Sea container transport conditions

Drawn up for the Benefit of the Alliance of Sea Container Carriers and the Association of Sea Container Carriers (VZV) and also on behalf of Transport and Local Logistics Netherlands filed at the registry of the Court of Rotterdam on 1 May 2005, issue 46/2005

In these terms and conditions, the following definitions apply:

1. AVC: The General Transport Conditions 2002, as last established by the sVa/Stichting Vervoeradres and filed at the registry of the court in Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
2. CMR: The Convention on the International Carriage of Goods by Road (Geneva 1956), as supplemented by the 1978 Protocol .
3. General Tank Transport Conditions: The General Tank Transport Conditions for the transport of bulk goods by road, as last established by the sVa/Stichting Vervoeradres and filed at the registry of the court in Amsterdam and Rotterdam.
4. Container: A container approved and suitable for the transport of goods by sea and road with the exception of containers for the transport of waste.
5. Sender: The contractual counterparty of the carrier.
6. Consignee: The person who, under the contract of carriage, is entitled to delivery of the goods vis-à-vis the carrier.
7. Carrier: The person who has committed himself to the transport to the consignor .
8. Acceptance: The moment when the container, whether loaded or not, is placed on the means of transport and secured and it has actually been accepted for transport by the carrier.
9. Delivery: The moment when the carrier reports the container, whether loaded or not, ready to the addressee and he actually receives the container and / or the cargo in the container.
10. Loading time: The time between the time when the carrier reports ready for loading at the agreed time at the agreed loading address and the moment when the doors or the tarps of the container placed and secured on the vehicle are closed and the consignment note and, where applicable, the other documents have been handed over to the carrier and the carrier is free to leave the loading address. leave.
11. Unloading time: The time between the moment when the carrier reports to the consignee or to the delivery address indicated by the sender and the moment when the container or the goods transported in the container have been unloaded and the carrier is free to depart from the unloading address. Loading and unloading times at a depot or a terminal are calculated from the time the carrier enters the site of the depot or terminal until the transport operator leaves the site. The processing system of the deposit or of the ter- minal serves as proof.
12. The consignment note: The document referred to in Article 1 paragraph 4 AVC or Article 4 CMR drawn up in at least three original copies, one copy (proof of receipt) of which is intended for the consignor, a copy (proof of delivery) is intended for the carrier and a copy is intended for the consignee.
13. Terminal: A loading, unloading or transhipment point adjacent to a rail, traffic, air or shipping route, where the goods must be received or delivered.
14. Depot: Collection point of empty containers, where the carrier must collect and/or deliver containers, either in its own company or on behalf of the consignor , in the context of the agreed transport.
15. Force majeure: circumstances, insofar as a careful carrier has not been able to avoid them and insofar as such a carrier has not been able to prevent the consequences thereof.

1. In addition to these Sea Container Transport Conditions, the AVC applies to the domestic transport of containers by road, insofar as these conditions do not deviate from them. The General Tank Transport Conditions also apply to the domestic transport of tank containers.
2. In the case of cross-border transport of containers, the CMR shall apply, as shall the provisions of the conditions set out in paragraph 1 of this Article which do not conflict with the CMR .
3. All customs operations for the benefit of the consignor are subject to the Dutch Forwarding Conditions filed at the registry of the court in Amsterdam, Arnhem, Breda and Rotterdam on 1 July 2004, to the exclusion of the provisions of Article 23 of these terms and conditions.

The sender is obliged to ensure that:

1. When entering into the contract of carriage, it is confirmed in writing to the carrier;
2. The carrier receives the necessary data and instructions in good time in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 paragraph 1a of the AVC;
3. The carrier shall be informed at the time of the contract whether the container given for transport contains items covered by any regulation relating to dangerous substances and/or waste, subject to notification of any applicable hazard class.
4. The goods to be transported and any documents required are made available to the carrier at the agreed place and manner; whereas the transporter is enabled to carry out his obligation to carry out checks under implement the provisions of Article 6 of the AVC and cooperate with all findings made by the carrier in that context.
5. Within the time limits referred to in Article 8 , the container offered for transport is loaded onto the means of transport or that the agreed goods are loaded into the container ;
6. The container to be transported on behalf of the consignor complies in all respects with the requirements set by the government with regard to the transport. In the case of an order to collect an empty container from a depot or a terminal , the above also applies. If it is intended that items are loaded into the container, the sender ensures that a ready-to-use container is given to the carrier in connection with the transport to be carried out. Unless expressly agreed otherwise, the carrier is not obliged to clean the container or have it cleaned.
7. The container is properly loaded, stowed, placed and secured by or on behalf of the sender unless otherwise agreed in writing . If no other appointment has been made, (assistance with) loading and unloading will not be carried out under the responsibility of the carrier;
8. The consignee or consignee unloads the transported goods within the time referred to in Article 8 paragraph 1 of these conditions and signs the consignment note for receipt of the goods. In addition, the consignee is obliged to assist the carrier in the event of re-stowage if, after unloading a partial load from the means of transport, it appears that the loading and stowage of the other cargo is defective and/or is no longer in accordance with applicable legislation, unless otherwise agreed or the nature of the agreed transport, taking into account the goods to be transported and the vehicle made available, results otherwise.
9. In those cases where the carrier is required to leave a means of transport and/or container with the sense, consignee or consignee, it shall be returned to the carrier on first request in the state in which it arrived at the time of the capture by the consignor, consignee or consignee, except for wear and tear under normal use.
10. The agreed cargo on the basis of the provisions of Article 7 of the AVC shall be paid within the agreed period or, in the absence of an agreed term, within a reasonable period of time.

