THE CARGO LETTER [313]
Air & Ocean Freight Forwarder - Customs Broker News
17 March 1997
Good St. Patrick's Day Morning from our Observation Deck...... overlooking
the officially designated "Cargo City" area and....... Runway 25-Right
at Los Angeles International Airport. This week we limit news articles and shift
focus to new World Wide Web Sites in our Cyber Ports Of Call feature. These new
WWW sites should prove helpful for your business. Contribute your knowledge
& information........by e-mail to The
Cargo Letter.
Michael S. McD, Editor
INDEX to The Cargo Letter:
- OUR Top Story
- First Legal China Taiwan Sailing Completed; Strange
Happenings In Cross-Straits Relations
OUR "A" Section: FF Trade & Inland News
- Freight Forwarder Trade Briefs
OUR "B" Section: FF World Air News
- FF World Air Briefs
OUR "C" Section: FF World Ocean News
- FF World Ocean Briefs
- The Cargo Letter Cargo Damage Dispatches
OUR "D" Section: FF in Cyberspace
- The Cargo Letter "Cyber Ports Of Call"
- See Our New Los Angeles Air Sites
- And A Bounty Of New Business Sites
OUR "E" Section: The Forwarder/Broker World
- NVOCC Wins Important Federal Case
OUR Top Story
-- by Warren S. Levine, for The Cargo Letter
The M/V Lianfeng, a ship of Chinese ownership and Panamanian registry, made a
direct voyage from Xiamen to Kaohsiung on March 2, becoming the first ship in
over 40 years to do so without first stopping at a neutral port.
Earlier this year, China and Taiwan agreed loosely that ships could make
direct calls from China to Taiwan, provided that they were owned by China or
Taiwan but flew a third country's flag, and that their cargo did not have to
clear Taiwan Customs.
The event was one of two very unusual events spanning the Strait of Taiwan
over the past weeks.
On March 10, Liu Chan-shung, a 45-year-old Taiwanese journalist, doused
himself with gasoline while on a domestic flight from Kaohsiung to Taipei, and
threatened to set himself on fire unless the plane was diverted to China. The
Far East Air Transport B-757, with 158 passengers and crew, diverted to Xiamen,
where Liu was arrested, despite his request for political asylum in The People's
Republic. The plane was refueled and then released to resume its flight to
Taipei. There were no injuries reported.
Liu, a reporter for a newspaper in Taipei, was recently fired from his
previous assignment in Hualien, Taiwan, after destroying his computer terminal.
In his request for asylum in China, Liu claimed to have been "politically
oppressed" in Taiwan. [Editor Note: The Cargo Letter continues to present
stories geared to the changes we may see at the stroke of midnight on 1 July
1997, when Hong Kong transfers to ownership of the P.R.C.]
OUR "A" Section: FF Trade & Inland News
- NCBFAA To Negotiate Rates ................as the National Customs
Brokers & Forwarders Assn. of America makes an historic move to pool the
freight of it's 600 members by this summer as a "shippers
association" to obtain better rates. Said NCBFAA counsel Edward
Greenberg, "What we see happening is steamship lines turning into
wholesalers rather than retailers. To survive, shippers need leverage".
[Mr. Greenberg is a frequent contributor to The Cargo Letter.] E-mail the
NCBFAA at webmaster@ncbfaa.org or
visit the WWW site at http://www.tradecompass.com/ncbfaa/index.html
- "Circle" Changing Its Name To "Circle"
........... as The Harper Group, Inc. (parent company of industry leader
Circle Int'l.) has announced its Board of Directors resolution that the
company change its name from "The Harper Group, Inc." to
"Circle International Group, Inc." The change is subject to
shareholder approval, but most certainly a reflection of the personal
accomplishments of Circle CEO Peter Gibert in growing the identity of
"Circle's" trade & service name thoughout the world with over
350 offices in 96 countries. http://circleintl.com.
- Interpool Announces Stock Split................. with a 3 for 2
stock split, effective on March 27, 1997. Interpool is one of the world's
leading lessors of cargo containers and is the second largest lessor of
intermodal container chassis to all of the world's 20 largest int'l CTNR
shipping lines. Interpool Corp. Is corporate host of The Cargo Letter WWW
site.
OUR "B" Section: FF World Air News
- BA Weekend Haz Mat Incident ............ as a possible leak of
pesticides in ex-Bombay B747-400 belly cargo may have briefly sent as many
of 25 BA ramp workers to a Heathrow (HLR) hospital on Saturday.
