6.1 A shipper shall, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the contact of carriage, deliver the goods ready for carriage and in such condition that they may stand the intended carriage, including their loading, handling, stowage, lashing and securing, and discharge, and that they will not cause injury or damage. In the event the goods are delivered in or on a shipper-packed container or trailer, the shipper must stow, lash and secure the goods in or on the container or trailer in such a way that the goods may stand the intended carriage, including loading, handling and discharge of the container or trailer, and that they will not cause injury or damage.

The basic obligation of the shipper is to deliver the goods to the carrier in accordance with the contract of carriage, i.e. the goods as agreed and at the agreed place and time. Further, the goods have to be brought by the shipper in the proper condition for the intended voyage, e.g. packing has to be sound, dangerous goods have to be properly marked and labelled, temperature controlled goods have to be delivered at the right temperature for carriage, etc. For reason of accident prevention, this is of particular importance in respect of shipper packed containers and trailers, because in the normal course of events carriers do not check their contents.

6.2 The contracting carrier shall provide to the shipper, on its request, all the information, including instructions, which it knows or ought to know and which is reasonably necessary or of importance to the shipper in order to comply with its obligations under 6.1.

It should be a two-way street. Anything that a shipper does not know, he should ask for, whereupon the carrier should to the best of his ability assist the shipper in meeting its responsibilities.

6.3 The shipper shall provide to the contracting carrier all the information, instructions and documentation which is reasonably necessary, or of importance for-

(a) the handling and carriage of the goods, including precautions to be taken by the carrier, unless the carrier already knows or ought to know such information or instructions;

(b) the compliance with rules, regulations and other requirements of authorities in connection with the intended carriage, including filings, applications and licences relating to the goods;

(c) the issue by a carrier of the transport documents, including the data referred to in 7.2.1, (b) and (c), the name of the first holder and the name of the consignee or order, unless the shipper may reasonably assume that such information is already known to the contracting carrier.

6.4 The information, instructions and documentation which the shipper and the carrier provide to each other under 6.2. and 6.3 must be accurate and complete, so as to enable the other party fully to rely on such information, instructions and documentation for the purpose that it is requested or intended for within the scope of the contract of carriage. Each party, however, is entitled, but never obliged, to examine whether the information, instructions and documentation provided by the other party is accurate and complete.

A safe and successful voyage of the goods may depend to a large extent on the cooperation between the parties. Of primary importance is that the information etc. which the parties reasonably require for the voyage is reliable for that purpose. We live in an information society, wherein often time and money is not available to make checks on the accuracy or completeness of information.

6.5 A shipper and the carrier are liable to each other, the consignee and any holder for any loss or damage that is caused by its failure to comply with its obligations under 6.2, 6.3 and 6.4.

The liability of the parties for wrong or incomplete information should be a strict one.

6.6 The contracting shipper is liable to the carrier for any loss, damage, or injury caused by the goods, [unless the contracting shipper proves that such loss or damage is caused by the facts or through circumstances which a prudent shipper could not avoid or the consequences such shipper was unable to prevent.]

The exact basis of this shippers’ liability is subject to further discussion.

It is submitted that the distinction between ordinary goods and dangerous or polluting goods is out of date. Whether certain goods are dangerous depends on the circumstances. Harmless goods may become dangerous under certain circumstances and dangerous goods (in the sense of poisonous or explosive) may be harmless when they are properly packed, handled and carried in an appropriate vessel. The notion ‘dangerous’ is relative. The essence of a shippers’ liability regime may be that any damage caused on account of the nature of the cargo should be the shipper’s risk and any damage caused by improper handling or carriage should fall under the rules for the carrier’s liability.

Another matter is how to deal with goods which may become a danger to human life, property or the environment during the voyage. It may be considered that a master (or another person actually responsible for the goods) must have a wide discretion to deal with such goods under the circumstances without having to bother about liabilities. Whether the goods are carried with or without the carriers’ consent (refer Article IV rule 6 of the Hague-Visby Rules) seems irrelevant. Article 13.4 of the Hamburg Rules does not make the distinction.

6.7 The contracting shipper is responsible for the acts and omissions of persons of whose services it makes use to perform the tasks and meet the obligations referred to in this chapter, when such persons are acting within the scope of their employment as if such acts or omissions were its own.

This provision is similar to article 8.2 of the draft CMNI Convention.