I Introduction

Even with all of the technological progress that has ever been made, shipping still presents risks. The Ever Given grounding in the Suez Canal in March 2021 was a clear illustration. In law, risks translate into liability and compensation. Generally, even if entrepreneurs and business owners are willing to accept a certain degree of risk, they are not prepared to stake everything on the successful outcome of their adventures. There are all sorts of risk-limiting mechanisms, in many areas of the law (for instance limited liability companies, statutory limitations, etc). Maritime law has a specific mechanism of its own in the “global” or “tonnage” limitation, currently embodied in the 1976/1996 LLMC Convention. The original 1976 Convention at present1 has 55 contracting states, representing almost 52% of world tonnage. The Convention as modified by the 1996 Protocol has been ratified by 63 states, representing 69% of the world tonnage.