SEABOARD
MARINE LTD.
Bill of Lading Terms and Conditions
1. DEFINITION.
a) “Bill of Lading” as used herein includes conventional
bills of lading, as well as electronic, express and laser bills of
lading, sea waybills and all like documents, howsoever generated,
covering the Carriage of Goods hereunder, whether or not issued to the
Merchant.
b) “Carriage” means the whole of the operations and services undertaken
or performed by or on behalf of the Carrier with respect to the Goods.
c) “Carrier” means the Company named on the face side hereof and on
whose behalf this Bill of Lading was issued, whether acting as carrier
or bailee.
d) “Charges” means freight, deadfreight, demurrage and all expenses and
money obligations incurred and payable by the Merchant.
e) “Container” means any container (closed or open top), van, trailer,
flatbed, transportable tank, railroad car, vehicle, flat, flatrack,
pallet, skid, platform, cradle, sling-load or any other article of
transport.
f) “Goods” means the cargo received from the shipper and described on
the face side hereof and any Container not supplied by or on behalf of
the Carrier.
g) “Merchant” means the shipper, consignee, receiver, holder of this
Bill of Lading, owner of the cargo or person entitled to the possession
of the cargo and the servants and agents of any of these, all of whom
shall be jointly and severally liable to the Carrier for the payment of
all Charges, and for the performance of the obligations of any of them
under this Bill of Lading.
h) “On Board” or similar words endorsed on this Bill of Lading mean
that in a Port to Port movement, the Goods have been loaded on board
the Vessel or are in the custody of the actual ocean carrier; and in
the event of Intermodal transportation, if the originating carrier is
an inland or coastal carrier, means that the Goods have been loaded on
board rail cars or another mode of transport at the Place of Receipt or
are in the custody of a Participating carrier and en route to the Port
of Loading named on the reverse side.
i) “Participating carrier” means any other carrier by water, land or
air, performing any part of the Carriage, including inland carriers,
whether acting as sub-carrier, connecting carrier, substitute carrier
or bailee.
j) “Person” means an individual, a partnership, a body corporate or any
other entity of whatsoever nature.
k) “Vessel” means the ocean vessel named on the face side hereof, and
any substitute vessel, feedership, barge, or other means of conveyance
by water used in whole or in part by the Carrier to fulfill this
contract.
2. CARRIER’S TARIFFS.
The Goods carried hereunder are subject to all terms and conditions of
the Carrier’s applicable tariff(s), which are hereby incorporated
herein. Copies of the relevant provisions of the applicable tariff(s)
are obtainable from the Carrier upon request. In the event of any
conflict between the terms and conditions of such tariff(s) and the
Terms and Conditions of this Bill of Lading, this Bill of Lading shall
prevail.
3.
WARRANTY/ACKNOWLEDGMENT.
The Merchant warrants that in agreeing to the Terms and Conditions
hereof, it is, or is the agent and has the authority of, the owner or
person entitled to the possession of the Goods or any person who has a
present or future interest in the Goods. When the Merchant
instructs or as a matter of course permits the Carrier or its agents to
prepare and release one or more original Bills of Lading to the
consignee, the Merchant understands and agrees that such instruction or
course of dealing, once provided or allowed, is irrevocable by the
Merchant regarding this shipment, and the Carrier is without any
responsibility or liability upon delivery of the cargo pursuant to said
instruction or course of dealing and any and all revocations by the
Merchant to be completely null and void.
4. RESPONSIBILITY.
a) Except where the Carriage covered by this Bill of Lading is to or
from a port or locality where there is in force a compulsorily
applicable ordinance or statute similar in nature to the International
Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to Bills of
Lading, dated at Brussels, August 25, 1924, the provisions of which
cannot be departed from, this Bill of Lading shall have effect subject
to the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act of the United States (COGSA),
approved April 16, 1936, and nothing herein contained, unless otherwise
stated, shall be deemed a surrender by the Carrier of any of its
rights, immunities, exemptions, limitations or exonerations or an
increase of any of its responsibilities or liabilities under COGSA or,
as the case may be, such ordinances or statutes. The provisions of
COGSA or such compulsorily applicable ordinances or statutes (except as
otherwise specifically provided herein) shall govern before loading on
and after discharge from the vessel and throughout the entire time the
Goods or Containers or other packages are in the care, custody and/or
control of the Carrier, its agents, servants, Participating carriers or
independent contractors (inclusive of all subcontractors), whether
engaged by or acting for the Carrier or any other person, and during
the entire time the Carrier is responsible for the Goods.
