Logistics, Trade Administration and Supply Chain

The Hague-Visby Rules also extended the application of the Hague Rules. Whilst the Hague Rules apply to all Bills of Lading issued in any contracting state, the Hague-Visby Rules apply to every Bill of Lading relating to the carriage of goods between ports in two different states if: The Bill of Lading is issued in a contracting state, or The carriage is from a contracting state, or The contract shown by the Bill of Lading provided that the rules of convention or legislation of any state giving effect to them are to govern the contract (whatever may be the nationality of the ship, the carrier, the shipper, the consignee or any interested parties). The Protocol also seeks to solve the problem caused by the carriage of goods in containers and pallets. When the goods are packed into carrier's container for his own convenience, each package in the container is treated as one unit for limitation purpose. If the container belongs to the shipper and is packed by him, the limitation questi

The purpose of Hague-Visby Rules was to amend the Hague Rules because of the criticisms that were raise from several quarters. In particular, the rules on limitation of liability per package or similar units were criticized partly because the amount of limitation as too low and partly because technological development such as containerization, use of pallets, etc shown that the existing rules were inadequate. Carrier's Liability The Hague-Visby Rules provided the following: The limitation of liability if carrier at the higher monetary limit of 30 Poincare Francs per kilo of gross weight (since converted to 2 SDRs or Special Drawing Rights under the rules of the International Monetary Fund) or 10,000 Poincare Francs per package or unit (since converted into 666.67 SDRs). Extension of the period of the one year limit fro bringing suit against carrier by mutual agreement between the parties. Action for indemnities against third parties. The Hague-Visby Rules however did not change the

The basic convention is the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to Bill of Lading, dated 28 August 1924, usually called the Hague Rules. The Bill of Lading Convention may apply automatically or by agreement (They are obligatory rules). The Rules are automatic when the agreement of carriage is included in the Bill of Lading. When the Bill of Lading is issued in a contracting country. When transportation of goods into a country which is a signatory to the convention. The Rules are not applicable to live animals and cargo shipped on deck. Damage or loss must occur during the "carriage of goods". Carrier's Responsibilities An important aspect of the Hague Rules is that when the country of shipment has rectified the Rules or passed an Act in conformity with the Rules, the cargo interests are given a minimum protection of a mandatory character i.e. the carrier can accept a wider liability but he cannot contractually reduce it. The carrier is b

Bills of Lading started to be used in Venice, Italy in the 13th century. The merchant on arriving safely at the destination would pay the master money or part of the goods. The master in turn paid the crews. Failure to arrive safely meant nothing was paid since it was an adventure. After 14th century, it was found unnecessary for cargo-owner to travel with his goods. Instead the cargo was delivered to the master and the master would act as an agent on behalf of the cargo owner. Eventually, the master found it necessary to maintain a book where the following information were entered: a) List of Shippers' Consignees b) Nature of Cargo c) Freight To Be Paid The cargo owner however demanded a receipt from the master showing goods received and freight to be paid. The receipt given by the master was the origin of the Bill of Lading and was considered as evidence of the contract of carriage and that the master has to deliver the cargo to the consignee. Between 1880 to 1890, the Internatio

The three international conventions which are directly related to the carriage of goods by sea are as follows:- 1) First international convention on carriage of goods by sea adopted in 1924 is known as The Hague Rules (International Convention for the Unification of certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading). 2) The protocol to amend the Hague Rules to a limited extend which was adopted in 1968 and which entered into force on 23 June 1977: these amendments are known as the Hague-Visby Rules (The protocol to amend the Brussels International Convention for Unification of certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading). 3) A United Nations sponsored convention to replace the Hague/Hague-Visby rules known as Hamburg Rules (The United Nations Convention on the carriage of goods by sea, 1978). This has yet to be enforced.

Landside Stevedoring - cargo handling charges for loading / discharging cargo on / from conventional breakbulk vessels. LCL Service Charge - charge for stuffing and unstuffing LCL (Less than Container Load) cargo into or from a container at the freight station. Equipment Transfer Charge (ETC) - charge for lifting an empty or loaded container onto / from the trailer. Also called Lift-on / Lift-off (LOLO) charge. This charge is applicable on FCL (Full Container Load) containers only. Terminal Handling Charge (THC) - charge for handling (receiving and delivering) FCL containers at the container yard (CY). Waterside Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF) - surcharge for offsetting changes in fuel prices. Congestion Surcharge - surcharge levied on cargo that are discharge at a port where ships are experiencing delays in turnaround time. Currency Adjustment Factor (CAF) - surcharge for offsetting fluctuations in currency exchange rates of various currencies against the US Dollar. In Asia and Japan t