Guidelines for claims handling and submission
For obvious reasons, no one wants to receive cargo claims. More so, carriers who carry the cargo from A to B. It could possibly be the reason why there is a lot of misunderstanding among BCOs and OTIs about which documents are really necessary to submit and which are completely irrelevant in the process of claims recovery.
Below are some simple guidelines for claims handling and submissions. I hope this will help to make the claim submission process as efficient and as simple as possible for you.
Don’t be caught out with an unseaworthy container – follow this checklist and avoid cargo damage
There are several reasons that cargo inside a container could damaged. It could be due to improper packing of cargo inside a container, incorrect container used for the cargo carried, but one of the main reasons for cargo damage inside a container is the condition of the container itself.
- Wet damage due water ingress (rain, seawater etc) into the container ;
- Wet damage due to condensation inside the container when an incorrect type of container is used like using a normal container instead of a ventilated container ;
- Contamination due to adjacency risk or odor transfer ;
- Infestation damage
are some of the common types of damages reported on cargoes that are packed in containers.
As a general rule, shipping lines reject these claims confirming that the gate out documents of the containers were clean at the time of release to the shipper. Insurance companies use Unseaworthiness and Unfitness Exclusion Clause stated in ICC (A) not to cover similar claims either, unless the insured can prove that he was not aware of the condition of the container at the time of loading.
Obviously, this situation causes a lot of frustration, feelings of injustice, and could result in absorbed losses among shippers globally.
So should the shipper simply accept this rejection of claims and move on?
How to mitigate your losses and achieve cost saving
The world is in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economy has been greatly hit due to this. You may agree that during such time, it’s important more than ever to find ways for saving costs and take all measures possible to safeguard your business.
As a small or midsize business, there is no doubt that you are familiar with the stress of operating on tight margins, and you know how valuable even a small percentage of cost-savings can be to your bottom line.
However, what many small businesses don’t realize, is that their supply chain – particularly when it comes to imports – can be a significant source of cost savings!
10 tips to avoid losses due to abandoned cargo
In any normal year, hundreds of thousands of containers filled with cargo are abandoned all over the world.
While abandoned cargo could be quite stressful and considered to be a big headache for everyone concerned, a freight forwarder may be especially affected by cargo abandonment.
Here are 10 tips to help you avoid losses due to abandoned cargo..