Law & Regulation
Law No. 15 of 1980 Promulgating the Maritime Law
Qatar's general private-law architecture for ships, maritime operation and commercial navigation — vessel status and registration-facing concepts, ownership, masters and crew, chartering and carriage, maritime incidents and liabilities, marine insurance, maritime claims and enforcement-related mechanisms. Appears in force and amended; not repealed by Law No. 8 of 2017, which performs a different (activity-licensing) function.
Legal Significance
What This Instrument Does
The Maritime Law provides Qatar’s general private-law architecture for ships, maritime operation and commercial navigation. It addresses vessel status and registration-facing concepts, ownership and exploitation, masters and crew, chartering and carriage, maritime incidents and liabilities, marine insurance, maritime claims and enforcement-related mechanisms within its scope. It performs a different function from Law 8/2017. The 2017 statute regulates whether covered maritime activities may be conducted; the Maritime Law determines many of the private rights, obligations, liabilities and remedies arising from vessels and maritime commerce.
Why It Matters
Project cargo, offshore works, port construction and energy projects depend on contracts of carriage, chartering, towage and marine services. Casualty, delay, cargo loss, collision or vessel arrest can interrupt critical-path delivery. The Law supplies the legal framework against which contractual allocation, insurance, title, security and claims must be assessed.
Key Provisions
- Vessel legal status and identification
Rules relevant to the legal character, name, nationality, registration and documentation of ships within the Law’s scope.
- Ownership and co-ownership
Framework for title and shared interests in vessels, subject to registration and eligibility requirements.
- Maritime mortgages and privileged claims
Security and priority concepts applying to vessels and maritime claims. These are specialised rules and should not be collapsed into general Civil Code collateral analysis.
- Master and crew
Authority, responsibilities and legal position of the master and crew in navigation and commercial operation.
- Shipowner and operator liability
Allocation of responsibility for vessel operation and circumstances in which limitation or special maritime treatment may arise.
- Charterparties
Legal framework for use of vessels under voyage, time or other charter structures addressed by the Law.
- Carriage of goods
Carrier obligations, transport documents, delivery, cargo claims and liability architecture, subject to any incorporated convention or mandatory rule.
- Carriage of passengers
Rights and liabilities arising from passenger carriage where applicable.
- Towage and related maritime services
Legal treatment of specified marine-service relationships, important to port and offshore project operations.
- Collision and maritime casualty
Fault, allocation and claims arising from collision or other casualty within the statutory framework.
- Salvage and assistance
Rights and compensation associated with qualifying assistance to vessels or property in maritime danger.
- General average
Loss-sharing principles where extraordinary sacrifice or expenditure is made for the common maritime adventure.
- Marine insurance
Framework for marine risks, insured interests, disclosure, loss and indemnity within the Law’s scope.
- Maritime claims, limitation and time bars
Claim-specific remedies and limitation periods.
- Arrest, enforcement and judicial sale interfaces
Maritime enforcement concepts affecting vessels and claims, read with procedural law and international obligations.
When You Would Use This
Chartering a vessel for project cargo
Identify the charter type and statutory obligations before allocating delay, seaworthiness, loading and redelivery risk.
Reviewing a bill of lading claim
Map carrier, shipper, consignee, transport document, loss/damage and time-bar questions.
Financing or acquiring a vessel
Verify ownership, registration, mortgage, privileged claims and enforcement risks.
Offshore construction incident
Separate contract remedies from collision, salvage, pollution, personal-injury and regulatory regimes.
Assessing vessel arrest exposure
Identify whether the claim supports maritime enforcement and coordinate procedure and security.
Placing marine insurance
Check insurable interest, covered risk, disclosure, casualty evidence and subrogation issues.
Project-delay analysis
Determine whether cargo/vessel delay is governed by carriage or charter terms, mandatory maritime law and linked insurance.
Maritime counterparty diligence
Review legal capacity, ownership/operator status, vessel documents, insurance and outstanding maritime encumbrances.
InfraLex Relevance
The Law is the principal maritime private-law reference for infrastructure logistics and offshore delivery. It permits InfraLex to connect project milestones with vessel, carriage, casualty, insurance and enforcement risk while preserving the boundary with licensing under Law 8/2017 and unresolved port legislation.
Legal Framework Position
- Sector RegulationPrimary / Framework Instrument
- Security / CollateralSupporting / Related Instrument
- Trade / CustomsSupporting / Related Instrument
Instrument Overview
- Official Citation
- Law No. 15 of 1980
- Instrument Type
- Law / Act
- Source Language
- Arabic
- Last Verified
- 4 September 2026