Admiralty, or maritime law, consists of the rules and principles - derived from custom, judicial decisions, legislative enactments and international treaties-that govern the legal relationships arising from the transportation of passengers and cargoes on the high seas and other navigable waters. The principal parties affected by the law of admiralty are the crew, the passengers, the shipowner, the cargo owner, the charterer and the marine insurer. Among matters which fall within the admiralty jurisdiction are suits arising from collisions between vessels, injuries to passengers and/or crew, salvage claims, cargo claims and maritime liens.

Admiralty is an ancient legal system deriving from the customs of the early Egyptians, Phoenicians and Greeks who carried an extensive commerce in the Mediterranean Sea.  Contemporary maritime law is a mixture of ancient doctrines and new laws both national and international. Among the traditional principles of admiralty still in use are marine insurance, general average and salvage. The welfare of the seaman, the ancient concept of "maintenance and cure" is also still in use today. The reason for the continuation in the use of ancient principles of law is that the basic hazards of seafaring have not changed.

DETERMINING ADMIRALTY JURISDICTION

A) Waters or vessel test

For a matter to be maritime the waters where it takes place must be of a certain type. High seas and harbors communicating with them are included but other bodies of water may or may not be. In general, the admiralty jurisdiction of the United States extends to all waters, with or without tides, salt or fresh, natural or artificial, which are navigable in interstate or foreign water commerce, without regard as to whether the particular body of water is entirely within a state, and whether or not the transaction in question is confined to a single state. It follows that small bodies of water wholly within a state and not navigable in interstate and foreign commerce do not provide admiralty jurisdiction. The Great Lakes and the Mississippi, on the other hand, are clearly within admiralty jurisdiction as is the Erie Canal, which is wholly within a state but navigable in interstate commerce. The Code of Federal Regulations also lists waterways where federal jurisdiction applies.

Generally, a vessel is defined by the federal statutes as a watercraft or other contrivance capable of being used as a means of transportation over water. Courts have differed, however, in the interpretation of what constitutes a vessel. While a cargo ship is clearly a vessel, floating docks and platforms, barges and other equipment used to repair bridges, docks and piers present more of a jurisdictional problem. In order to determine whether or not a given item is a vessel, several factors are considered, particularly the function and purpose for which it was built. A court may ask whether the object can be defined by law as a vessel, whether it can move across the water, whether it is subject to the perils of the sea or whether it is designed to be permanently fixed in position.

Offshore operations such as oil rigs and platforms pose particular jurisdictional problems. The principal law governing offshore operations is the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) which authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to lease tracts of the federal Continental Shelf for the exploration and development of mineral resources. The Act states that it is the " duty of any holder of a lease or permit....to.....maintain all places of employment within the lease area.......in compliance with occupational safety and health standards...." The Act also provides a federal statutory cause of action for violations of federal rules and regulations. The application of admiralty jurisdiction over workers engaged in offshore operations depends on these variables: (1) type of craft or structure involved; (2) the status of the injured party (seaman, maritime worker or other category); and (3) the location of the platform at the time of the injury (whether it is within the limit of a state's jurisdiction).

B) Activity or type of lawsuit test

The empowerment of the courts of the United States to draw upon and administer maritime law derives from the language of the Constitution which extends the judicial power of the United States to "all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction". Section 9 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 provides that: "...the district courts...shall also have exclusive original cognizance of all civil causes of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction...saving to suitors, in all cases, the right to a common law remedy, where the common law is competent to give it:.."

An accurate list of the type of activities which fall within the admiralty jurisdiction is impossible to make but the following cases would most likely be deemed in admiralty:

Suits for contracts for the carriage of goods and passengers; for repairs and supplies furnished to vessels as well as services such as towage, pilotage and wharfage; for the chartering of ships; for the services of seamen; for recovery of indemnity or premiums on marine or yacht insurance policies; Suits in tort for collision damage, or for any physical damage to ships or cargoes on navigable waters; for any damage caused by a vessel; for personal injuries to seamen and passengers while aboard a vessel on navigable waters; suits for general average, salvage and maintenance and cure; Petitions for limitation of shipowners' liability; Proceedings to foreclose preferred ship-mortgages, and suits to recover vessels wrongfully taken or withheld.

The following categories of actions usually do not fall within the admiralty jurisdiction: suits for the sale and building of vessels; for the payment of a fee for procuring a charter; for services to a vessel out of navigation, and suits on breach of an agreement to procure insurance on a cargo.