1. The sender is liable for the damage suffered by the carrier, insofar as it can reasonably be attributed to the sender in connection with the non-fulfillment of his obligations under these terms and conditions and the conditions referred to in article 2 of these terms and conditions.
2. The consignor is obliged to indemnify the carrier against claims by third parties relating to the non-fulfilment of the sender's obligations as referred to in the first paragraph of this article.
3. If the sender does not fulfil his obligations in time, the carrier has the right to suspend the execution of the agreement until the sender has still fulfilled his obligations.

Except in cases of force majeure, the carrier is obliged to:

1. To deliver goods received for transport to their destination within a reasonable period of time in the state in which they were received. If a delivery period has been agreed, delivery must be made within this period.
2. Check the good condition of the goods to be transported and indicate any markings on the consignment note or an interchange. The provisions of Article 6 of the AVC shall apply in full.
3. When receiving a sealed container, check that the seal is present and intact and indicate the characteristic of the seal on the consignment note. If this check reveals that the seal has been broken, the carrier is obliged to inform the sender and to ask him for instructions. The carrier is obliged to suspend the departure of the vehicle until the sender gives further instructions for departure of the vehicle.
When the vehicle is on its way and the carrier finds that the seal has been broken, the carrier is obliged to inform the sender and customs and to fill in on the consignment note the date and time on which the termination was detected. If the contraaing authority cannot be reached, the carrier shall take such measures as can reasonably be expected of him, having regard to the circumstances of the case.
4. In the case of refrigerated transport, if possible, to verify, in accordance with the instructions of the consignment note, in accordance with the instructions of the consignment note, that the instructions relating to the temperature of the cargo indicated in the consignment note and/or order confirmation correspond to the temperature registration and/or with the indication on the cooling installation of the container. If verification is impossible and in the event of deviations, the carrier is obliged to record this on the consignment note and/or to inform the consignor.
5. Upon delivery, have the consignment note signed for receipt and hand over to him the copy of the consignment note intended for the recipient .
6. To enable the consignee or consignee, or a third party designated by the latter, to inspect the cargo within the time referred to in Article 8, unless there is a charge of a sealed cargo. Any consequences of termination of the claim by the recipient shall not be borne by the carrier.
7. Keep proper records of the goods received and delivered for transport and keep the related (copies of the) consignment notes for at least 3 years after delivery.
8. Properly insure his liability under these terms and conditions.
9. Depending on the agreed work, hand over the text of the conditions referred to in Article 2 paragraphs 1 and paragraph 3 to the consignor unless the carrier may assume that the sender is familiar with the conditions.

1. The carrier shall be liable on the basis of the conditions laid down in Article 2 if he fails to fulfil his obligations under the contract of carriage.If the General Tank Transport Conditions apply to the transport, the provisions of Article 7 of the Tank Transport Conditions shall apply only if this provision is expressly reproduced on the consignment note or in another document relating to the relevant transport contract(s).
2. If the carrier is involved in customs operations, such as drawing up documents, presenting documents to third parties and performing all other transactions relating to customs clearance, the Dutch Forwarding Conditions referred to in Article 2 (3 ) shall apply to these operations. of these terms and conditions and the carrier is liable for those actions on the basis of these terms and conditions .
3. The carrier's liability for domestic transport and transhipment is limited to € 3.40 per kilogram of missing or damaged goods with the absolute maximum of a further relationship between the parties when concluding the transport agreement - amount to be agreed. If such an amount has not been agreed, the ceiling referred to above shall not apply, on the understanding that the damage will not exceed the invoice value of the goods at the time of receipt thereof by the carrier.

If circumstances arise which prevent or delay delivery of the goods, the carrier shall be obliged to notify the consignor and to request instructions without prejudice to this. the provisions of Article 8 of these Terms and Conditions and Articles 19 and 21 of the AVC.

1. Sender and consignee are obliged within a reasonable loading time or respectively. unloading time to load or unload the means of transport, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 21 of the AVC. With regard to loading and unloading times, the parties shall make further agreements as to what is considered reasonable loading or unloading time for the agreed transport. In the absence of an agreement as referred to above, a time of 30 minutes applies. The above also applies if, as a result of the sender's order, containers must be loaded and unloaded at a depot or a terminal.
2. If, on arrival at the loading and/or unloading address, it appears that the carrier still has to wait or carry out operations in connection with customs formalities before being free to start the journey and/or departing from the unloading address falls the time that this is covered by the loading/unloading time referred to in Article 1 unless otherwise agreed in advance.

1. The legal relationship, for whatever reason , between the sender and addressee on the one hand and the carrier on the other hand is governed by Dutch law.
2. All disputes arising from or in connection with the contract of carriage may be subject to arbitration in accordance with the regulations of the Stichting Arbi- slow voor Logistiek, established in The Hague.
3. Nullity or invalidity of any provision in these terms and conditions does not mean that other provisions of these terms and conditions will be null and void or invalid.
4. These conditions can be cited as "Sea container transport conditions 2005"