6.Standard Conditions (1992) governing the FIATA MULTIMODAL ...

Standard Conditions(1992)governing the

FIATA MULTIMODAL TRANSPORT BILL OF LADING

Definitions

– «Freight Forwarder»means the Multimodal Transport Operator who issues this FBL and isnamed on the face of it and assumes liability for the performance of the multimodaltransport contract as a carrier.

– «Merchant»means and includes the Shipper, the Consignor, the Consignee, the Holder ofthis FBL, the Receiver and the Owner of the Goods.

– «Consignor»means the person who concludes the multimodal transport contract with theFreight Forwarder.

– «Consignee»means the person entitled to receive the goods from the Freight Forwarder.– «Taken in charge»means that the goods have been handed over to and accepted forcarriage by the Freight Forwarder at the place of receipt evidenced in this FBL.

– «Goods»means any property including live animals as well as containers,pallets or similararticles of transport or packaging not supplied by the Freight Forwarder, irrespective ofwhether such property is to be or is carried on or under deck.

1. Applicability

Notwithstanding the heading «FIATA Multimodal Transport Bill of Lading (FBL)»these conditions shall also apply if only one mode of transport is used.

2. Issuance of this FBL

2.1. By issuance of this FBL the Freight Forwardera)undertakes to perform and/or in his own name to procure the performance of theentire transport,from the place at which the goods are taken in charge(place of receiptevidenced in this FBL) to the place of delivery designated in this FBL;b)assumes liability as set out in these conditions.

2.2. Subject to the conditions of this FBL the Freight Forwarder shall be responsible for theacts and omission of his servants or agents acting within the scope of theiremployment,or any other person of whose services he makes use for the performanceof the contract evidenced by this FBL,as if such acts and omissions were his own.

3. Negotiability and title to the goods

3.1. This FBL is issued in a negotiable form unless it is marked«non negotiable». It shallconstitute title to the goods and the holder, by endorsement of this FBL, shall beentitled to received or to transfer the goods herein mentioned.

3.2. The information in this FBL shall be prima facie evidence of taking in charge by theFreight Forwarder of the goods as described by such information unless a contrary

indication, such as«shipper’s weight, load and count»,«shipper-packed container»orsimilar expressions,has been made in the printed text or superimposed on this FBL.However, proof to the contrary shall not be admissible when the FBL has beentransferred to the consignee for valuable consideration who in good faith has reliedand acted thereon.

4. Dangerous Good and Indemnity

4.1. The Merchant shall comply with rules which are mandatory according to the nationallaw or by reason of International Convention, relating to the carriage of goods of adangerous nature,and shall in any case inform the Freight Forwarder in writing of theexact nature of the danger,before goods of a dangerous nature are taken in charge bythe Freight Forwarder and indicate to him, if need be, the precautions to be taken.

4.2. If the Merchant fails to provide such information and the Freight Forwarder isunaware of the dangerous nature of the goods and the necessary precautions to betaken and if,at any time, they are deemed to be a hazard to life or property, they mayat any place be unloaded, destroyed or rendered harmless, as circumstances mayrequire,without compensation.The Merchant shall indemnify the Freight Forwarderagainst all loss,damage, liability,or expense arising out of their being taken in charge,or their carriage,or of any service incidental thereto.

The burden of proving that the Freight Forwarder knew the exact nature of the dangerconstituted by the carriage of the said goods shall rest on the Merchant.

4.3. If any goods shall become a danger to life or property, they may in like manner beunloaded or landed at any place or destroyed or rendered harmless. If such danger wasnot caused by the fault and neglect of the Freight Forwarder he shall have no liabilityand the Merchant shall indemnify him against all loss,damage, liability and expensearising therefrom.

5. Description of Goods and Merchant’s Packing and Inspection

5.1. The Consignor shall be deemed to have guaranteed to the Freight Forwarder theaccuracy, at the time the goods were taken in charge by the Freight Forwarder,of allparticulars relating to the general nature of the goods, their marks,number,weight,volume and quantity and, if applicable, to the dangerous character of the goods, asfurnished by him or on his behalf for insertion on the FBL.

The Consignor shall indemnify the Freight Forwarder against all loss, damage andexpense resulting from any inaccuracy or inadequacy of such particulars.

The Consignor shall remain liable even if the FBL has been transferred by him.The right of the Freight Forwarder to such an indemnity shall in no way limit hisliability under this FBL to any person other than the Consignor.

