The Claims Review - Issue 2

In this, the second edition of the ITIC Claims Review, we would like to draw the attention of the Club's ship agent Members to the increasing number of claims (about 15 in the past year varying between US$ 15,000 and US$ 150,000 each in value) which have resulted from reefer containers either being left off power at the load or discharge port or carried at the wrong temperature due to agent error.

All the following claims resulted from ship agents failing to arrange for reefer containers to be plugged in whilst in the port area:

FROZEN PRAWNS from Lagos left off power on the quay in Newcastle, England for ten days. ICE CREAM for export from the U.K. to Beirut left off power because the agent failed to inform the reefer engineers of its arrival. PUMPKINS, YAMS and SWEET POTATOES off power at Kingston, Jamaica for a week found to be bad on arrival at the London fruit market. FROZEN PINEAPPLE CONCENTRATE off power at Valencia for four days over a holiday weekend.

Other claims resulted from errors by ship agents in entering temperatures on ship's documents or in inputting incorrect details into computers:

CHEESE from Denmark to the U.K. carried at 0º C instead of -20º C. CONCRETE ADDITIVES from Bremerhaven to Helsinki which needed to be maintained at +10 º C to prevent frost damage, carried at -6º. BOTTLES OF WINE from Antwerp to the U.S. carried at  -20º C, and FROZEN BEEF at +2º C because the temperatures for two reefers had been transposed by the agent.

Unfortunately there is generally no defence to these claims.  Members handling this type of business can give valuable assistance to the Club and to themselves by taking whatever steps they can within their organisations to eliminate these simple errors which have such expensive consequences.

Claims Review 2