Responsibility and Accountability in Maritime Law
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CHAPTER 3
The Master and the ship
Who is the Master?
There can only be one Master of the ship at any given time; which is why the pilot in a compulsory pilotage area does not have command of the vessel, merely control of her navigation. The Master is the only Flag State representative of this part of its territory and will still have the responsibility for the safety of the ship and observe their contractual obligations to their employer, the shipowner, with whom the risk as an asset ultimately rests.1