- The Red (White & Blue) Baron? .............as Frederick Reid
becomes the first American ever to serve as president of a foreign (non-U.S.)
airline. Mr. Reid has become president of Lufthansa. He previously served
with American Airlines and Pam Am.
- Delta Air Cargo Drops Fuel Surcharge ........as its cargo unit
takes the move for Int'l cargo shipments to and from the U.S., Europe and
Asia. In November 1996, Delta Air Cargo imposed a US$0.1 per kilo surcharge
on all Int'l freight shipments, becoming one of the last major air carriers
to take this action. Now Delta becomes the first major carrier to reinstate
normal pricing levels for Int'l cargo moves.
- Burlington Wins ...........as the prestigious Swedish industry
award, "The Transport Company 1997," has been won by Burlington
Air Express Sweden. The award is given to one Swedish transport company
demonstrating that its services have had a direct, positive impact on its
customers. BAX's movement of heavy drilling equipment was cited as an
example. [EDITOR NOTE: Don B. Saulic is the new BAX Sr. Vice President and
Global Chief Info Officer.]
- Happy Valentines Day ............. as Continental Airlines paid out
US$68M in profit sharing (7% bonus over wages) to its employees on
Valentines Day, 14 Feb., in reward for the company reaching all-time record
1996 profits of US$556M. Also, Continental & Virgin Atlantic announced
last week a code share arrangement for Newark/New York-London routes and 8
other U.S./U.K routes; replacing Virgin's alliance with Delta, to terminate
later this year.
- For Sale: Air India ............ as the government will attempt to
raise US$1.5B, for about 40-42% of the carrier. The airline is among 45
state-owned firms slated for a partial sell-off. The search for an Air India
buyer will start in April.
- FedEx Is The Leader ......... with more than 2.8 million deliveries
in 211 countries every working day. Revenues for 1st quarter 1997 rose 15%
to US$2,906.8M. FedEx now operates more than 575 aircraft & 38,000
vehicles on revenues of US$10.3B.
- "Lightship Shipper" Launched By Airborne .........
claimed the most advanced PC-based on-line business shipping software of its
kind, customers can use "SHIPPER" to process shipments, obtain
estimated rates & delivery times, fill out & print airbills,
schedule pickups, and track status for multiple shipments anywhere in the
world. The system can store shipment info & analyze reports. The
software is free from Airborne. [EDITOR NOTE: Airborne's 1996 revenues grew
11% to US$2,484,306,000, over 1995 revenues of US$2,239,351,000. 1996
shipments totaled 259,270,000, up 12.5% over 1995. Int'l moves grew 9.5% in
1996 to 5,036,000]
- Emery Worldwide Upgrades WWW Site .......... with a comprehensive
array of new features, including multi-modal tracking & tracing and an
"Online Customer Resource Center".
http://www.emeryworld.com
- Air New Zealand Drops Down Under ................ as profits for
the last half of 1996 fell to US$12.4 M, a 43.2% decline over the same 1995
period.
- Cargo Services Inc. Lands Spanish Deal .......as the 8 year-old MIA
based air cargo service company, has agreed with Spain's Air Europa to serve
as the airline's gen'l cargo sales agent in Florida, the Caribbean and Latin
America, and provide freight ground handling functions at Miami Int'l
Airport.
OUR "C" Section: FF World Ocean News
- REMINDER ............ as the new U.S. Overweight Container Laws
will go into effect for shipments arriving in the U.S on April 9,1997.
- FMC Decision To Impose US$100,000 Charges .......... will commence
the penalty port call charges on three Japanese carriers 14 April, as
predicted here recently. Dockworkers went on strike across Japan on 12 March
to protest this U.S. pressure to open up Japanese port services to greater
competition.
- COSCO Gets U.S. Loan Guarantee .........of US$138M to finance
building several vessels at an Alabama shipyard under a 40-year-old U.S.
Dept. of Transportation program designed to help American shipyards. The
deal comes during a fire storm of controversy as over 800 people filled a
city hall meeting last week to protest COSCO's agreement to lease a 135-acre
terminal to be built on the recently closed, historic Long Beach Naval
Station. COSCO will pay US$14.5M a year to rent the terminal, which will
cost the Long Beach Harbor Commission US$200M to update.
