In this edition of the Claims Review, we are publishing a number of cases drawn from the various professions underwritten by the Club. The theme that runs through them, however, is that we must all take care throughout our working lives and that, if mistakes happen, ITIC is here to help. Therefore, the key is not to wait but to contact us as soon as a claim is intimated against you. Finally, we take this opportunity of wishing you a happy and prosperous new year.
Not enough skins
A broker in northern Europe was appointed by the owner to exclusively market a tanker. A voyage charterparty was arranged for the carriage of 20,000 metric tonnes of vegetable oil from the US Gulf to the Mediterranean....
Late arriving sugar
A sugar trader booked a part cargo of 6,000 mt bagged sugar at Durban for Aqaba for on-selling to Iraq, where there was a severe sugar shortage. The charterparty contained the clause "first in/last out" which normally means the...
Failure to remove clause
Failure to properly clause bills of lading can cause many different problems. One example of this is a failure to make it clear that cargo is not loaded under deck. Ten containers of expensive electronic equipment were shipped...
Onions and other delicate commodities
ITIC has, over the years, paid out large sums in respect of claims for damage to refrigerated cargo due to mistakes by ship agents in passing information on temperatures. However, in carrying cargo, it is not only the temperature...
No "on-deck" notation
A ship agent in the Far East booked four packages of spare parts and materials for a road construction project for an East African port. The packages were stowed on deck by the carrier and the mate's receipt was marked...
Not without interest
A North American ship agent acted for a shipping line over a twelve year period. During the period of the agency, the agent had paid local suppliers on behalf of the line, but was not reimbursed until many days later. The line...
An unusual letter of indemnity
A ship owner demanded that a ship agent in West Africa sign a Letter of Indemnity in his favour before the ship arrived at the port. The Letter of Indemnity was, according to the ship owner, a requirement of the ISPS Code and...
Fraudulent labels
21 forty foot containers of acetate tow on pallets arrived at a US port from Brazil. The shipping line instructed their US agent to arrange for the pallets to be unstuffed from the line's containers and reloaded into containers...
Too much to master
The owner of a ship requested its agent in Argentina to deliver USD20,000 to the master. The agent took every precaution in delivering the cash, using security guards and an armoured car. On arrival at the ship, however, the...
Damage to harps
Marine surveyors based in the Far East were instructed by the insurers of a cargo of HRSG harps (which are metal tube modules used in power generation) to conduct a pre-shipment inspection and to advise on loading and stowage....
Defective manufacture or defective design
A naval architect was instructed to design a vessel, to be used in a successful commercial passenger service, which could reach speeds of up to 20 knots in reasonable weather conditions. During sea trials in extremely...
Check the ship before taking it on!
A ship manager accepted the management of a ship, but had not inspected it. In fact due to a high staff turnover in their technical department, nobody from the managers visited the ship. The owners went on board some ten months...
The wrong box
A commercial ship manager received legal papers from cargo interests in connection with a cargo claim. The commercial managers immediately notified the lawyers for the cargo interests that they were "managers only" for the ship...
Too tall to ship
A German commercial manager fixed eight specially designed "blade containers" from Spain to a port in southern Italy. Four of these containers were to be stowed under deck and four on deck in two tiers. During loading operations,...
No bunkers in Jeddah
A bunker broker was instructed by a tanker owner to arrange bunkers at Jeddah. The broker agreed a price verbally with the bunker supplier's agent in Greece, and sent a confirmation by e-mail to the suppliers in Jeddah....