RECEIVED for shipment in external apparent good order and condition,
unless otherwise indicated, the number of containers, packages or other
customary freight units identified as "Total Number of Container/Packages
received and acknowledged by the Carrier" on the face hereof subject to
all the terms and conditions hereof from Place of Receipt or the Port of
Loading, whichever is applicable, to Place of Delivery or Port of Discharge,
whichever is applicable. Weights, measurements, marks, numbers, quantity,
contents and value if mentioned herein are to be considered unknown by the Carrier.
Notwithstanding any customs or privileges to the contrary, the Merchant,
in accepting this Bill of Lading, expressly agrees to be bound by all stipulations,
exceptions, and conditions attached hereto or stated herein, whether written,
printed, stamped or otherwise incorporated herein, as fully as if they were all
signed by such Merchant.
1)IDENTITY AND DEFINITION OF CARRIER. "Orient Overseas Container Line" and "OOCL"
are trade names for transportation provided separately by: Orient Overseas
Container Line Limited ("OOCLL") and OOCL(Europe) Limited ("OEUL") respectively as follows:-
(a)OEUL shall be deemed the Carrier for transportation of Goods where those
Goods are either loaded or discharged in any of Russia, Poland and Turkey.
(b)OOCLL shall be deemed to be the Carrier for Goods not carried in 1 (a) above
For the avoidance of doubt, for the purpose of this Clause, transhipment of
Goods in either Russia, Poland or Turkey is not to be regarded as 'loading' or 'discharging' Goods.
If it is ultimately adjudged that a second person or entity, including without
limitation, the Vessel, her owner, operator, demise, time, slot and space charterer
and/or another member of an alliance and/or consortium and/or joint arrangement
of which the Carrier may be a member, is also a carrier/bailee then that person or
entity shall have the benefit of all the rights and defenses provided for in this
Bill of Lading or by law.
Notice is hereby given that Carrier is a member of alliances and/or consortia
and/or joint arrangements. The members of such groups, including Carrier,
reserve the right to carry cargo for each other, and otherwise cooperate with
each other in the carriage of cargo, without notice to the Merchant.
In the case of such carriage, however, the terms and conditions of this Bill
of Lading shall apply, and the Merchant shall be bound by them and Carrier shall
be deemed in all instances to be the Carrier of the Goods, subject to the
terms and conditions of this Bill of Lading.
2)DEFINITIONS Without limitation of any definition in any applicable law herein
mentioned: "VESSEL" shall include the vessel(s) named in this Bill of Lading,
any substituted vessel(s), any vessel to which transhipment may be made in the
performance of this contract and any vessel, craft, lighter or other means of
transportation whatsoever, owned, chartered, operated or controlled and used by
the Carrier or Participating Carrier in the performance of this contract; "MERCHANT"
includes the Shipper, consignor, endorsee, transferee, Holder of this document,
consignee, receiver of the Goods, any person or entity owning or entitled to the
possession of the Goods or of this Bill of Lading and anyone acting on behalf of
any such persons; "GOODS" means the cargo received from the Shipper and includes
any Container not supplied by or on behalf of the Carrier; "HOLDER" means any person
for the time being in possession of this Bill of Lading to whom the property interest
in the Goods has passed on or by reason of the consignment of the Goods or the
endorsement of this Bill of Lading or otherwise; "PARTICIPATING CARRIER" shall
include any other sea, water, land or air carrier performing any part of the
carriage provided herein; "CONTAINER" includes any container, trailer, transportable tank,
flat, pallet, cradle, sled or any similar article of transport used to consolidate
or transport Goods; "LADEN ON BOARD", when noted on this Bill of Lading shall mean
that the Goods have been placed on board the Vessel or any other mode of transport
used by or on behalf of the Carrier or Participating Carrier enroute to the Port of
Loading shown on the face of this Bill of Lading; "PORT OF LOADING" shall mean the
place where the Goods are received for marine transport by the Carrier; or Participating
Carrier or their respective agents, "PORT OF DISCHARGE" shall mean the place where the
Goods are to be discharged from the Vessel; "PLACE OF RECEIPT" shall be the place where
the Goods are received from the Merchant by the Carrier, Participating Carrier or their
respective agents; "PLACE OF DELIVERY" shall be the place where the Goods are delivered
by the Carrier or the Participating Carrier to the Merchant; "COGSA" refers to the
Carriage of Goods by Sea Act of the United States approved April 16, 1936 and any
subsequent modifications or re-enactment thereto. The "HAGUE RULES" refers to the
International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to Bills of
Lading done at Brussels August 25, 1924; "HAGUE-VISBY" refers to the Hague Rules as
Amended by the Protocol done at Brussels on February 23, 1968. References to the
internal law of a State shall be deemed to exclude all principles of private international
law applied by such State; "STATE" shall mean any nation, country, commonwealth,
territory or possession, internationally recognized to be a body politic and to
exercise sovereign power; "COMBINED TRANSPORT" arises if the Place of Receipt
and/or Place of Delivery are indicated on the face of this Bill of Lading in the
relevant boxes; and "PORT TO PORT TRANSPORT" arises if only the Port of Loading
and/or Port of Discharge are indicated on the face of this Bill of Lading in the relevant boxes.
3)CARRIER'S TARIFF The terms of the applicable tariff(s) of the Carrier are incorporated
herein. Copies of the relevant provisions of the applicable tariff(s) are obtainable
from the Carrier upon request. In the case of inconsistency between this Bill of Lading
and the applicable tariff(s), this Bill of Lading shall prevail except in the United
States of America where the provisions of the tariff shall prevail.