- U.S. Customs Seizes Chinese Army Weapons .......... as loads of
illegal arms ex China through the Port of Long Beach and bound for Mexico
were seized near San Diego on 14 March. Thousands of grenade launchers &
fully automatic M-2 carbines were in 2 x 20' CTNRs and could be the largest
cache of arms ever found in the U.S. (OB/L listed contents as "strap
hangers" & "hand tools".). The ocean carrier has yet to
be identified. In the wake of this arms seizure, two California, U.S.
Congressmen have asked the U.S. Navy to del ay transfer of Long Beach Naval
Station, by lease to COSCO via arrangements assisted by the White House.
[EDITOR NOTE: The Associated Press reported that a COSCO ship transported
2,000 illegal weapons into California last year and that the company was
involved in several other recent controversies.]
- APL Launches "Express Intra-Asia" ......... a container
service linking Japan directly with Hong Kong, Singapore & Malaysia,
beginning today, 17 March. Because APL already serves these markets with
trans-Pacific services, frequency of service will be boosted ........ as
Malaysia will double to twice weekly; Hong Kong & Singapore to 3 weekly;
and to 5 for Japan. APL Intra-Asia is based in Hong Kong. [EDITOR NOTE: APL
was just named as one of the Computerworld Magazine's 100 most innovative
companies (the only transport company) that use the Internet for sharing
info with customers.]
- Mitsui O.S.K. Joins China LCL Trend ........... as its Shanghai
Container Freight Stations (CFS) opens for eastbound service. In related MOL
news, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (Philippines) Inc., has been formed to provide
compl ete logistics service from Manila.
- Sea-Land To Go Strait ........... and has joined with Hong Kong's
Fairyoung Holdings to run its terminal at Xiamen, China, now that direct
cross-straits trading with Taiwan is permitted .
- Hanjin Shipping Co. .........has taken a majority share of
DSR-Senator Lines and by 1998, the two will have 80 ships of 200,000-TEU
capacity. (EDITOR NOTE: Carnival Line & Hyundai have also joined to
develop cruises as Carnival Cruises Asia.
- Goodbye .......... to M/V Hanjin Masan (25,411-dwt containership
built 1979) and M/V Hanjin Tonghai (25,444-dwt containership built 1979)
which have been sold to Korea and India, respectively, for scrapping at
about US$145 per ton. These Proud Ladies carried quite a bit of our cargo
over the years.
- A Further Cost To Great Lakes Cargo? ........... as the Clinton
administration is causing alarm at Great Lakes ports by proposing to charge
for the cost of clearing ice from shipping lanes. The fee could raise US$25M
a year starting in 1999, but regional lawmakers are mobilizing to head it
off in the U.S. Congress.
- Her Cargo Was "Booty" ................. as a most
significant marine archaeological find has been made with discovery of the
Queen Anne's Revenge, flagship of Blackbeard (Edward Teach) the famous
pirate, off Beaufort, N.C. Formerly a captured French vessel of 40 guns,
from 1716 to 1718, Blackbeard operated her from North Carolina, sharing his
"booty" with the governor. Black beard attacked ships along the
East Coast of No. America & in the Caribbean with a large fleet of
captured vessels. In June 1718, his flagship ran aground on a sand bar
entering Beaufort Inlet ....... and was now found in only 20 feet of water.
- Containers, M/V Cap Corrientes & Cocaine.............. as
Spanish police seize 678 pounds of cocaine on 25 Feb. at Bilbao, ex
Valpariso, Chile. Found in a container, one of 178, unloaded from the M/V
Cap Corrientes (Liberian 34,680 ton 1984 containership of Hamburg-Sud). Be
very careful what your origin agents load. Remember, the air lines (a 57 Lb.
cocaine bale found aboard Delta flight 904 last week) are being fined for
such carriage and failures of security.
- M/V Tokyo Express Looses Containers .............. as a total of 62
containers were lost overboard in bad weather from the 2,984-TEU, 47,733
ton, Hapag-Lloyd container ship off Land's End, England, on 13 Feb. At one
point, the ship rolled 60 degrees (time to be VERY VERY scared) with her
2,000 CTNRs ex Rotterdam, to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Three containers have
been recovered, but the rest sunk in 300 feet of water. The
"lucky" liability underwriter is said to be Britannia Steam Ship
Insurance Association Ltd.
