Stean Shaw LLP
Stean Shaw LLP
 

Cargo Carried by Sea



Claims for losses and damages to goods and property carried at sea can be very complex and time consuming. Just because a third party has caused loss and damage to cargo and property at sea, does not necessarily mean that they are liable for those losses and damages. Depending upon the circumstances surrounding a loss, the third party does have various defences upon which they can seek to rely. In addition, if the third party does have any liability, they can rely upon limits of liability. Claims will also have time limits and will be lost if these time limits are not complied with, irrespective of the quantum and merits. Obtaining security can also be a very important issue on claims involving loss and damage to cargo and property at sea.

The carriage of goods by sea is a global practice involving most countries throughout the world. In order to try to standardise practice, international conventions have been introduced and developed over the years to cover claims involving loss and damage to goods at sea. These international conventions include the Hague Rules, Hague-Visby Rules and the Hamburg Rules. These conventions specify the obligations and responsibilities upon a third party carrying goods or property by sea and, if these have been complied with, provides the party with various defences upon which they can rely in the event that the goods or property sustain loss or damage during carriage. The most common of these defences are error in navigation or management of a ship, peril of the sea, act of God, war, fire, inherent vice of the goods, poor packing and latent defect. However, in order to rely upon these defences, the third party has to establish that they have complied with their obligations and responsibilities and also that the actual cause of the loss falls within the scope of a defence. For example, if the third party seeks to defend liability on the basis of a peril of the sea defence, they will face difficulties if the loss is due to say poor condition of the carrying vessel or say poor securing of the goods.

If liability is established against a third party for loss and damage to goods carried by sea, then the third party might be entitled to limit their liability. The Hague, Hague Visby and Hamburg Rules all provide such limitations of liability. These are based upon an allowance for the number of packages damaged, or the weight of the damaged cargo, whichever is greater. Unfortunately, if applicable, such limits of liability are virtually impossible to avoid. In very significant incidents, third parties can seek to limit their liabilities based upon an allowance for the tonnage of the carrying vessel. Such tonnage limitation is covered by separate international conventions such as the 1957 Limitation Convention and the 1976 Limitation Convention. The 1976 Convention provides higher limits of liability than the 1957 Convention, but these are virtually impossible to break. The 1957 Limitation convention has lower limits, but these can be broken in certain circumstances.


Despite the efforts to try to standardise practice through the application of international conventions, claims involving loss and damage to goods at sea can still be very complex. Many countries are not party to any of the international conventions and have their own local laws and legislation. If countries are parties to international conventions, then their determination of liability and any limitation of liability can still be very different. For example, the United States and England have very different interpretations on determining liability and limitation of liability for claims involving losses at sea.

Otherwise, obtaining security can be a very important issue for claims involving loss and damage to goods and property at sea. For most third parties carrying goods at sea, the carrying vessel could be the only asset that they have. If this asset then changes ownership or is scrapped or lost, it could be extremely difficult to then obtain reimbursement for a claim. Accordingly, it might be very prudent to try to obtain security to ensure that a claim is as well protected as possible.

Finally, every claim for losses and damages at sea will have a time limit. If this time limit is not complied with, then the claim will be lost, irrespective of the merits and quantum of the claim. Generally, for shipments of goods by sea, a time limit of 9 months or 1 year will be applicable from the date that the goods were discharged or, where the goods do not arrive, should have been discharged. However, sometimes, much shorter time limits can apply.

Stean Shaw LLP can help. Our team has extensive experience and expertise in the handling, resolution and recovery of all types of claims at sea arising all over the world. We are situated very much “on the doorstep” of the P&I clubs that insure over 90% of the world’s ships, as well as insurers and other parties defending claims. We believe that this maximises the possibility of successfully amicably resolving cases for our clients. We also have an extensive network of contacts throughout the world with whom we can liase in order to ensure the best outcome for our clients. Since we act on a “no win – no fee” basis, there is no cost “upfront” to our clients by using the services of Stean Shaw LLP and a charge will only be made by us when we succeed in obtaining a recovery for our clients. This is extremely beneficial as, for the reasons highlighted above, these types of claim can invariably involve considerable time, trouble and complexity to be finalised.

  If you have any enquiries about Stean Shaw LLP, our services and fees, or questions on claims involving sea carriage, our team would be happy to hear from you through our listed contact details. Alternatively, to e-mail us, please click here.