4)CARRIER'S RESPONSIBILITY AND CLAUSE PARAMOUNT
(A)Port to Port Transport
If carriage is Port to Port Transport, the responsibility (if any) of the Carrier
for loss or damage to the Goods occurring from the time when the Goods are loaded
on board the Vessel at the Port of Loading until the time when the Goods are discharged
from the Vessel at the Port of Discharge shall be determined in accordance with
the provisions of Clause 4(C).
The Carrier shall be under no liability whatsoever for loss or damage to the
Goods or non-delivery or misdelivery howsoever caused if such loss or damage,
non-delivery or misdelivery arises prior to loading onto or subsequent to discharge
from the Vessel. Notwithstanding the above, in case and to the extent that any applicable
law provides for any additional period of responsibility the Carrier shall have
the benefit of every right, defence, limitation and liberty of the Hague Rules
during such additional compulsory period of responsibility notwithstanding that
the loss or damage did not occur at sea.
(B)Combined Transport
If carriage is Combined Transport then the Carrier undertakes to perform and/or
in its own name to procure performance of the carriage from the Place of Receipt or
the Port of Loading whichever is applicable to the Place of Delivery or the Port of
Discharge whichever is applicable and, save as is otherwise provided for in this Bill
of Lading, the Carrier's liability for loss or damage to the Goods shall be as follows:-
1.If the stage of carriage where loss or damage occurred is not known
(a)Exclusions
If the stage of the carriage where the loss or damage to the Goods is not known then
the Carrier shall be liable for loss and damage to the Goods save that the Carrier
shall be relieved from liability for any loss or damage to the extent that such loss
or damage was caused by:
(i)An act or omission of the Merchant;
(ii)Insufficiency or defective condition of packing or marking;
(iii)Compliance with the instructions of persons entitled to give them;
(iv)Handling, loading, stowage or unloading of the Goods by the Merchant;
(v)Inherent vice of the Goods;
(vi)Strike, lockout, stoppage or restraint of labour from whatever cause whether partial or general;
(vii)A nuclear incident;
(viii)Any cause or event which the Carrier could no avoid and the consequence of
which he could not prevent by the exercise of reasonable diligence.
(b)Burden of Proof The burden of proving that any loss or damage was caused by
one or more of the events mentioned in Clauses 4(B)(1)(a)(i) to (viii) shall rest
upon the Carrier save that when the Carrier is able to demonstrate that,
in the circumstances of the case, the loss or damage could be attributed to one or
more of the events specified in Clauses 4(B)(1)(a)(ii) to (vii) then it shall be presumed
that it was so caused and in such circumstances the burden of proof shall be on the Merchant
to prove that the loss or damage was not caused wholly or partly by one or more of these events.
(c)Limitation If the Carrier is liable for loss or damage to the Goods then
the amount of compensation shall be calculated by reference to the invoice value of the
Goods plus freight and insurance (if paid).
The Carrier's maximum liability hereunder shall in no circumstances exceed US$2 per
kilo of gross weight of the Goods lost or damaged unless the value of the Goods has been
declared by the Merchant with the consent of the Carrier and excess freight has been paid
whereupon the declared value (if higher) as shown on the face of the Bill of Lading shall
be substituted for the above limit and any partial loss or damage shall be adjusted pro
rata on the basis of such declared value.
2.If the stage of carriage during which loss or damage occurred is known
Notwithstanding anything provided for in Clause 4(B)(1) if the stage of the carriage
where loss or damage to the Goods is known then subject to the operation of Clause 4(C)
which shall apply where loss or damage occurs to the Goods from the time when the Goods
are loaded on board the Vessel at the Port of Loading until the time when the Goods are
discharged from the Vessel at the Port of Discharge the Carriers liability in respect
of any such loss or damage occurring shall be determined as follows:-
(a)By the provisions contained in any international convention or national law,
which provisions cannot be departed from by private contract to the detriment of the Merchant,
and would have applied if the Merchant had made a separate and direct contract with the Carrier
in respect of the particular stage of the carriage where the loss or damage occurred
and received as evidence thereof any particular document which must be issued in order
to make such international Convention or national law applicable; or
(b)If no international convention or national law is applicable then the liability of
the Carrier shall be determined pursuant to the provisions of Clause 4(B)(1).
(c)Subject to Clause 4(B)(2)(a) if loss or damage to the Goods is known to have
occurred during a period when the Goods were in the custody of a Participating
Carrier then the Carrier shall have the benefit of any and all rights, defences,
exemptions, limitations and immunities contained in or incorporated by or compulsorily
applicable to the Participating Carrier's tariff(s) or contract(s) with the Carrier
(in addition to all of the rights, defences, exemptions, limitations and immunities
contained in this Bill of Lading and the Carrier's tariff) and for this purpose
such benefit, rights, defences, exemptions, limitations and immunities shall be deemed
to be incorporated herein, and copies are obtainable from the Carrier upon request.
(C)Clause Paramount All carriage under this Bill of Lading (whether electronically
produced or not) shall have effect subject to any legislation enacted in any country
making the Hague or Hague-Visby Rules compulsorily applicable and in the absence of
any such legislation in accordance with the Hague Rules or COGSA in the case of
carriage to or from the United States of America.
In circumstances where the Hague Rules are not compulsorily applicable but are
contractually applicable then subject to Clause 23 (ad valorem declaration) the
Carrier's responsibility shall in no event exceed GBP100 per package or customary freight unit.
If any terms of this Bill of Lading are held repugnant to the Hague Rules,
Hague-Visby Rules, COGSA or any other compulsorily applicable legislation then
such provision shall be null and void to the extent of such invalidity without
invalidating the remaining provisions hereof.
References in the Hague, Hague-Visby Rules, or COGSA to carriage by sea shall
be deemed to include references to inland waterways or waterborne carriage.
(D)USA Clause Paramount (if applicable)