62 NEWSLETTER 2021 Actual Carrier in Carriage of Goods by Sea* Duygu Öner Ayçiçek Introduction Performance of the carriage of goods by someone other than the person who undertakes the carriage, both for inland and intentional carriage, is a common circumstance. This unique type of carriage by the sea resulted with the emergence of the concept of “actual carrier” due to its genuine nature and needs evolving over time. This Article reviews the term “actual carrier,” and the liability regime within the scope of sea carriage. Term of Actual Carrier The carrier is defined as the person who carries goods by the sea in return for a certain fee (this fee is referred to as “freight”) under Turkish maritime trade law. In order to be considered as a sea carrier, a person does not have to perform the carriage personally, it would be sufficient for the carrier to undertake the carriage. In this respect, the carrier may perform the carriage in accordance with the contract of carriage in person, or assign someone else to perform the carriage, partially or wholly. The person who is assigned to perform the carriage, partially or wholly, is considered to be the actual carrier.1 In such case, the carrier who assigned the carriage is considered to be the contracting carrier. In order to have an actual carrier in a carriage relationship, the carrier who undertakes the carriage under a freight contract should assign someone else for the performance under another freight contract. Consequently, there are two separate freight contracts and two separate contracts of carriage. The first contract is established within * Article of February, 2021 1 Kender, Rageyan/ Çetingil, Ergon/ Yazıcıoğlu, Emine: Deniz Ticareti Hukuku Temel Bilgiler, V. 1, On İki Levha Yayıncılık, October 2012, p. 139.
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