Cargo claimant’s rights and responsibilities

What is the transportation contract?

The shipowner should check to confirm which documents constitute the terms of the contract of carriage and to ensure that all documents are available. Is the bill of lading a contract of carriage? Are there any terms that are included in other documents?

In order to confirm the contract of carriage, the relationship between the various parties should be considered first.

Carrier's relationship with the cargo side:

A negotiable bill of lading can be transferred from the consignee embodied on the bill of lading to the consignee not reflected on the bill of lading. This allows the ship to continue to trade while the ship is sailing. If the transfer is legal, the negotiable bill of lading serves as a contract of carriage between the carrier and the shipper.

The shipowner should ensure that the complete bill of lading, including the front and back, is checked to check the terms of the bill of lading, the documents incorporated, such as the lease, applicable law and jurisdiction, or an agreement on arbitration.

Applicable terms:

The shipowner should check to see if there is a lease clause incorporated into the bill of lading. Does the bill of lading incorporate a lease and its date? If not, the shipowner should consider which lease the bill of lading applies and go to the full lease. If there are multiple leases, the situation can be more complicated.

Under British law, if a party neglects a bill of lading that is not incorporated into a lease or incorporates a wrong lease (such as a non-existing lease), it will be presumed that the main lease is applicable and incorporated into the bill of lading because it is a ship The east is the party’s lease (unless the ship is in a light lease).

If there is a sub-tenancy lease, the sub-lease lease will be treated as a applicable lease because it has a closer link with the voyage under the cargo transport and bill of lading. The shipowner should immediately ask for the sublease lease and check the terms.

Special attention must also be paid to the description of the terms incorporated in the bill of lading. A general description such as "all terms, conditions..." can only incorporate lease terms such as loading, shipping, unloading and freight payments into the bill of lading. Lease terms not related to the carriage of goods, such as demurrage related obligations and priorities, are likely to be not incorporated into the bill of lading. Additional terms, such as the terms of the full agreement, are also generally considered to be not incorporated into the bill of lading unless explicitly mentioned. Therefore, if you want to incorporate jurisdiction or arbitration agreement, you must explicitly mention it. If only described as "all terms are incorporated", this statement is not sufficient to represent the inclusion of all of the above terms in the lease.

Shipper's relationship with the carrier:

Between the consignor and the carrier, the bill of lading is basically only a certificate that is recognized as a contract of carriage. Since the contract of carriage of goods has been basically determined before the issuance of the bill of lading, for example, "booking note" or "fixture note" can be used to determine the contract terms agreed between the consignor and the carrier.

When the consignor is also a renter, the lease will be used as a contract of carriage and the bill of lading will have no contractual effect. However, the bill of lading can still be used as proof of receipt of the goods and, if it is a negotiable bill of lading, as proof of ownership.

After the terms of the contract of carriage have been clarified, the shipowner should pay attention to the inspection:

a) Whether the cargo claim is for the contract carrier
b) Whether the cargo owner has the right to litigation under the contract of carriage