What is a ship’s protest?

A ships protest, also known as a sea protest, is a document that is notarized and contains a statement from the captain of the ship regarding the conditions or events experienced during the voyage. The purpose of the creation of a ship’s protest is to prevent the owner or the operator of the vessel from facing liability for the damage incurred in rough seas to the cargo of the ship or from the liability for damage to other vessels if there was a collision at sea.

The reason that it is important to make a ship’s protest is that at later stage in court it may be denied the opportunity of having the ship’s log admitted into evidence if there is not a ships protest supporting the events on record. Also, if the full extent of damage only becomes apparent at some later stage, the captain can then extend the ships’s protest by attending the office of the notary to explain in further detail what has occurred.

Also, the existence of a ships protest can assist with the process of claiming against the insurance for the vessel in a collision or for the cargo as maritime insurance companies will often request some further form of documentation than the say so of the crew or captain before allowing a claim against an insurance policy in the event of the loss of cargo from a ship or the collision between two ships.