b) The Carrier shall not be liable in any capacity whatsoever for any
delay, non-delivery, misdelivery, acts of thieves, hijacking, act of
God, force majeure, quarantine, strikes or lockouts, riots or civil
disobedience or any other loss or damage to or in connection with the
Goods or Containers or other packages occurring at any time
contemplated under subdivision a) of this Clause.
c) The Carrier shall, irrespective of which law is applicable under
subdivision a) of this Clause, be entitled to the benefit of the
provisions of Sections 4281 to 4287 inclusive, and 4289 of the Revised
Statutes of the United States and amendments thereto from time to time
made (46 U.S. Code, Sections 181 through 188), as if the same were
expressly set forth herein, including but not limited to the Fire
Statute, R.S. 4282 (46 U.S. Code, Section 182).
d) The rights, defenses, exemptions, limitations of and exonerations
from liability and immunities of whatsoever nature provided for in this
Bill of Lading shall apply in any action or proceeding against the
Carrier, its agents and servants and/or any Participating carrier or
independent contractor.
5. THROUGH TRANSPORTATION.
When either the Place of Receipt or Place of Delivery set
forth herein is an inland point or place other than the Port of Loading
(Through Transportation basis), the Carrier will procure transportation
to or from the sea terminal and such inland point(s) or place(s) and,
notwithstanding anything in this Bill of Lading, but always subject to
Clause 4 hereof, the following shall apply:
a) If the loss or damage arose during a part of the carriage
herein made subject to COGSA or other legislation, as set forth in
Clause 4 a) hereof, said legislation shall apply.
b) If the loss or damage not falling within a) above, but
which concerns compulsorily applicable laws and would have applied if
the Merchant had made a separate and direct contract with the Carrier,
a Participating carrier or independent contractor, as referred to in
Clause 4 a), then the liability of the Carrier, Participating carrier
and independent contractor, their agents and servants, shall be subject
to the provisions of such law. If it should be determined that the
Carrier bears any responsibility for loss or damage occurring during
the care, custody and/or control of any Participating carrier or
independent contractor, and be subject to law compulsorily applicable
to their bills of lading, receipts, tariffs and/or law, then the
Carrier shall be entitled to all rights, defenses, immunities,
exemptions, limitations of and exonerations from liability of
whatsoever nature accorded under such bill of lading, receipt, tariff
and/or applicable law, provided however, that nothing contained herein
shall be deemed a surrender by the Carrier of any of its rights,
defenses and immunities or an increase of any of its responsibilities
or liabilities under this Bill of Lading, the Carrier’s applicable
tariff or laws applicable or relating to such Carriage.
6. SUBCONTRACTING:
BENEFICIARIES.
a) The Carrier shall be entitled to subcontract on any terms the whole
or any part of the Carriage, loading, unloading, storing, warehousing,
handling and any and all duties whatsoever undertaken by it in relation
to the Goods or Containers.
b) It is understood and agreed that if it should be adjudged that any
person or entity other than or in addition to the Carrier is under any
responsibility with respect to the Goods, all exemptions, limitations
of and exonerations from liability provided by law or by the Terms and
Conditions hereof shall be available to all Carrier’s agents, servants,
employees, representatives, all Participating (including inland)
carriers and all stevedores, terminal operators, warehousemen, crane
operators, watchmen, carpenters, ship cleaners, surveyors and all
independent contractors whatsoever. In entering into this contract, the
Carrier, to the extent of these provisions, does so not only on its own
behalf but also as agent and trustee for the aforesaid persons.
c) The Carrier undertakes to procure such services as necessary and
shall have the right at its sole discretion to select any mode of land,
sea or air transport and to arrange participation by other carriers to
accomplish the total or any part of the carriage from Port of Loading
to Port of Discharge or from Place of Receipt to Place of Delivery, or
any combination thereof, except as may be otherwise provided herein.
d) No agent or servant of the Carrier or other person or class named in
subdivision b) hereof shall have power to waive or vary any of the
terms hereof unless such waiver or variation is in writing and is
specifically authorized or ratified in writing by an officer or
director of the Carrier having actual authority to bind the Carrier to
such waiver or variation.
