title
This Ordinance may be cited as the Carriage of Goods by Sea Ordinance.

2. Interpretation
(1) In this Ordinance, unless the context otherwise requires—
Monetary Authority (金融管理專員) has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of the Exchange Fund Ordinance (Cap. 66);
ship (船舶) means any vessel used for carriage of goods by sea, other than a vessel which is regularly employed in trading to or from Hong Kong and which is required to be certificated under the Merchant Shipping (Local Vessels) Ordinance (Cap. 548); (Amended 43 of 1999 s. 91; E.R. 1 of 2023)
the Rules (《規則》) means the International Convention for the Unification of certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading signed at Brussels on 25 August 1924, which was established in a single original in the French language, as amended by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 23 February 1968 and by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 21 December 1979, both of which were established in a single original in the English and French languages. (Amended E.R. 1 of 2023)
(Amended E.R. 1 of 2023)(2) References in this Ordinance to Articles are references to Articles of the Rules.

### Carriage of Goods by Sea Ordinance 《海上貨物運輸條例》

3. Application of Hague Rules as amended
(1) Subject to subsection (3) the Rules as set out in the Schedule shall have the force of law.
(2) The Rules shall also apply to the carriage of goods by sea in ships where the port of shipment is in Hong Kong, whether or not the carriage is between ports in 2 different States within the meaning of Article X.
(3) Nothing in this section shall be taken as applying anything in the Rules to any contract for the carriage of goods by sea, unless the contract expressly or by implication provides for the issue of a bill of lading or any similar document of title.
(4) The Rules shall also apply to—
(a) any bill of lading if the contract contained in or evidenced by it expressly provides that the Rules shall govern the contract; and
(b) any receipt which is a non-negotiable document marked as such if the contract contained in or evidenced by it is a contract for the carriage of goods by sea which expressly provides that the Rules are to govern the contract as if the receipt were a bill of lading,
but where paragraph (b) applies, the Rules shall be construed and have effect—
(i) as if the following were omitted—
(A) “However, proof to the contrary shall not be admissible when the bill of lading has been transferred to a third party acting in good faith.” from paragraph 4 of Article III; and
(B) paragraph 7 of Article III; and
(ii) subject to any other necessary modification.
(5) (a) If and in so far as the contract contained in or evidenced by a bill of lading or receipt referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (4) applies to deck cargo or live animals, the Rules as applied by that subsection shall be construed and have effect as if all the words following “whatsoever” were omitted from Article I(c).
(b) In this subsection deck cargo (艙面貨物) means cargo which by the contract of carriage is stated as being carried on deck and is so carried.

4. Certification of contracting States, etc.
(1) The Chief Executive may by order certify that for the purposes of the Rules— (Amended 64 of 1999 s. 3)
(a) a State specified in the order is a contracting State, or is a contracting State in respect of any place or territory so specified; or
(b) any place or territory specified in the order forms part of a State so specified (whether a contracting State or not).
(2) For the purposes of the Rules an order under this section shall be conclusive evidence of the matters so certified.

5. Absolute warranty of seaworthiness not to be implied in contracts to which the Rules apply
There shall not be implied in any contract for the carriage of goods by sea to which the Rules apply any absolute undertaking by the carrier of the goods to provide a seaworthy ship.

### Carriage of Goods by Sea Ordinance 《海上貨物運輸條例》

6. Application of Articles IV and X
(1) The date referred to in paragraph 5(d) of Article IV is hereby determined to be the date of the relevant judgment of the court of first instance or, in case there is an appeal, the date on which the appeal is determined.
(2) Article X shall have effect as if references therein to a contracting State included a reference to a State that is a contracting State in respect of the Rules without the amendments made by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 21 December 1979, and section 4 shall be construed and have effect accordingly.

7. Conversion of special drawing rights
(1) For the purposes of Article IV the Monetary Authority may specify in Hong Kong dollar the respective amounts which are to be taken as equivalent for a particular day to the sums expressed in special drawing rights in that Article.
(2) A certificate given by or on behalf of the Monetary Authority in pursuance of subsection (1) shall for the purposes of that subsection be conclusive evidence of the matters stated in the certificate, and a document purporting to be such a certificate shall in any proceedings be received in evidence and, unless the contrary is proved, be deemed to be such a certificate.
(3) The Monetary Authority may charge a reasonable fee for any certificate given in pursuance of subsection (2), and every such fee shall be paid into the general revenue.

### Carriage of Goods by Sea Ordinance 《海上貨物運輸條例》

8. Repeals and savings
(1) The following are repealed—
(a) the Carriage of Goods by Sea (Hong Kong) Order 1980 (App. III, p. BS1);
(b) the Carriage of Goods by Sea (Hong Kong) (Amendment) Order 1980 (L.N. 285 of 1981); and
(c) the Carriage of Goods by Sea (Hong Kong) Order 1982 (App. III, p. AR1).
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1)—
(a) the Carriage of Goods by Sea (Parties to Convention) Order 1985 (Cap. 462 sub. leg. A) shall continue in force, shall be regarded as having been made under section 4(1) and shall be taken to include such adaptations and modifications (if any) as are necessary or expedient to enable this paragraph to have full effect; (Amended E.R. 1 of 2023)
(b) the specifications made by the Governor under section 1(5) of the Schedule to the Carriage of Goods by Sea (Hong Kong) Order 1980 (App. III, p. BS1) shall continue in force and such specifications shall be taken to include such adaptations and modifications (if any) as are necessary or expedient to enable this paragraph to have full effect.
(3) Section 23 of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) applies to the repeal of the Orders mentioned in subsection (1) as it applies to the repeal (in whole or in part) of an Ordinance.