- Marine Cargo Surveyors Conference ........... as sponsored by IBC
UK Conferences Ltd for a "7th ANNUAL INT'L MARINE SURVEYING FORUM
1997" on 9-10 April 1997 at the Novotel, Rotterdam. For more info visit
IBC's WWW site http://www.ibc-uk.com.
-- by Steve Schultz for The Cargo Letter
1.) The container ship M/V California Orion, operated by Nippon Yusen K.K.,
collided with a gantry crane at the Port of Oakland on 7 Feb., ex Los Angles and
during docking at Berth 23 when the pilot suffered "severe intestinal
distress.", leaving a student pilot as the master in command. When the
pilot returned 8 minutes later, the ship was on course to ram the crane,
sustaining U.S.$250,000 in damage and out of service for a week; 2.) M/V
Bogasuri Dua (Indonesian 20,495 tons) was pushed by high winds and collided with
six tugs, sinking one of them on 17 Feb. at Surabaya, Indonesia; 3.) CO SCO's
M/V Bright Field ......destroyer of the New Orleans Riverwalk last December
.......suffered a freak fire on 19 Feb. while in repair yards at Violet, La.;
4.) the containership M/V Galapagos took water and sank on 20 Feb. 195 miles
south of Jamaica after the U.S. Coast Guard Hamilton-class High-Endurance Cutter
U.S.C.G.C. Gallatin (WHEC 721) arrived on scene to save the crew; 5.) a 21 Feb.
galley fire aboard M/V Inishfree (Irish) early 21 Feb. killed 1 and severely
injured 3 at Newport, Wales; 6.) On 23 Feb. M/V Kinei Maru No. 18 (Japanese
3,066 ton dry cargo1985) sank off Hirado, Nagasaki, with all five crew members
rescued after boarding a life raft; 7.) M/V North Pacific (Singaporean 104,966
ton tanker) ran aground 23 Feb., southeast of Gedser, Denmark with 84,000 tons
of crude oil.; 8.) a 28 Feb. fire & explosion in M/V Miden Agan
(Cypriot-registry 21,586 ton containership built 1982, operated by Hellas)
killed 5 people and injured 4 at Shanghai; 9.) M/V Kangson sank with the loss of
3 crew at the mouth of the Yangtze River on 28 Feb. after colliding with M/V
Meiguihai (COSCO Qingdao); 10.) M/ V Sapphire (Maltese, built 1982) was
abandoned after a 5 March fire in the Mediterranean north of Algeria; 11.) 28
Feb. was also a bad day for M/V Isla Mindoro (Philippine 2,981 tons) which
suffered two collisions in a 12 hour period in the Sea of Japan; 12.) M/T Ocean
Swallow (Japanese 54,000 ton tanker) collided with M/V Taisho Maru (Japanese
3,200 ton) on 1 Mar., southeast of Yokohama, Japan; 13.) the brand new container
vessel M/V Vikartindur (German 8,633 ton, built 1996) has 1 crew member missing
and 1 injured as the result of engine failure and subsequent grounding in heavy
seas off Iceland on 5 March ........latest reports on 8 Mar. are that at least
40 containers have gone overboard and that the vessel has broken her back, now
suffering a list of 40o to starboard. A team is in route from the Netherlands to
help salvage remaining cargo containers; 14.) M/V Disarfell (Antigua 516-TEU)
sank 9 March near Iceland, loosing all her containers; 15.) M/V Waintai I
(Singaporean) boarded by PIRATES off eastern Malaysia on 10 March who stole its
navigation equipment. >>>>>>.........and finally ....... the
as yet unsold H.M.Y. Brittania (the Royal Yacht ....see The Cargo Letter [312])
was damaged in a collision with the R.F.A.S. Bayleaf (A 109), a Royal Fleet
Auxiliary Appleleaf-class Transport Oiler, during at sea replenishment in the
Straits of Hormuz as she sailed from Doha, Qatar, to Karachi. [EDITOR NOTE: Most
certainly this story stands as proof that your customers need quality marine
cargo insurance for their shipments.]