7. MERCHANT’S
RESPONSIBILITY: DESCRIPTION OF GOODS.
a) The description and particulars of the Goods set out on the face
hereof and any description, particular or other representation
appearing on the Goods or documents relating thereto are furnished by
the Merchant, and the Merchant warrants to the Carrier that the
description, particulars and any representation made, including, but
not limited to, weight, content, measure, quantity, quality, condition,
marks, numbers and value are correct.
b) The Merchant warrants it has complied with all applicable laws,
regulations and requirements of Customs, port and other authorities and
shall bear and pay all duties, taxes, fines, imposts, expenses and
losses incurred or suffered by reason thereof or by reason of any
illegal, incorrect or insufficient marking, numbering, addressing or
any other particulars relative to the Goods.
c) The Merchant further warrants that the Goods are packed in a manner
adequate to withstand the ordinary risks of Carriage having regard to
their nature and in compliance with all laws, regulations and
requirements which may be applicable.
d) No Goods which are or may become dangerous, inflammable or damaging
or which are or may become liable to damage any property or person
whatsoever shall be tendered to the Carrier for Carriage without the
Carrier’s prior express consent in writing and without the Container or
other article of transport in which the Goods are to be transported and
the Goods being distinctly marked on the outside so as to indicate the
nature and character of any such articles and as to comply with all
applicable laws, regulations and requirements. If any such articles are
delivered to the Carrier without such written consent and marking or
if, in the opinion of the Carrier, the articles are or are liable to
become of a dangerous, inflammable or damaging nature, the same may at
any time be destroyed, disposed of, abandoned or rendered harmless
without compensation to the Merchant and without prejudice to the
Carrier’s right to Charges.
e) The Merchant shall be liable for all loss or damage of any kind
whatsoever, including but not limited to, contamination, soiling,
detention and demurrage before, during and after the Carriage of
property (including but not limited to Containers) of the Carrier or
any person (other than the Merchant) or vessel caused by the Merchant
or any person acting on its behalf or for which the Merchant is
otherwise responsible.
f) The Merchant shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Carrier
against any loss, damage, claim, liability or expense whatsoever
arising from any breach of the provisions of this Clause 7 or from any
cause in connection with the Goods for which the Carrier is not
responsible.
8. CONTAINERS.
Goods may be stuffed by the Carrier in or on Containers, and may be
stuffed with other goods. Containers, whether stuffed by the
Carrier or received fully stuffed, may be carried on or under deck
without notice, and the Merchant expressly agrees that cargo stuffed in
a Container and carried on deck is considered for all legal purposes to
be cargo stowed under deck. Goods stowed in Containers on
deck shall be subject to the legislation referred to in Clause 4.
hereof and will contribute in General Average and receive compensation
in General Average, as the case may be.
The Terms and Conditions of this Bill of Lading shall govern the
responsibility of the Carrier with respect to the supply of a Container
to the Merchant.
If a Container has been stuffed by or on behalf of the Merchant, the
Carrier, any Participating carrier, all independent contractors and all
persons rendering any service whatsoever hereunder shall not be liable
for any loss or damage to the Goods, Containers or other packages or to
any other goods caused (1) by the manner in which the Container has
been stuffed and its contents secured, (2) by the unsuitability of the
Goods for carriage in Containers or for the type of Container requested
by and furnished to the Merchant, or (3) condition of the Container
furnished, which the Merchant acknowledges has been inspected by it or
on its behalf before stuffing and sealing.
The Merchant shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Carrier,
Participating carriers, independent contractors, their agents and
servants, against any loss, damage, claim, liability or expense
whatsoever arising from one or more of the matters covered by a), b)
and c) above.
