What is admiralty or maritime law?
The terms “admiralty law” and “maritime law” are often used interchangeably. Black’s Law Dictionary defines maritime law as: “[t]hat system of law which particularly relates … to seaman, to the transportation of persons …by sea, and to marine affairs generally. [It is] [t]he law relating to harbors, ships and seaman, …
The terms “admiralty law,” “maritime law,” and “marine law” may historically have involved subtle differences in nuance, but modernly, for all intents and purposes, all three refer to the body of statutes, rules and practices pertaining to navigation and commerce, to any type of business conducted at sea, and to maritime matters generally. Its application was once specifically limited to workers employed in the shipping industry – longshoremen, harbor workers and crew members aboard the large sailing ships, but modern maritime legislation, as interpreted by the courts, has a much broader application extending to passengers, non-seaman maritime employees, and to various classifications of oil industry employees, including some onshore employees.
