Cargo disputes
Cargo Disputes: Lesson 1-Overview
When a party ships goods by sea, there are two main contracts that will be involved: (1) the underlying sale contract; and (2) the contract of carriage to transport the goods from A to B. Either the buyer or the seller will organise the contract of carriage, but the carrier might end up in a dispute with either of those parties, so both buyer and seller want to be able to have privity of contract with the carrier. The following diagram shows how that happens.
The diagram also shows what happens at the financial level. A buyer thousands of miles away from a seller doesn't want to run the risk of non-delivery of the goods (or documents representing title to the goods), so they frequently use banks as intermediaries who give cross-undertaking to each other, which makes the process more secure (although not always!).
Because this diagram has lots of moving parts, we recommend you download the dynamic PowerPoint presentation below as well as look at this static diagram. It talks you through each stage.
overview powerpoint (dynamic)
overview powerpoint
(Static)
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Strickland's Shipping Guide is designed to be viewed on a desktop, because it has lots of diagrams that are best viewed full-screen.
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However, you are welcome to message us here, call us, or connect with us on LinkedIn.
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Thanks for reading!
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ahoy!
To the uninitiated, shipping law can seem complex. This website provides diagrams and simple explanations of the basics to enable you to visualise how the big pieces in shipping law fit together.
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We chose to use diagrams where possible, as diagrams tend to make law simple without being overly reductionist. These diagrams are also downloadable so you can stick them to your wall (if that's the kind of thing that appeals).
We designed the section on cargo claims as a complement to Debattista on Bills of Lading in Commodities Trade, (by the same authors), which addresses in more detail the relationship between sales contracts and contracts for the carriage of goods by sea. Thanks for reading!
Francis Hornyold-Strickland
Charles Debattista
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There are two main areas of shipping law...
"Wet" shipping
This relates to things that happens to the ships themselves, like physical damage, like Collisions, scuttling etc.
"Dry" Shipping
dry shipping relates to the commercial use of the vessel and is further divided into two main areas:
Basics
There are two main areas of shipping law...
"Wet" shipping
"Dry" Shipping
Wet shipping relates to things that happen to the ships themselves, like physical damage: collisions, scuttling etc.
Dry shipping relates to the commercial use of the vessel and is best further sub-divided into two areas:
charterparty disputes
cargo
disputes
Charterparty disputes pertain to the "vertical" relationship between the owner of the vessel and individuals/companies who wish to hire (charter) the vessel for a period of time or for a particular voyage or set of voyages.
Cargo disputes concern a "horizontal" situation regarding carriage of cargo on a ship from place A to place B across the seas.