OUR "D" Section: FF in Cyberspace
- See Our New Los Angeles Air Sites
- And A Bounty Of New Business Sites
- Los Angeles International Airport .......... a wealth of
information, maps & updates for the new LAX Master Plan to greatly
expand facilities. You are asked to contribute your thoughts about the
future of LAX. L.A.'s THE PLACE !
http://www.lax2015.org/
- Los Angeles Air Force Base ............ home of the Space &
Missile Systems Center, world's premiere provider of space technology for
the US Armed Forces. Site even features info concerning a great threat to
civilization: LA freeway traffic.
http://www.laafb.af.mil/ABG/HOMEPAGE.HTM
The Cargo Letter Air Sites
- Airports Council Int'l ........ ranking the top 500 airports by
passenger & cargo traffic, as well as aircraft movements. Stats for all
of 1995 & 1996. A great reference.
http://www.airports.org/
- APA Pilots - "Defending the Profession" ....... keep up
to date on professional pilots & their strike plans.
http://www.apapdp.org
- Allied Pilot's Association Web Page [Searchable]
http://www.apaweb.org/
- Aviation On Line Photo
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/9675
- Aviation Technical Library ......... military & civilian info
from the US Army Aviation Center. http://www-rucker.army.mil/techlib/atlhome.htm
- FAA Safety Data Site .......... search by airline, aircraft type,
incident date, etc..... NTSB Aviation Accident/Incidents; FAA Incident Data
System; & NTSB Safety Recommendations to FAA with FAA Responses. Also an
aviation glossary & searchable directory of FAA Regs. (Parts 1-199). By
31 May, FAA's Near Mid-Air Collision database will be online.
http://nasdac.faa.gov/internet
- Chep Lap Kok - Hong Kong's New Airport ......... the site invites
you to "land" at the airport (without fancy browser plug-ins) by
clicking on the "landing gear" controls of a jet. Slick site!.
Once "down", read about new facilities & services for Asia's
No. 2 airport
http://www.hkairport.com/
- Tokyo's Narita Int'l Airport
http://www.narita-airport.or.jp/airport/index_e.html
- Airline Disasters .......... major airline disasters from
1920-1996, providing the date, crash site, aircraft, airline and likely
reason for crash.
http://www.niweb.com/dnet/dnetGOjg/Disasters.htm
- All Nippon Airways
http://www.ana.co.jp/
- Japan Airlines
http://www.jal.co.jp
The Cargo Letter Ocean Sites
The Cargo Letter Business Sites
- Acronyms Related to Transportation
http://www.soton.ac.uk/~trgwww/cart.htm
- Business Intelligence Bank ......... quick access to business
information including financial news, stock quotes, sports, weather &
travel information.
http://www.bib.net/bib.net.htm
- Countrydata.com ........... may be the only site you will ever need
for country research. Geopolitical, social & economic data and forecast
ratings of future risk.
http://www.countrydata.com
- English Wizard ......... access relational databases using plain
English.
http://www.hallogram.com/engwiz/default.html
- Import-Export Bulletin Board .......... free searchable database of
worldwide offers to buy and sell.
http://www.iebb.com
- Internet Guide to Transportation ................. a good start for
everyone looking to know more in any area of transportation.
http://iac.co.jp/~bobj/IGT/guide.htm
- Trade Integration on the Internet ............. data concerning
free trade, economic integration, agreement texts, and trade in the Americas
& Europe. Full NAFTA index.
http://venus.javeriana.edu.co/cpolitic/int.htm
- U.S. Information Database (USID) ......... searchable central
source for locating federal, state & Int'l. government and trade
resources. USID is categorized by: 1.) U.S. Fed Gov't.; 2.) Int'l Gov't. ;
3.) Int'l. Import & Export.
http://www.usid.com
- U.S. Census Bureau ......... information on the value of imports
& exports around the world, down to actual commodity specific data.
http://sasquatch.kerr.orst.edu/impexp.html.
- U.S. Congress Worst Web Pages
http://www.nyx.net/~damorgan/worst.html
- U.S. International Trade Commission http://www.usitc.gov
- U.S. Passport Services .......... Gov't. info & forms.
http://travel.state.gov/passport_services.html
- U.S. Dept. of Treasury ....... supervising agency of U.S. Customs,
I.N.S, A.T.F., etc.
http://www.ustreas.gov/
- Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE)
http://www.unicc.org/unece/Welcome.html
- INCOTERMS
http://www.export-brokers.com
- International Chambers of Commerce ........ search engine for
Chamber organizations world-wide. Import/export & China representation
info.
http://chamber-of-commerce.com/
- RailServe .............. most comprehensive railroad site catalog
on-line, with 800+ railroad sites, exclusive chat room, search engine and
BBS forums. Industry news, financial info, history, etc.
