Category: Cargo Risks

Cargo damage, reducing freight damage, reducing claims

Whether they are importers, exporters, or freight forwarders, most of my cargo insurance customers are international shippers. It’s the nature of the business. With this in mind I reviewed the articles and blogs I have written and the heavy international theme shows in most articles. To that I can only say…shame on me. I have been totally neglecting the… Read more »

Cargo Insurance, General Average

Most maritime carriers don’t mention general average as a part of their marketing. Other than us cargo insurance nerds, people don’t even talk about general average.   Consequently most shippers don’t know exactly what ‘general average’ is and what the possible risks are to those who are international ocean shippers. Even though forms of general average code can… Read more »

Shipping Container

Ever wonder where the standard ocean shipping container came from?  If so, you may want to get a hobby or get out more. Maybe a couple of those after work ‘networking’ gatherings (that just happen to take place in a bar) are in order.  You really shouldn’t be wondering about things as geeky as where… Read more »

Playing SOLAS Chicken

Remember the SOLAS game of chicken I wrote about in April in the ‘The End is Near’ SOLAS article?  You didn’t read the article?  Really? Geez…okay, here is a link to it https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/end-near-yep-solas-coming-july-tom-o-malley?trk=prof-post for you.  Go read it now while the rest of us wait.  There will be a test so comprehension counts. Okay, let’s… Read more »

This is a very heavy subject.

In case you just woke from a 12 year nap, SOLAS is an international treaty (Safety of Life at Sea) and has a new amendment going into effect 01July2016 requiring shippers to have a system to VGM (verify gross mass).  Maritime operators are sick of the safety risk of handling over weight containers with misstated… Read more »

Heavy Containers and SOLAS

If you are an international shipper and you have not heard of the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) container weight mandate, you will very soon. The weight mandate simply states a shipper must certify the weight of the containers they are shipping and is slated to start July 01, 2016. Overweight containers have been… Read more »