Volcafe Ltd & Ors v Compania Sud Americana De Vapores SA [2018] UKSC 61 (5 December 2018)
Citation:Volcafe Ltd & Ors v Compania Sud Americana De Vapores SA [2018] UKSC 61 (5 December 2018)
Rule of thumb:What standard of containers must be used on ships transporting goods? Ships must be using container vessels which are minimum standards in the industry – that goods being transported should be kept dry is a fundamental requirement.
Background facts:
The facts of this case were that coffee beans were purchased from Colombia to be shipped to Germany. These bags of coffee were put into containers on the ship. Condensation on the ship during the voyage meant that moisture got into the coffee beans and damaged them.
Parties argued:
The ship argued that the condensation was an ordinary part of a voyage and that coffee bean manufacturers had not put their coffee into properly insulated bags/boxers to withstand this.
Judgment:
The Court upheld the arguments of the coffee bean manufacturers. They held that ships have the duty to ensure that there are sufficient insulation measures in place inside their shipping containers to protect the packages they are carrying from excessive levels of condensation whilst at sea. In short, the containers on ships which the goods are packaged into are expected to have be insulated with absorbent material such as Kraft paper, and the containers being used on this ship were sub-standard and in breach of shipping law. The Court affirmed that the evidence led about the particular containers on this ship being of a lower standard than the general standard of the containers used in the shipping trade generally was a key factor in upholding this breach of the shipping laws – the Court also affirmed that the Court of Appeal should be slow to overturn Judgments where the trial Judge has had the benefit of listening to the witnesses’ evidence directly explaining a factual matter like the standard of container used on the ships in general and decided that it was lower than the usual standard.
Ratio-decidendi:
‘ the carrier had the legal burden of proving that he took due care to protect the goods from damage, including due care to protect the cargo from damage arising from inherent characteristics such as its hygroscopic character… the practice of the trade in the lining of unventilated containers for the carriage of bagged coffee and the absence of evidence that the containers were dressed with more than one layer of lining paper. In the absence of evidence about the weight of the paper employed, it must follow that the carrier has failed to prove that the containers were properly dressed’, Lord Sumption
Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.