Abstract: The article is devoted to the issues of water transport safety, established by the first codified document - the Maritime Charter (1720), in a historical and legal comparison with the norms of modern Russian legislation. The purpose of the study is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the legal norms governing transport safety of water transport, based on an objective study of documentary, archival and scientific materials, using the principle of objectivity and historicism.
An analysis of individual norms of the Maritime Charter and the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation was carried out regarding the establishment of rules and requirements for compliance with safety on water (sea and river) transport, as well as liability for violations of this legislation.
As a result, a conclusion was formed and legislation changes were proposed in order to enhance the safety of water transport. When writing the article, historical, ideographic, comparative legal research methods were used. Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that, on the one hand, the need for the formation of a navy during the reign of Peter I served as the basis for the development and adoption of a separate codified normative act - the Naval Charter of 1720; on the other hand, the norms of this Peter the Great document are of interest in terms of regulating liability for various violations in the field of ship safety.