46 U.S.C. § 30504
Section 30504 · Loss by fire
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 5 court decisions — leading case California Home Brands, Inc. v. Ferreira (1989)
Most recently applied in In Re: M/V MSC Flaminia (June 2023)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
The owner of a vessel is not liable for loss or damage to merchandise on the vessel caused by a fire on the vessel unless the fire resulted from the design or neglect of the owner.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 30504 46 App.:182. R.S. §4282. The words “liable for” are substituted for “liable to answer for or make good to any person”, the words “merchandise on the vessel” are substituted for “any merchandise whatsoever, which shall be shipped, taken in, or put on board any such vessel”, and the words “caused by a fire on the vessel” are substituted for “by reason or by means of any fire happening to or on board the vessel”, to eliminate unnecessary words.