9. CONTAINERS WITH REEFER
APPARATUS.
Containers with temperature or atmosphere control apparatus for
refrigeration will not be furnished unless contracted for expressly in
writing at time of booking and, when furnished, may entail increased
Charges. In the absence of an express request, it shall be conclusively
presumed that the use of a dry container is appropriate for the Goods.
Merchant must provide Carrier with desired temperature range in writing
at time of booking and insert same on the face side of the Bill of
Lading, and where so provided, Carrier is to exercise due diligence to
maintain the temperature within a range of plus or minus 5
degrees Fahrenheit of the temperature requested by the Merchant on the
face hereof while the Containers are in its care, custody and/or
control or that of any Participating carrier or independent contractor,
their agents or servants. The Carrier does not accept any
responsibility for the functioning of temperature or
atmosphere-controlled Containers not owned or leased by Carrier or for
latent defects not discoverable by the exercise of due diligence.
Where the Container is stuffed or partially stuffed by or on behalf of
the Merchant, the Merchant warrants that it has properly pre-cooled the
Container, that the Goods have been properly stuffed and secured within
the Container and that the temperature controls have been properly set
prior to delivery of the Container to the Carrier, its agents,
servants, or any Participating carrier or independent contractor. The
Merchant accepts responsibility for all damage or loss of whatsoever
nature resulting from a breach of any of these warranties, including
but not limited to other cargo consolidated in the Container with the
Merchant’s Goods or to any other cargo, property or person damaged or
injured as a result thereof, and the Merchant agrees to defend,
indemnify and hold the Carrier, Participating carriers and
independent contractors, their agents and servants, harmless from and
against all claims, suits, proceedings and other consequences thereof
regardless of their nature and merit.
10. OPTION OF INSPECTION.
The Carrier and any Participating carrier shall be entitled, but under
no obligation, to open any Container at any time and to inspect the
contents. If it thereupon appears that the contents or any part thereof
cannot safely or properly be carried or carried further, either at all
or without incurring any additional expense, the Carrier and
Participating carrier may abandon the transportation thereof and/or
take any measures and/or incur any reasonable additional expenses to
continue the Carriage or to store the Goods, which storage shall be
deemed to constitute due delivery under this Bill of Lading. The
Merchant shall indemnify the Carrier against any reasonable additional
Charges so incurred.
11. DECK CARGO.
Deck cargo (except that carried in Containers on deck) and live animals
are received and carried solely at Merchant’s risk (including accident
or mortality of animals), and the Carrier will not in any event be
liable for any loss or damage for or from which he is exempt, immune or
exonerated by applicable law, or from any other cause whatsoever not
due to the fault of the Carrier, any warranty of seaworthiness in the
premises being hereby waived, and the burden of proving liability being
in all respects upon the Merchant. Except as may be otherwise provided,
such shipments shall be deemed Goods and shall be subject to all Terms
and Conditions of this Bill of Lading.
12. METHODS AND
ROUTES OF TRANSPORTATION.
With respect to the Goods or Containers or other packages, the Carrier
may at any time and without notice to the Merchant:
a) use any means of transport (water, land and/or air) or storage
whatsoever;
b) forward, transship or retain on board or carry on another vessel or
conveyance or by any other means of transport than that named on the
reverse side hereof;
c) carry Goods on or under deck at its option;
d) proceed by any route in its sole and absolute discretion and whether
the nearest, most direct, customary or advertised route or in or out of
geographical rotation;
e) proceed to or stay at any place whatsoever once or more often and in
any order or omit calling at any port, whether scheduled or not;
f) store, vanned or devanned, at any place whatsoever, ashore or
afloat, in the open or covered;
g) proceed with or without pilots;
h) carry livestock, contraband, explosives, munitions, warlike stores,
dangerous or hazardous Goods or Goods of any and all kinds;
i) drydock or stop at any unscheduled or unadvertised port for bunkers,
repairs or for any purpose whatsoever;
j) discharge and require the Merchant to take delivery, vanned or
devanned;
k) comply with any orders, directions or recommendations given by any
government or authority or by any person or body acting or purporting
to act with the authority of any government or authority or having
under the terms of the insurance on the Vessel or other conveyance
employed by the Carrier, the right to give such orders, directions or
recommendations.
l) take any other steps or precautions as may appear reasonable to the
Carrier under the circumstances.