5.2. The Freight Forwarder shall not be liable for any loss,damage or expense caused bydefective or insufficient packing of goods or by inadequate loading or packing withincontainers or other transport units when such loading or packing has been performedby the Merchant or on his behalf by a person other than the Freight Forwarder,or bythe defect or unsuitability of the containers or other transport units supplied by the

Merchant, or if supplied by the Freight Forwarder if a defect or unsuitability of thecontainer or other transport unit would have been apparent upon reasonable inspectionby the Merchant.The Merchant shall indemnify the Freight Forwarder against all loss,damage, liability and expense so caused.

6. Freight Forwarder’s Liability

6.1. The responsibility of the Freight Forwarder for the goods under these conditionscovers the period from the time the Freight Forwarder has taken the goods in hischarge to the time of their delivery.

6.2. The Freight Forwarder shall be liable for loss of or damage to the goods as well as fordelay in delivery if the occurrence which caused the loss,damage or delay in deliverytook place while the goods were in his charge as defined in Clause 2.1.a,unless theFreight Forwarder proves that no fault or neglect of his own,his servants or agents orany other person referred to in Clause 2.2. has caused or contributed to such loss,damage or delay.However, the Freight Forwarder shall only be liable for lossfollowing from delay in delivery if the Consignor has made a declaration of interest intimely delivery which has been accepted by the Freight Forwarder and stated in thisFB L.

6.3. Arrival times are not guaranteed by the Freight Forwarder.However,delay in deliveryoccurs when the goods habe not been delivered within the time expressly agreed uponor, in the absence of such agreement,within the time which would be reasonable torequire of a diligent Freight Forwarder,having regard to the circumstances of the case.

6.4. If the goods have not been delivered within ninety consecutive days following suchdate of delivery as determined in Clause 6.3., the claimant may, in the absence ofevidence to the contrary, treat the goods as lost.

6.5. When the Freight Forwarder establishes that, in the circumstances of the case, the lossor damage could be attributed to one or more causes or events, specified in a–e of thepresent clause, it shall be presumed that it was so caused, always provided,however,that the claimant shall be entitled to prove that the loss or damage was not, in fact,caused wholly or partly by one or more of such causes or events:a)an act or omission of the Merchant, or person other than the Freight Forwarderacting on behalf of the Merchant or from whom the Freight Forwarder took the goodsin charge;b) insufficiency or defective condition of the packaging or marks and/or numbers;c)handling, loading, stowage or unloading of the goods by the Merchant or any personacting on behalf of the Merchant;d) inherent vice of the goods;e) strike, lockout, stoppage or restraint of labour.

6.6. Defences for carriage by sea or inland waterways

Notwithstanding Clauses 6.2,6.3.and 6.4. the Freight Forwarder shall not be liable forloss, damage or delay in delivery with respect to goods carried by sea or inlandwaterways when such loss,damage or delay during such carriage has been caused by:

a)act,neglect or default of the master,mariner,pilot or the servants of the carrier inthe navigation or in the management of the ship,b)fire, unless caused by the actual fault or privity of the carrier, however, alwaysprovided that whenever loss or damage has resulted from unseaworthiness of the ship,the Freight Forwarder can prove that due diligence has been exercised to make the shipseaworthy at the commencement of the voyage.

7. Paramount Clauses

7.1. These conditions shall only take effect to the extent that they are not contrary to themandatory provisions of International Conventions or national law applicable to thecontract evidenced by this FBL.

7.2. The Hague Rules contained in the International Convention for the unification ofcertain rules relating to Bills of Lading,dated Brussels 25th August 1924,or in thosecountries where there are already in force the Hague-Visby Rules contained in theProtocol of Brussels, dated 23rd February 1968, as enacted in the Country ofShipment, shall apply to all carriage of goods by sea and also to the carriage of goodsby inland waterways, and such provisions shall apply to all goods whether carried ondeck or under deck.

7.3. The Carriage of Goods by Sea Act of the United States of America (COGSA) shallapply to the carriage of goods by sea,whether on deck or under deck, if compulsorilyapplicable to this FBL or would be applicable but for the goods being carried on deckin accordance with a statement on this FBL.

8. Limitation of Freight Forwarder’s Liability

8.1. Assessment of compensation for loss of or damage to the goods shall be made byreference to the value of such goods at the place and time they are delivered to theconsignee or at the place and time when, in accordance with this FBL, they shouldbeen so delivered.

8.2. The value of the goods shall be determined according to the current commodityexchange price or, if there is no such price,according to the current market price or, ifthere are no such prices,by reference to the normal value of goods of the same nameand quality.

