You can't always tell what's in a container ----or what it weighs

News Release Thomas Miller P&I Ltd July 7, 2010

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The huge liabilities which can be
incurred by ship owners when containers are lost overboard are frequently
compounded by the problems of establishing the circumstances surrounding a
particular incident and incomplete knowledge of the containers’
contents.
 
Information from shippers about
what’s in each box and its weight can be inadequate, misleading or inaccurate.
Deliberate falsification of bills of lading and cargo manifests for commercial
motives is not unknown.
 
Martyn Haines, Senior Claims
Director, UK P&I Club, was providing a protection & indemnity insurer’s
perspective on “Weighing containers: is it really that difficult?” in London on
June 29th.
 
“Nowadays, container operations
are often on a massive scale, involving huge commercial values and carried out
in an exacting context of safety and anti-pollution laws and
regulations.
 
“When the ship’s crew is loading
in excess of 6,000 containers on a tight schedule, they are provided with
limited information prior to sailing but cannot necessarily vouch for its
reliability.  Inevitably, some problems only emerge when the
vessel is at sea. Captains are left to deal with them, albeit with information
which remains
limited.”                                                                                                         
 
Where container contents turn out to have been
misdeclared in relation to substance, volume, weight and perhaps their dangerous
or illegal nature, the shipper should have some explaining to do, continued Mr.
Haines. “However, this does not stop the spotlight being turned on owner and
master when things go wrong. They will quickly find a range of parties breathing
down their necks in their haste to attribute liability.”
 
He maintained that with huge
numbers of boxes, it was not always immediately obvious if individual containers
had been lost overboard or a stack had become unstable---particularly in storm
conditions.
 
Port authorities were rigorous in
enforcing a ship owner’s obligations in cleaning up pollution and holding him to
account for any safety, legal or code violations that might have contributed to
an incident. The prospect of fines was never far away. If they did not get the
co-operation they wanted, they might “target” other vessels in the same
line.
 
Clearly, floating and sunken
containers which might be or become navigational or pollution hazards had to be
dealt with. Recently, the Dutch Ministry of Waterways ordered the recovery of 50
empty containers which were a hazard to navigation. The cost to the P&I club
was $1,500,000.
 
“There could well be claims from crew for personal injury and from cargo
owners for loss or damage. Even if the owner does not know, accurately or
substantially what was inside the lost containers, there could still be a
claim---perhaps very expensive for high value items. The ship owner himself will
claim if his vessel is damaged.”
 
Mr. Haines advised on how the
insurer and his Club member should proceed in relation to liability attribution,
variously asserted through the prospect or imposition of ship arrest, fines and
heavy claims.
 
“Record everything: voyage plans,
weather anticipation, weather conditions, ship’s revs, the vessel’s immediate
position when the incident occurred. Take photos of floating containers and
collapsed stacks. When you get to court, they will analyse the master’s actions.
Was he proceeding by the book? Was he looking after safety? Inform your P&I
club and the coast guard. The club can deal with the authorities and get people
on standby for the ship’s arrival at the next port. Information is also
ammunition. Do not give it out. Keep it to yourselves for deployment at the most
appropriate times. 
 
“Today’s P&I claims handler
has to face increasingly intricate situations in assessing and agreeing who
should accept liability for exactly what,” concluded Mr. Haines. Contracts can
be very complex, especially when they involve consortia. They are drawn up by
lawyers rather than people with operational experience. The skilled executive
has to look beyond the immediate terms and pay close and detailed attention to
all the circumstances if he is to arrive at solutions acceptable to his club
member.”
 
“Perhaps most important, he will
be striving to get the ship released and earning again. The ‘time is money’
cliche is particularly relevant in merchant shipping.”
 
The conference was organised by
Dunelm Public Relations and sponsored by the UK Club.
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