The liberties set out in subdivisions a) through l) may be invoked for
any purpose whatsoever even if not connected with the Carriage covered
by this Bill of Lading, and any action taken or omitted to be taken,
and any delay arising therefrom, shall be deemed to be within the
contractual and contemplated Carriage and not be an unreasonable
deviation.
In no circumstance whatsoever shall the Carrier be liable for direct,
indirect or consequential loss, profit of any kind or damage caused by
delay or any reason whatsoever.
13. MATTERS
AFFECTING PERFORMANCE.
In any situation whatsoever and wheresoever occurring and whether
existing or anticipated before commencement of, during or after the
Carriage, which in the judgment of the Carrier is likely to give rise
to any hindrance, risk, capture, seizure, detention, damage, delay,
difficulty or disadvantage or loss to the Carrier or any part of the
Goods, or make it unsafe, imprudent, impracticable or unlawful for any
reason to receive, keep, load, carry or discharge them or any part of
them or commence or continue the Carriage at the Port of Discharge or
of the usual or intended place of discharge or Delivery, or to give
rise to danger, delay or difficulty of whatsoever nature in proceeding
by the usual or intended route, the Carrier and any Participating
carrier, without notice to the Merchant, may decline to receive, keep,
load, carry or discharge the Goods, or may discharge the Goods and may
require the Merchant to take delivery and, upon failure to do so, may
warehouse them at the risk and expense of the Merchant and Goods or may
forward or transship them as provided in this Bill of Lading, or the
Carrier may retain the Goods on board until the return of the Vessel to
the Port of Loading or to the Port of Discharge or any other point or
until such time as the Carrier deems advisable and thereafter discharge
them at any place whatsoever. In such event, as herein
provided, such shall be at the risk and expense of the Merchant and
Goods, and such action shall constitute complete delivery and
performance under this contract, and the Carrier shall be free from any
further responsibility. For any service rendered as herein
above provided or for any delay or expense to the Carrier,
Participating carrier and/or Vessel caused as a result thereof, the
Carrier shall, in addition to full Charges, be entitled to reasonable
extra compensation, and shall have a lien on the Goods for
same. Notice of disposition of the Goods shall be sent to the
Merchant named in this Bill of Lading within a reasonable time
thereafter.
All actions taken by the Carrier hereunder shall be deemed to be within
the contractual and contemplated carriage and not be an unreasonable
deviation.
14. DELIVERY.
If delivery of the Goods or Containers or other packages or any part
thereof is not taken by the Merchant when and where and at such time
and place as the Carrier is entitled to have the Merchant take
delivery, they shall be considered to have been delivered to the
Merchant, and thereafter always to be at the risk and expense
of the Merchant and Goods.
If the Goods are stowed within a Container owned or leased by the
Carrier, the Carrier shall be entitled to devan the contents of any
such Container, whereupon the Goods shall be considered to have been
delivered to the Merchant and the Carrier, may at its option, subject
to its lien and without notice, elect to have same remain where they
are or sent to a warehouse or other place, always at the risk and
expense of the Merchant and Goods.
15. CHARGES, INCLUDING
FREIGHT.
The Charges payable hereunder have been calculated on the basis of
particulars furnished by or on behalf of the Merchant. The Carrier
shall, at any time, be entitled to inspect, reweigh, remeasure or
revalue the contents and, if any of the particulars furnished by the
Merchant are found to be incorrect, the Charges shall be adjusted
accordingly and the Merchant shall be responsible to pay the correct
Charges and all expenses incurred by the Carrier in checking said
particulars or any of them.
Charges shall be deemed earned on acceptance of the Goods or Containers
or other packages for shipment by the Carrier and shall be paid by the
Merchant in full, without any offset, counter claim or deduction, cargo
and/or vessel or other conveyance lost, or not lost, and shall be
non-returnable in any event.