http://www.railserve.com/
- Trucking Terms Glossary
http://www.heavytruck.com/twna/glossary.html
- Acronyms Related to Transportation
http://www.soton.ac.uk/~trgwww/cart.htm
- United Nations System Locator ............ official & master
index of all sites in UN offices & agencies worldwide.
http://www.unsystem.org
- Year 2000 Testing Software ...... free download for PC's only of
software (titled 'Will It 4.01') to test your PC for the Year 2000
Millennium Bug as reported by The Cargo Letter.
http://www.sbhs.com/y2k/download.htm
OUR "E" Section: The Forwarder/Broker World
-- By Michael S. McDaniel for The Cargo Letter
LAX - 15 March 97 - In mid February 1997 began a major U.S. District Court
trial at L.A. concerning the US$1.5M claim of a CGNEE against the NVOCC (freight
forwarder) & COSCO Line (custodial carrier) for damage to 24 X 40' reefer
containers (24 refrigerated containers) laden with Chinese White Garlic moving
ex Qingdao, China for discharge at Los Angeles in late 1993. There was little
doubt that the 500 metric tons of garlic, a perishable commodity, had begun to
"sprout" and therefore was of less value (according to the defendant
carriers) or was worthless (according to the CGNEE plaintiff.). Michael S.
McDaniel, Esq. of the Countryman & McDaniel law firm represented the NVOCC.
Claimant alleged that both the NVOCC & the custodial ocean carrier (COSCO
Line) were responsible for loss because damage occurred while the cargo was
carried un-refrigerated during the inland leg from shipper's door to the port.
It was alleged that the carriers failed in their duty to supply "gen
sets." (generator sets) in order to have powered the reefer containers and
thereby cool the cargo during its 200+ miles move to the Port of Qingdao.
The garlic commodity needed a "cold chain" of continuous cooling
after harvest in order to prevent sprouting. In our case it became clear that
the 37,000 cases of garlic cloves had begun to sprout because of exposure to
ambient heat, likely before electrical hook-up for the reefer containers at the
Qingdao Container Yard (a gov't operated yard).
However, a major problem for claimant's theory was that the 24 CTNRs had
moved on a CY/CY (container yard to container yard) basis. On a CY/CY mo ve the
requirement is "bring your cargo forward" for the shipper. From where
the cargo might come, the NVOCC (freight forwarder) does not know. Thus, CY/CY
shipping instructions mean that the carriers are only responsible for cargo
AFTER it arrives at the origin port CY, and UNTIL delive ry at the CY in the
destination port.
The NVOCC's Question was: Given that the containers are simply made available
for shipper's use at the CY (to haul out & load elsewhere), how would the
carrier know where container stuffing (loading) was to occur, or if "gen
sets" were required, etc.? The shipper's office address as set forth on the
shipping doucuments has no particular relation to where the cargo may be
located. Indeed, shipper addresses are often stated at a city or even on a
continent which is distant from the actual cargo origin point. The NVOCC proved
that it had not been requested to supply pre-CY services, arguing that the
garlic might simply have been stored at a port warehouse and been stuffed into
the reefer containers there.
Trial evidence suggested that the Chinese shipper itself had contracted dry
trucks to move the 500 tons of garlic from the inland city of Jining to the
port. If so, the reefer containers never even left the port area.
Still, it was the theory of this defeated plaintiff CGNEE that the NVOCC had
some unidentified, special obligation to investigate, to find out the cargo
origin and to determine the conditions under which this cargo would be carried
to the port. No such duty was found to exist according to U.S. District Court
Judge J. Spencer Letts, and based in large part upon the expert testimony of
noted international transport & trade consultant Jeffrey Amos.
In view of the plaintiff's theory of some failed carrier duty to provide
"gen sets", it is ironic that few, if any "gen sets" had
even existed at Qingdao in 1993 according to expert testimony offered by the
carriers.
Other issues were present in the case, such as pre-shipment condition for
this garlic, based it its age. But some issues were never addressed in the trial
...... although the carriers were very prepared to do so. While certain of these
issues were of the great importance, maritime cases take on their own life and
tend to concentrate on matters of concern to the court. There is no jury in a
maritime case.
EDITOR NOTE: While this case is instructive as to issues of NVOCC/carrier
duties, it is important to remember that any shipment must stand on its own
unique facts and that even federal judges may disagree on the ultimate meaning
of evidence presented. When a large or critical shipment is involved, it is a
good practice to get the shipping instructions in writing. [an error occurred while processing this directive]