Chapter 9: Carrier’s Responsibility

P & O Nedlloyd Bill

9.1

Place of Receipt (Applicable only when this document is used as a Combined Transport Bill of Lading) ________________

Place of Delivery (Applicable only when this document is used as a Combined Transport Bill of Lading)_________________

Port of Loading___________________

Port of Discharge___________________ 1

1. DEFINITIONS

“Carriage” means the whole or any part of the operations and services undertaken by the Carrier in respect of the Goods covered by this Bill of Lading.

“Port of Loading” means any port at which the Goods are loaded on board any Vessel (which may not necessarily be the Vessel named overleaf) for Carriage under this Bill of Lading.

“Port of Discharge” means any port at which the Goods are discharged from any Vessel (which may not necessarily be the Vessel named overleaf) after Carriage under this Bill of Lading.

“ Vesse” means any waterborne craft used in the Carriage under this Bill of Lading which may be a feeder vessel or an ocean vessel.

“Combined Transport” arises if the Place of Receipt and/or the Place of Delivery are indicated on the face hereof in the relevant spaces.

“Port to Port” arises if the Carriage is not Combined Transport. 2

9.2

Hapag-Lloyd Bill 1996

“Multimodal Transport” arises if the Place of Receipt and/or the Place of Delivery are indicated on the face hereof in the relevant spaces. 3

9.3

“K” Line Bill of Lading

1. (Definitions) When used in this Bill of Lading: ... (c) “Intermodal Transportation” means carriage of the Goods under this Bill of Lading from place of receipt from Merchant to place of delivery to Merchant by the Ocean Carrier plus one or more Inland Carriers. 4

9.4

Combiconbill (as revised 1995)

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Applicability

Notwithstanding the heading “Combined Transport Bill of Lading”, the provisions set out and referred to in this document shall also apply, if the transport as described on the face of the B/L is performed by one mode of transport only. 5

9.5

Multidoc 95

1. Applicability

The provisions of this Contract shall apply irrespective of whether there is a unimodal or a Multimodal Transport Contract involving one or several modes of transport.

2. Definitions

“Multimodal Transport Contract” means a single Contract for the carriage of Goods by at least two different modes of transport.

“Multimodal Transport Bill of Lading” (MT Bill of Lading) means this document evidencing a Multimodal Transport Contract and which can be replaced by electronic data interchange messages in so far as permitted by applicable law and is issued in a negotiable form. 6

Combiconbill (as revised 1995)

9.7

III. CARRIER’S LIABILITY

9. Basic Liability 7

1. The Carrier shall be liable for loss of or damage to the goods occurring between the time when he receives the goods into his charge and the time of delivery.

2. The Carrier shall be responsible for the acts and omissions of any person of whose services he makes use for the performance of the contract of carriage evidenced by this Bill of Lading. 8

3. The Carrier shall, however, be relieved of liability for any loss or damage if such loss or damage arose or resulted from:

   The wrongful act or neglect of the Merchant.

   • Compliance with the instructions of the person entitled to give them.

   • The lack of, or defective conditions of packing in the case of goods which, by their nature, are liable to wastage or to be damaged when not packed or when not properly packed.

   • Handling, loading, stowage or unloading of the goods by or on behalf of the Merchant.

   • Inherent vice of the goods.

   • Insufficiency or inadequacy of marks or numbers on the goods, covering, or unit loads.

   • Strikes or lock-outs or stoppage or restraints of labour from whatever cause whether partial or general.

   • Any cause or event which the Carrier could not avoid and the consequence whereof he could not prevent by the exercise of reasonable diligence. 9

4. The wrongful act or neglect of the Merchant.

5. Compliance with the instructions of the person entitled to give them.

6. The lack of, or defective conditions of packing in the case of goods which, by their nature, are liable to wastage or to be damaged when not packed or when not properly packed.

