Legal Definitions - gubernator navis

The term gubernator navis, originating from Roman law, refers to the individual responsible for piloting or steering a ship. This person held the critical duty of navigating the vessel, ensuring its safe passage and adherence to its intended course.

• Imagine a merchant vessel transporting a valuable shipment of olive oil across the Mediterranean Sea. Due to a miscalculation by the gubernator navis regarding prevailing currents, the ship deviates significantly from its planned route, causing a delay that results in some of the perishable cargo spoiling before reaching its destination.

  This illustrates the gubernator navis's role in maintaining the correct course and how their navigational decisions directly impact the condition and timely delivery of goods.

• Consider a ship carrying pilgrims to a sacred site. The gubernator navis, through an oversight in reading the celestial navigation, guides the ship to an entirely different, less accessible port, causing distress and significant inconvenience to the passengers who are now far from their intended destination.

  Here, the example demonstrates the gubernator navis's fundamental responsibility for ensuring the ship reaches its correct destination, directly affecting the well-being and plans of those on board.