Shipco Transport Inc News

Global Consolidators Working Group(GCWG) has urged the International Maritime Organization (IMO), an arm of the United Nations that regulates shipping safety,  to provide more detail about the much-debated container verification rules, set to be introduced by July 1, according to a report in WSJ. Consolidators say an impending rule demanding certified weights for shipping containers leaves their business boxed out. The Global Consolidators Working Group called for more clarification, both on how the rule will be policed and how each of 170 or so countries will enforce it. The letter, signed by executives from CaroTrans International Inc., Shipco Transport Inc.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that the $500 per package limitation in the Carriage of Goods at Sea Act (COGSA) applies during restowage of cargo at intermediate ports, even where the damage occurs ashore. In the instant case, plaintiff cargo owner contracted with the carrier for transport of the cargo from Baltimore to Arica, Chile. The carrier issued a clean bill of lading incorporating COGSA. During an intermediate stop of the ship in Charleston, the master decided to restow the cargo below deck and had it off-loaded in preparation for restowage. While on the pier, the cargo was damaged beyond repair. Plaintiff owner sued the carrier for replacement cost of the cargo.