주요 국제협약상 정부의 선박검사권의 성질과 공인선박검사기관(RO) 위탁제도 일고찰

Abstract

Even as the importance of ship inspection gets strengthened to ensure safety at sea and protection of marine environment from the maritime perils, flag states kept authorizing Recognized Organizations(ROs) to survey vessels on their behalf, to such an extent that two or more ROs represent one flag state, which created a notion that the market of a statutory ship survey could be a market where competition controls. However, the statutory vessel inspection shall be intrinsically regarded as a pivotal tool to protect the significant legal interests such as maritime safety, protection of marine environment, maritime security and protection of crew, etc. Is it reasonable to understand that the Administration’s authority of inspection has transformed from an inherently governmental function to a free market service, the so-called commercial function supplied either on a commercial basis or in competition with other suppliers? Today, the maritime legal interests and what the key international conventions provide shall not be taken for granted. In this light, the Administrations’ power to inspect vessels is found to be a non-delegable public duty of flag states in its essence whether it is delegated or not. This paper seeks to clarify the nature of the governmental authority and its delegation under the RO Code, the conventions, and the task-based quasi-agency of the Korea’s Ship Safety Act.