Freight transport insurance

In late March, the container ship “Dali” rammed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. The ship was en route from Baltimore to Colombo in Sri Lanka.
Since the collision, which killed six people who were on the bridge, the ship has been blocking Baltimore’s port entrance. The Dali (10,000 teu) had loaded 4,700 containers for Asia in Baltimore.

The total damage including the rebuilding of the bridge is currently estimated at around four billion dollars. Recently, the ship’s owner declared “Averij-Grosse”. When Averij-Grosse is declared, all those with cargo on board contribute to the costs incurred for lost cargo, salvage costs or fire damage. This is done in proportion to the cargo on board. Shippers with more cargo on board will have to pay more. Until the costs are known, companies wishing to receive their containers will have to pay a deposit. The cost of Averij-Gross may significantly exceed the actual value of the cargo.

However, if the cargo is insured, the insurer will reimburse these costs.

This just goes to show how important it is to properly insure the transportation of your goods as well. For more information on goods transport insurance, please refer to our sales department. You can reach them at sales@merzario.nl or +31 (0)10 3166501.