The Merchant shall remain responsible for all Charges, regardless
whether the Bill of Lading states, in words or symbols, that it is
“Prepaid,” “to be Prepaid” or “Collect,” including, but not limited to,
costs, expenses and reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred by the Carrier
in pursuing Charges. Payment of Charges to a freight forwarder, broker
or to anyone other than the Carrier shall not be deemed payment to the
Carrier and shall be at the Merchant’s risk.
In arranging for any services with respect to the Goods, the Carrier
shall be considered the exclusive agent of the Merchant for all
purposes, and any payment of charges to other than the Carrier shall
not, in any event, be considered payment to the Carrier.
The Merchant shall defend, indemnify and hold the Carrier,
Participating carriers, independent contractors, their agents and
servants, harmless from and against all liability, loss damage and
expense which may be sustained or incurred relative to the above.
16. CARRIER’S LIEN.
The Carrier shall have a lien on the Goods and any documents relating
thereto, inclusive of any Container owned or leased by the Merchant, as
well as on any Charges of whatsoever nature due any other person, and
any documents relating thereto, which lien shall survive delivery, for
all sums due under this contract or any other contract or undertaking
to which the Merchant was partly or otherwise involved, including, but
not limited to, General Average contributions, salvage, demurrage and
the cost of recovering such sums, inclusive of attorney fees. Such lien
may be enforced by the Carrier by public or private sale at the expense
of and without notice to the Merchant.
The Merchant agrees to defend, indemnify and hold the
Carrier, Participating carriers, independent contractors,
their agents and servants, harmless from and against all liability,
loss, damage or expense which may be sustained or incurred by the
Carrier relative to the above and the Merchant agrees to submit to the
jurisdiction of any court, tribunal or other body before whom the
Carrier may be brought, whether said proceeding is of a civil or
criminal nature.
17. RUST.
It is agreed that superficial rust, oxidation or any like condition due
to moisture, is not a condition of damage but is inherent to the nature
of the Goods. Acknowledgement of receipt of the Goods in apparent good
order and condition is not a representation that such conditions of
rust, oxidation or the like did not exist on receipt.
18. BOTH-TO-BLAME
COLLISION.
If the Vessel on which the Goods are carried (the carrying Vessel)
comes into collision with any other vessel or object (the non-carrying
vessel or object) as a result of the negligence of the non-carrying
vessel or object or the owner of, charterer of, or person responsible
for the non-carrying vessel or object, the Merchant undertakes to
defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Carrier against all claims by
or liability to (and any expense arising therefrom) any vessel or
person in respect of any loss of or damage to, or any claim whatsoever
of the Merchant paid or payable to the Merchant by the non-carrying
vessel or object or the owner of, charterer of or person responsible
for the non-carrying vessel or object and set off, recouped or
recovered by such vessel, object or person against the Carrier, the
carrying vessel or her owners or charterers. This provision is to
remain in effect in other jurisdictions, even if unenforceable in the
courts of the United States.
19. GENERAL
AVERAGE
a) If General Average is declared, it shall be adjusted
according to the York/Antwerp Rules of 1994 and all subsequent
amendments thereto from time to time made, at any place at the option
of any person entitled to declare General Average, and the Amended
Jason Clause as approved by BIMCO is to be considered as incorporated
herein, and the Merchant shall provide such security as may be required
in this connection.
b) Notwithstanding a) above, the Merchant shall defend,
indemnify and hold harmless the Carrier, Participating
carriers, independent contractors, their agents and servants, in
respect of any claim (and any expense arising therefrom) of a General
Average nature which may be made against the Carrier and/or any
Participating carrier and shall provide such security as may be
required in this connection.
c) Neither the Carrier nor any Participating carrier shall be
under any obligation to take any steps whatsoever to post security for
General Average or to collect security for General Average
contributions due the Merchant.
20. LIMITATION OF
LIABILITY.