8.3. Subject to the provisions of subclauses 8.4. to 8.9. inclusive, the Freight Forwardershall in no event be or become liable for any loss of or damage to the goods in anamount exceeding the equivalent of 666.67 SDR per package or unit or 2 SDR perkilogramme of gross weight of the goods lost or damaged,whichever is the higher,unless the nature and value of the goods shall have been declared by the Consignorand accepted by the Freight Forwarder before the goods have been taken in his charge,or the ad valorem freight rate paid, and such value is stated in the FBL by him, thensuch declared value shall be the limit.

8.4. Where a container,pallet or similar article of transport is loaded with more than onepackage or unit, the packages or other shipping units enumerated in the FBL as packed

in such article of transport are deemed packages or shipping units.Except as aforesaid,such article of transport shall be considered the package or unit.

8.5. Notwithstanding the above mentioned provisions, if the multimodal transport does not,according to the contract, include carriage of goods by sea or by inland waterways, theliability of the Freight Forwarder shall be limited to an amount not exceeding 8.33SDR per kilogramme of gross weight of the goods lost or damaged.

8.6. a)When the loss of or damage to the goods occurred during one particular stage of themultimodal transport, in respect of which an applicable international convention ormandatory national law would have provided another limit of liability if a separatecontract of carriage had been made for that particular stage of transport, then the limitof the Freight Forwarder’s liability for such loss or damage shall be determined byreference to the provisions of such convention or mandatory national law.b)Unless the nature and value of the goods shall have been declared by the Merchantand inserted in this FBL, and the ad valorem freight rate paid, the liability of theFreight Forwarder under COGSA,where applicable, shall not exceed US$500 perpackage or, in the case of goods not shipped in packages,per customary freight unit.

8.7. If the Freight Forwarder is liable in respect of loss following from delay in delivery,orconsequential loss or damage other than loss of or damage to the goods, the liability ofthe Freight Forwarder shall be limited to an amount not exceeding the equivalent oftwice the freight under the multimodal contract for the multimodal transport under thisFB L.

8.8. The aggregate liability of Freight Forwarder shall not exceed the limits of liability fortotal loss of the goods.

8.9. The Freight Forwarder is not entitled to the benefit of the limitation of liability if it isproved that the loss, damage or delay in delivery resulted from a personal act oromission of the Freight Forwarder done with the intent to cause such loss,damage ordelay, or recklessly and with knowledge that such loss, damage or delay wouldprobably result.

9. Applicability to Actions in Tort

These conditions apply to all claims against the Freight Forwarder relating to theperformance of the contract evidenced by this FBL,whether the claim be founded incontract or in tort.

10. Liability of Servants and other Persons

10.1. These conditions apply whenever claims relating to the performance of the contractevidenced by this FBL are made against any servant,agent or other person(includingany independent contractor)whose services have been used in order to perform thecontract,whether such claims are founded in contract or in tort, and the aggregateliability of the Freight Forwarder and of such servants, agents or other persons shallnot exceed the limits in clause 8.

10.2. In entering into this contract as evidenced by this FBL, the Freight Forwarder, to theextent of these provisions,does not only act on his own behalf,but also as agent or

trustee for such persons, and such persons shall to this extent be or be deemed to beparties to this contract.

10.3. However, if it is proved that loss of or such loss or damage to the goods resulted froma personal act or omission of such a person referred to in Clause 10.1., done withintent to cause damage,or recklessly and with knowledge that damage would probablyresult, such person shall not be entitled to benefit of limitation of liability provided forin Clause 8.

10.4. The aggregate of the amounts recoverable from the Freight Forwarder and the personsreferred to in Clauses 2.2. and 10.1 shall not exceed the limits provided for in theseconditions.

11. Method and Route of Transportation

Without notice to the Merchant, the Freigt Forwarder has the liberty to carry the goodson or under deck and to choose or substitute the means, route and procedure to befollowed in the handling, stowage, storage and transportation of the goods.

12. Delivery

12.1. Goods shall be deemed to be delivered when they have been handed over or placed atthe disposal of the Consignee or his agent in accordance with this FBL,or when thegoods have been handed over to any authority or other party to whom,pursuant to thelaw or regulation applicable at the place of delivery, the goods must be handed over,or such other place at which the Freight Forwarder is entitled to call upon theMerchant to take delivery.

12.2. The Freight Forwarder shall also be entitled to store the goods at the sole risk of theMerchant, and the Freight Forwarder’s liability shall cease, and the cost of suchstorage shall be paid,upon demand,by the Merchant to the Freight Forwarder.

