Legal Definitions - echouement

Echouement is a term used in French marine law that refers to the act of a vessel becoming stranded or running aground. It describes a situation where a ship, boat, or other watercraft becomes stuck on the seabed, shore, or an underwater obstruction, making it unable to move freely or navigate under its own power.

Here are some examples illustrating the concept of echouement:

• Imagine a large container ship attempting to navigate a narrow, shallow canal. Due to a miscalculation by the pilot, the ship drifts too far to one side and its hull scrapes against the bottom, becoming firmly embedded in the mud. The vessel is now unable to move forward or backward without external assistance.

  This scenario represents echouement because the container ship is stuck on the canal bed, preventing its normal navigation and requiring intervention to refloat it.

• Consider a small fishing trawler caught in an unexpected, violent storm near the coast. Despite the crew's best efforts, the strong winds and waves push the vessel relentlessly towards the shore. Eventually, the trawler is driven onto a rocky outcrop, where it becomes wedged and sustains damage, unable to return to deeper waters.

  This situation is an instance of echouement as the fishing trawler has been forced onto the shore and is now immobilized on the rocks, unable to continue its voyage.

• A private yacht is sailing in an unfamiliar bay. The captain, relying on an outdated chart, unknowingly steers the vessel over a submerged sandbar that has shifted since the chart was published. The yacht's keel digs into the sand, bringing it to an abrupt halt, and despite attempts to reverse, it remains firmly stuck.

  Here, the yacht's grounding on the sandbar constitutes echouement because it is unable to move freely and is effectively stranded in the bay.