Except as otherwise provided in this Clause or elsewhere in this Bill
of Lading, in case of any loss or damage to or in connection with cargo
exceeding in actual value the equivalent of $500 lawful money of the
United States, per package, or in case of cargo not shipped in
packages, per shipping unit, the value of the cargo shall be deemed to
be $500 per package or per shipping unit. The Carrier’s liability, if
any, shall be determined on the basis of a value of $500 per package or
per shipping unit or pro rata in case of partial loss or damage, unless
the nature of the cargo and valuation higher than $500 per package or
per shipping unit shall have been declared by the Merchant before
shipment and inserted in this Bill of Lading, and extra freight paid if
required. In such case, if the actual value of the cargo per package or
per shipping unit shall exceed such declared value, the value shall
nevertheless be deemed to be declared value and the Carrier’s
liability, if any, shall not exceed the declared value.
The words “shipping unit” shall mean each physical unit or
piece of cargo not shipped in a package, including articles or things
of any description whatsoever, except cargo shipped in bulk, and
irrespective of the weight or measurement unit employed in calculating
freight and related charges.
As to cargo shipped in bulk, the limitation applicable thereto shall be
the limitation provided in Section 1304(5) of COGSA, or such other
legislation, convention or law as may be applicable, and in no event
shall anything herein be construed as a waiver of limitation as to
cargo shipped in bulk.
Where a Container is not stuffed by or on behalf of the Carrier or the
parties characterize the Container as a package or a lump sum freight
is assessed, in any of these events, each Container and its contents
shall be deemed a single package and Carrier’s liability limited to
$500 with respect to each such package, except as otherwise provided in
this Clause or elsewhere in this Bill of Lading.
In the event this provision should be held invalid during that period
in which compulsory legislation shall apply of its own force and
effect, such as during the tackle-to-tackle period, it shall
nevertheless apply during all non-compulsory periods such as, but not
limited to, all periods prior to loading and subsequent to discharge
from the Vessel for which the Carrier remains responsible.
Where compulsorily applicable legislation provides a limitation less
than $500 per package or shipping unit, such lesser limitation shall
apply and nothing herein contained shall be construed as a waiver of a
limitation less than $500.
Further, where a lesser monetary limitation is applicable, such as
during handling by a Participating carrier or independent contractor
and damage occurs during its or their period of care, custody, control
and/or responsibility, the Carrier shall be entitled to avail itself of
such lesser limitation.
21. NOTICE OF CLAIM: TIME
FOR SUIT.
As to any loss or damage presumed to have occurred during the Carrier’s
period of responsibility, the Carrier must be notified in writing of
any such loss or damage or claim before or at the time of
discharge/removal of the Goods by the Merchant or, if the loss or
damage is not then apparent, within 3 consecutive days after
discharge/delivery or the date when the Goods should have been
discharged/delivered. If not so notified, discharge, removal or
delivery, depending upon the law applicable, shall be prima facie
evidence of discharge/delivery in good order by the Carrier of such
Goods.
In any event, the Carrier shall be discharged from all liability of
whatsoever nature unless suit is brought within 1 year after delivery
of the Goods or the date when the Goods should have been delivered,
provided however, that if any claim should arise during a part of the
transport which is subject by applicable law and/or tariff and/or
contract to a shorter period for notice of claim or commencement of
suit, any liability whatsoever of the Carrier shall cease unless proper
claim is made in writing and suit is brought within such shorter
period.
Suit shall not be deemed “brought” unless jurisdiction is obtained over
the Carrier by service of process or by an agreement to appear. In the
event this provision is held invalid during that period in which
compulsory legislation shall apply of its own force and effect, such as
during the tackle-to-tackle period, it shall nevertheless apply during
all non- compulsory periods during which the Carrier remains
responsible.
22. LAW AND
JURISDICTION
Governing Law shall be in accordance with Clause 4. hereof.
Jurisdiction: All disputes in any way relating to this Bill of Lading
shall be determined by the United States District Court for the
Southern District of Florida, in Miami, Florida to the
exclusion of the jurisdiction of any other courts in the United States
or the courts of any other country, PROVIDED ALWAYS that the Carrier
may in its absolute and sole discretion invoke or voluntarily submit to
the jurisdiction of any other court which, but for the terms of this
Bill of Lading, could properly assume jurisdiction to hear and
determine such disputes, but such shall not constitute a waiver of the
terms of this provision in any other instance.