Also known as: shipping article · articles · seaman contract
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A maritime document provided by a vessel master to mariners that details voyage information including the term of the voyage, the number of crew, and the wage rates.
Simone Sanders and five other mariners board a fishing vessel after the master presents shipping articles specifying a three-month voyage to Pyramid Harbor and wages of sixty dollars plus two cents per salmon caught. When the crew later demands higher pay mid-voyage, the court looks to the signed articles to determine the original compensation terms and rejects the new demand as unsupported by the document.
Sterling Dynamics holds a perfected security interest in a vessel's accounts. After the master issues shipping articles promising crew wages, a holder in due course of related negotiable instruments claims priority. The articles establish the wage obligations that the holder asserts take precedence under the applicable commercial rules.
Simon Stern and fellow seamen sign shipping articles for a salmon-canning voyage at sixty dollars per season. Upon arrival they halt work and seek one hundred dollars instead. The court enforces the wage terms recorded in the articles and denies recovery on the later demand.
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Sarah Sullivan joins a vessel crew after the master orally promises wages but refuses to deliver written shipping articles. When Sullivan later sues for unpaid wages, the absence of the required document prevents her from proving the agreed terms under maritime rules.
Steven Silva reads a posted notice offering crew positions on stated wage and voyage terms. He signs the shipping articles in reliance on that notice. When the master later attempts to alter the compensation, the signed articles bind the parties to the original posted conditions.
Sean Steele signs shipping articles for a voyage on a vessel later found unseaworthy. The articles contain no express warranty disclaimer. The court holds the master and owner liable for injuries because the implied warranty of seaworthiness survives the wage and voyage terms recorded in the document.
Shipping articles must detail the voyage term, the number of crew members, and the applicable wage rates. The master provides the document to each mariner before the voyage begins. Failure to supply the required information can affect enforcement of wage claims.
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Yes. Once signed, shipping articles create binding obligations regarding wages and services for the stated voyage. Courts routinely look to the terms recorded in the articles to resolve disputes over compensation or performance.
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No. The signed articles fix the compensation for the voyage. A later demand for increased pay lacks consideration and will not be enforced against the original terms.
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…part of the seller that the article delivered will be of the same quality, material, workmanship, and availability for use as articles generally sold under such name. It would be wholly unreasonable to hold that, if one were to purchase, for example, an automobile under the trade name of ‘Ford’ or ‘Buick’ or ‘Cadillac’ or…