Terms of Carriage
An effort has been made to simplify the wording of the Seago Line bill of lading terms and conditions.
As a result, some of the clauses have been restructured, particularly 5, 6 and 7, will look a little different although will predominately retain their general effect.
Clauses defining the scope of Seago Line’s liabilities are contained in clause 5 for port-to-port shipments and clause 6 for multimodal shipments. The limitation of liability provisions are now all grouped in clause 7.
The liability regime for loss or damage which occurs during inland carriage has been clarified. Seago Line’s liability for loss or damage which occurs during inland carriage has been confirmed at the lower of the tariff of the inland carrier or Articles 1-8 of Hague Rules or US COGSA.
Amendments have been made to clause 4, Subcontracting clause, together with definition of subcontracting to capture the changes made by Bimco to their industry standard Himalaya clause while retaining the existing structure of the Seago Line bill of lading terms and conditions.
The method of determining the value of the goods in clause 7.1 has also been amended. The commercial invoice of the goods will no longer be the main reference – instead the parties will be free to also take into account the value of the goods declared on customs declarations and any prevailing market or production price or the reasonable value of the goods.
Some of the language in the definition of Merchant and clause 15 has been reinstated from a former bill of lading clause. A minor amendment has been made to the wording of the lien clause (clause 17) to clarify that the lien clause also cover amounts incurred under previous shipments and is not limited to amounts incurred when the shipment parties are identical.
The law and jurisdiction clause has been updated in line with the Credit Agreement to enable recovery proceedings to be commenced at the place of business of the Merchant. The High Court of London remains the exclusive jurisdiction in which the Merchant can commence proceedings.
