Law of the Sea.

The purpose of the Law is to codify regulations regarding ships, maritime transportation and related issues. In particular, all national maritime vessels should be registered according to the rules of Iran and obtain the vessel registration document from the Ports and Shipping Organization. The registered vessels benefit from privileges in hiring crew, tax and dues, legal fees and insurance costs. The Act also allows mortgages of the registered vessels. Marine cargo is only possible with bill of lading and through specific contract with explicit responsibilities of the carrier. According to the Act, the ship owner is responsible for his acts, commitments and mistakes, as well as any act of the Master and the crew. The Master is responsible authority to issue the bill of lading as well as requiring the crew. In case of any fault, the Master should respond to the Owner. Any violation of the provisions of the Act would be punishable by fines.
The Act consists of 194 articles, subdivided in 14 Chapters and relative Sections: Nationality and Ship Registration (I); Privileged Rights (II); Ship Mortgage (III); Marine Cargo (IV); Ship owners, their responsibilities and obligations (V); Duties and Responsibilities of the Master and the Crew (VI); Deposit of the Cargo for the loan (VII); Carriage of Passengers (VIII); Ship Chartering (IX); Collision at Sea (X); Assistance and Rescue at Sea (XI); Damages at Sea (XII); Marine Court (XIII); Miscellaneous Provisions (XIV).