12.3. If at any time the carriage unter this FBL is or is likely to be affected by any hindranceor risk of any kind(including the condition of the goods)not arising from any fault orneglect of the Freight Forwarder or a person referred to in Clause 2.2. and whichcannot be avoided by the exercise of reasonable endeavours the Freight Forwardermay:abandon the carriage of the goods under this FBL and,where reasonably possible,place the goods or any part of them at the Merchant’s disposal at any place which theFreight Forwarder may deem safe and convenient,whereupon delivery shall bedeemed to have been made,and the responsibility of the Freight Forwarder in respectof such goods shall cease.

In any event, the Freight Forwarder shall be entitled to full freight under this FBL andthe Merchant shall pay any additional costs resulting from the above mentionedcircumstances.

13. Freight and Charges

13.1. Freight shall be paid in cash,without any reduction or deferment on account of anyclaim,counterclaim or set-off,whether prepaid or payable at destination.

Freight shall be considered as earned by the Freight Forwarder at the moment when thegoods have been taken in his charge,and not to be returned in any event.

13.2. Freight and all other amounts mentioned in this FBL are to be paid in the currencynamed in this FBL or,at the Freight Forwarder’s option, in the currency of the countryof dispatch or destination at the highest rate of exchange for bankers sight bills currentfor prepaid freight on the day of dispatch and for freight payable at destination on theday when the Merchant is notified on arrival of the goods there or on the date ofwithdrawal of the delivery order,whichever rate is the higher,or at the option of theFreight Forwarder on the date of this FBL.

13.3. All dues, taxes and charges or other expenses in connection with the goods shall bepaid by the Merchant.Where equipment is supplied by the Freight Forwarder, theMerchant shall pay all demurrage and charges which are not due to a fault or neglectof the Freight Forwarder

13.4. The Merchant shall reimburse the Freight Forwarder in proportion to the amount offreight for any costs for deviation or delay or any other increase of costs of whatevernature caused by war,warlike operations,epidemics, strikes,government directions orforce majeure.

13.5. The Merchant warrants the correctness of the declaration of contents, insurance,weight,measurements or value of the goods but the Freight Forwarder has the libertyto have the contents inspected and the weight,measurements or value verified. If onsuch inspection it is found that the declaration is not correct it is agreed that a sumequal either to five times the difference between the correct figure and the freightcharged,or to double the correct freight less the freight charged,whichever sum is thesmaller, shall be payable as liquidated damages to the Freight Forwarder for hisinspection costs and losses of freight on other goods notwithstanding any other sumhaving been stated on this FBL as freight payable.

13.6. Despite the acceptance by the Freight Forwarder of instructions to collect freight,charges or other expenses from any other person in respect of the transport under thisFBL, the Merchant shall remain responsible for such monies on receipt of evidence ofdemand and the absence of payment for whatever reason.

14.Lien

The Freight Forwarder shall have a lien on the goods and any documents relatingthereto for any amount due at any time to the Freight Forwarder from the Merchantincluding storage fees and the cost of recovering same, and may enforce such lien inany reasonable manner which he may think fit.

15. General Average

The Merchant shall indemnify the Freight Forwarder in respect of any claims of aGeneral Average nature which may be made on him and shall provide such security asmay be required by the Freight Forwarder in this connection.

16. Notice

16.1. Unless notice of loss of or damage to the goods, specifying the general nature of suchloss or damage, is given in writing by the consignee to the Freight Forwarder when thegoods are delivered to the consignee in accordance with clause 12, such handing overis prima facie evidence of the delivery by the Freight Forwarder of the goods asdescribed in this FBL.

16.2. Where the loss or damage is not apparent, the same prima facie effect shall apply ifnotice in writing is not given within 6 consecutive days after the day when the goodswere delivered to the consignee in accordance with clause 12.

17. Time bar

The Freight Forwarder shall,unless otherwise expressly agreed,be discharged of allliability under these conditions unless suit is brought within 9 months after the deliveryof the goods,or the date when the goods should have been delivered,or the date whenin accordance with clause 6.4. failure to deliver the goods would give the consigneethe right to treat the goods as lost.

18. Partial Invalidity

If any clause or a part thereof is held to be invalid, the validity of this FBL and theremaining clauses or a part thereof shall not be affected.

19. Jurisdiction and applicable law

Actions against the Freight Forwarder may be instituted only in the place where theFreight Forwarder has his place of business as stated on the reverse of this FBL andshall be decided according to the law of the country in which that place of business iss itu ated.

The ICC logo denotes that this document has been deemed by the ICC to be in conformitywith the UNCTAD/ICC Rules for Multimodal Transport Documents.The ICC logo does notimply ICC endorsement of the document nor does it in any way make the ICC party to anypossible legal action resulting from the use of this document.