Legal Definitions - assistance

In maritime law, assistance refers to the compensation paid to someone who successfully helps a vessel, its cargo, or its crew when they are in danger at sea. This payment recognizes the effort and skill used to prevent or reduce loss or damage to property or lives.

• Example 1: Rescuing a Disabled Yacht
  A private yacht loses engine power in rough seas and is drifting dangerously close to a rocky coastline. A nearby commercial tugboat responds to their distress call, attaches a tow line, and safely pulls the yacht to a secure harbor. The tugboat's owner would be entitled to claim assistance from the yacht owner for the effort and resources expended to save the threatened vessel and its occupants from potential disaster.

• Example 2: Fighting a Fire on a Cargo Ship
  A large container ship experiences a fire in one of its cargo holds while crossing the ocean, threatening to engulf the entire vessel. Another merchant vessel, responding to the emergency, diverts its course, approaches the burning ship, and uses its own firefighting equipment and crew to help contain and extinguish the blaze, preventing the loss of the ship and its valuable cargo. The merchant vessel would be compensated for providing assistance by actively intervening to save the threatened container ship and its cargo from destruction.

• Example 3: Saving a Capsizing Fishing Trawler
  A fishing trawler suffers catastrophic damage during a severe storm, leaving it adrift, taking on water, and in danger of capsizing. A passing commercial supply vessel, despite the hazardous conditions, maneuvers alongside the trawler, secures it with tow lines, and brings it safely to port, preventing the loss of the vessel and its crew. The supply vessel would be due assistance for undertaking a risky and skilled effort to save the threatened fishing trawler and its crew from a perilous situation at sea.