Press Article: Misdeclared cargoes and the booking process

‘Trust is the foundation of trade’ stated Pearce L.J. in 1957 in the famous legal case Brown Jenkinson v. Percy Dalton. Today, we see this basic principle of shipping frequently ignored as unscrupulous shippers attempt to move their dangerous cargoes to markets cheaply by misdeclaring the nature of their goods. This is outright fraud and an unlawful act which endangers ships, their crews, cargoes and the environment. This act is also a major concern to marine insurers who are frequently left with the expensive consequences when incidences do occur.

At Standard Club, we are well-aware of this bad practice and work hard with our members and the marine industry to raise awareness of this issue and the grave dangers that it presents.

Each year between 2 - 6.6 million containers, packed with dangerous goods, are wrongly declared as non-dangerous and are loaded onto ships.

Read John Dolan's full article in International Institute of Marine Surveying's 'The Report Magazine' March issue here.

Categories: Loss Prevention, Cargo