7. Handling, loading, stowage or unloading of the goods by or on behalf of the Merchant.

8. Inherent vice of the goods.

9. Insufficiency or inadequacy of marks or numbers on the goods, covering, or unit loads.

10. Strikes or lock-outs or stoppage or restraints of labour from whatever cause whether partial or general.

11. Any cause or event which the Carrier could not avoid and the consequence whereof he could not prevent by the exercise of reasonable diligence. 9

12. Where under sub-clause 9 (3) the Carrier is not under any liability in respect of some of the factors causing the loss or damage, he shall only be liable to the extent that those factors for which he is liable under this clause have contributed to the loss or damage.

13. The burden of proving that the loss or damage was due to one or more of the causes, or events, specified in (a), (b) and (h) of sub-clause 9 (3) shall rest upon the Carrier.

14. When the Carrier establishes that in the circumstances of the case, the loss or damage could be attributed to one or more of the causes, or events, specified in (c) to (g) of sub-clause 9 (3), it shall be presumed that it was so caused. The Merchant shall, however, be entitled to prove that the loss or damage was not, in fact, caused either wholly or partly by one or more of the causes or events.

    …

11. Special Provisions for Liability and Compensation

1. Notwithstanding anything provided for in clauses 9 and 10 10 of this Bill of Lading, if it can be proved where the loss or damage occurred, 11 the Carrier and the Merchant shall, as to the liability of the Carrier, be entitled to require such liability to be determined by the provisions contained in any international convention or national law, which provisions:

   cannot be departed from by private contract, to the detriment of the Claimant, and

   • would have applied if the Merchant had made a separate and direct contract with the Carrier in respect of the particular stage of transport where the loss or damage occurred and received as evidence thereof any particular document which must be issued if such international convention or national law shall apply.

2. cannot be departed from by private contract, to the detriment of the Claimant, and

3. would have applied if the Merchant had made a separate and direct contract with the Carrier in respect of the particular stage of transport where the loss or damage occurred and received as evidence thereof any particular document which must be issued if such international convention or national law shall apply.

4. Insofar as there is no mandatory law applying to carriage by sea by virtue of the provisions of sub-clause 11 (1), the liability of the Carrier in respect of any carriage by sea shall be determined by the International Brussels Convention 1924 as amended by the Protocol signed at Brussels on February 23rd 1968 - The Hague/Visby Rules. The Hague/Visby Rules shall also determine the liability of the Carrier in respect of carriage by inland waterways as if such carriage were carriage by sea. 12 Furthermore, they shall apply to all goods, whether carried on deck or under deck. 13

   …

14. Defences and Limits for the Carrier

(1) The defences and limits of liability provided for in this Bill of Lading shall apply in any action against the Carrier for loss or damage to the goods whether the action be founded in contract or in tort. 14

9.8

Combidoc 15

III. CTO’s LIABILITY

9. (1) The CTO assumes liability and undertakes to pay compensation for loss of or damage to the goods occurring within the time of taking them into his charge and the time of delivery, to the extent set out in this CT Document.

(2) The CTO accepts responsibility for the acts and omissions of his agents or servants, when such agents or servants are acting within the scope of their employment, as if such acts and omissions were his own; further, he accepts responsibility for the acts and omissions of any other persons whose services he uses for the performance of the contract evidenced by this CT Document.

10. When the Stage of Transport Where the Loss or Damage Occurred is Not Known

1. Compensation as per Clause 9(1) shall be calculated by reference to the value of such goods at the place and time they are or, in accordance with the contract of combined transport, they should have been delivered to the Consignee.

2. The value of the goods shall be determined according to the current commodity exchange price or, if there is no such price, according to the current market price, or, if there is no commodity exchange price or current market price, by reference to the normal value of goods of the same kind and quality.

3. Compensation shall not exceed 30 francs per kilo of gross weight of the goods lost or damaged, unless, with the consent of the CTO, the Consignor has declared a higher value for the goods and such higher value has been stated in this CT Document, in which case such higher value shall be the limit.

4. The CTO shall not in any case be liable for an amount greater than the...