Legal Definitions - seminaufragium

Seminaufragium is a historical legal term that refers to a situation of significant, but not total, loss or damage to a vessel or its cargo due to a maritime peril. It describes a state of severe distress or partial destruction that falls short of a complete shipwreck, where the vessel or its contents are substantially compromised but not entirely lost.

• Example 1: Partial Loss of Cargo

  A large container ship, navigating through a severe Atlantic storm, experiences extreme pitching and rolling. Despite the crew's best efforts, several containers on the deck, filled with valuable electronics, break free from their lashings and are swept overboard into the ocean. The ship itself remains seaworthy and continues its voyage with the majority of its cargo intact.

  This scenario illustrates seminaufragium because while the entire ship and all its cargo were not lost, a significant and valuable portion of the cargo was destroyed or lost at sea due to the storm. This represents a substantial partial loss, akin to a "half-shipwreck" of the cargo.

• Example 2: Severe Damage to a Vessel

  A commercial fishing trawler strikes an uncharted reef in shallow waters. The impact causes a large breach in its hull, and the vessel begins to take on water rapidly. The crew manages to activate emergency pumps and, with great difficulty, guides the severely damaged trawler to a nearby sheltered cove where it partially sinks onto the seabed, remaining upright but completely incapacitated. Extensive salvage operations and repairs would be required to make it operational again.

  In this instance, the fishing trawler has suffered extensive damage and is rendered inoperable, representing a major partial loss of the vessel's integrity and function. It is not a complete loss where the ship sinks entirely and is irretrievable, but its condition is so grave that it qualifies as a seminaufragium due to its severe but incomplete destruction.