Iliana Christodoulou-Varotsi: Maritime safety law and policies of the European Union and the United States of America: antagonism or synergy?

Abstract

Safety at sea has always been an important issue, moreover in the light of recent developments at the regional level. Maritime safety generates noteworthy consequences for the stakeholders involved, and calls for a proactive approach. These challenges raise interesting legal questions which deserve proper attention. In this context, Dr. Iliana Christodoulou-Varotsi has written a very interesting and useful book, which greatly contributes to the study of maritime safety law and to the bibliography of maritime law in general. The book contains a foreword elaborated by H.E. Mr. Efthimios Mitropoulos, Secretary-General of the IMO, and a preface by Professor Erik Rosaeg from the Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law. The work in question reflects a postdoctoral research project conducted by the author at the Scandinavian Institute of Maritime Law (University of Oslo, Propondis Foundation Grant). It should be noted that the publisher (Springer, Heidelberg) is a leading international publisher. The book aims at exploring from a legal point of view the regulatory framework on maritime safety in the European Union and in the United States of America in view of detecting points of convergence and divergence concerning the rules that exist in each system and their capacity to achieve the highest possible maritime standards. In a preliminary part, basic concepts of universalism in maritime law are discussed from the point of view of the flag State, the coastal State and the port State. The first part of the book refers to the emergence of unilateralism in maritime safety law with reference to the general trends of the laws and policies of the EU and the US. The second part of the book explores the search for common trends in the areas of maritime safety between the EU and the US and the author examines from a comparative angle maritime safety prevention, preparedness and ability to