Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Movement by Road
If you consider the movement of cargo by road, there are several
forces acting on the cargo during transport caused by the movement
of the truck, the gradient of the road, the camber of the vehicle, the
speed of movement, unexpected stops etc..
Gravitational force
Frictional force
Random Deceleration
Random Acceleration
Centrifugal force
Vibratory force
These forces may cause the sliding, tipping and wandering of cargo
which could seriously damage the cargo and/or other assets or human
beings..
Movement by Rail
If you consider the movement of cargo by rail, there are several
forces acting on the cargo during transport caused by the movement
of the rail wagon, vibration of the rails, the speed of movement,
unexpected stops etc..
Acceleration
Transverse horizontal forces
Wagon oscillation (yaw) during transport
Gravitational force
Frictional force
Random Deceleration
Random Acceleration
Centrifugal force
Vibratory force
These forces may cause the sliding, tipping and wandering of cargo
which could seriously damage the cargo and/or other assets or human
beings..
Movement by Sea
Even if you are in shipping or in the business of exporting and
importing it would be good for you to understand a bit about the laws
of physics, the connection between shipping and physics, concepts
like velocity, inertia and how it applies to the movement of the ocean,
and the movement of cargo inside containers while it is in transit..
As I wrote above, cargoes packed inside a CTU can experience intense
longitudinal and transverse forces during road, rail and these forces
could cause physical damage..
Most likely you will be thrown up from your seat and hit the roof of
the car causing possible injury/damage and definite pain..
Now imagine steel coils or granite blocks, moving inside the container
when the ship is undergoing a heaving motion (similar to hitting a
speed bump in a fast car) on the rough seas..
In the minds of some of the shippers, they may feel that since the
distances for some of the shipments are short, say in a City to City
shipment or a Provincial shipment they may not feel the need to
insure the goods.. Or they may feel that they should not be liable for
insurance as they may have interpreted the terms of sale incorrectly..
In a lot of the cases, while there may be every intention by the buyer
or seller to insure the goods, incorrect interpretation of the terms of
sale or Incoterms chosen could lull you into thinking that the other
person has insured the goods or it is the other person’s responsibility
to insure the goods..
You may also have faced a situation wherein you might have been
misguided by your service provider(s)..
Therefore, the answer to the question “Do I need cargo insurance for
my shipment” is YES, MOST CERTAINLY.. In your own interest and
the interest of your business, you need to ensure that your cargo is
sufficiently covered by cargo insurance..
In this very useful article by NAU, Muthu Jagannath says that while
insured cargo interests are able to deal with both Salvage and General
Average expeditiously through their insurers, uninsured cargo interests
generally face difficulties as they would not only have to make various
arrangements but also provide securities as may be demanded for
Salvage and General Average..
These securities can run into thousands or millions of $$$ which clients
may not have..
1.2.2 jettison
B Clauses – Risks covered
All the above plus:
Just remember that “All risks” are not “All Risks” in that there has to
have been a happening.. Something has to have happened that was
NOT EXPECTED..
All the clauses covers general average plus “Both to Blame” collisions
in case where containers are lost at sea due to collision of two ships
like in the case of CHONGLUNJ3010 and NEW SAILING 2..
But also watch out for exclusions which are clearly spelt out in clauses
4, 5, 6 and 7..
Eventually you may end up paying the buyer back, lose money on your
stock and also stand to risk future businesses..
Conclusion
So, the point I am making is that, your cargo could get damaged,
stolen or lost at any time during its journey from the supplier’s
warehouse to the final receiver :
Even if you have done everything correctly, if others didn’t follow the
processes, your cargo could end up getting caught in situations
like General Average..