Carrier's liability for the carriage of deck cargo

Abstract EN

Generally goods are not to be stowed on deck.

To summurise the reasons, it can be said that the goods on deck, as a matter of fact, are always jettisoned first because they are most accessible.

The exposure to sun and heat or cold is another risk which the shipper seeks to avoid by requiring underdeck stowage.

Amongst other reasons, deck cargo is certain to be jettisoned before any cargo, and liable to be unduly jettisoned owing to the facility of doing it when cargo under hatches would not be.

When jettisoned it is not entitled to general average unless there is an agreement with the shipper and with the consent of the other parties interested in the adventure.

That's why some authors consider the deck transport as dangerous.

This paper will be limited in its aims to the liability of the carrier for the carriage of deck cargo.

The question of liability of deck cargo has presented a real difficulty for the jurisprudence since the 19th century owing to the variety of clauses inserted in the bill of lading and the economic gain which the carrier can derive from such carriage.

International conventions have been laid down to cope with this matter such as the Hague Rules or the Hamburg Rules and the Rotterdam Rules.

All these points will be dealt with in this paper: section one reviews the cases when deck cargo is authorized, section two focuses on the consequences when deck cargo is not permitted, section three examines the legal and practical problems posed by stowage of containers on deck, section four deals with deck cargo under the three international Conventions mentioned above.