Freight Transport Terms and Conditions on Messina-Salerno Line
Definitions
- The words "Business", "Company" and "Carrier" identify "Cartour S.r.l.";
- "Vehicle" means any means of transport, whether on wheels or tracked, autonomous or not;
- "Consignor" signifies those who require boarding, the presenter of a vehicle upon boarding, the driver, the dispatcher of the container and is also considered as the delegate of the receiver at the port of disembarkation;
- The words "container" and "carrier" include any container, case, transportable tank, wooden pallet or any other facilitation of transport used to consolidate and transport the goods.
The company Cartour S.r.l. assumes the transport of the vehicles and containers under the following conditions, the contents of which, by undersigning and, in any case, with the purchase and/or possession of this contract, the consignor declares to be well known and to accept, along with the terms laid out under the law in force where not derogate by the following contractual rules.
1 - Validity of the contract
This contract of carriage is valid only for the vehicles and/or containers indicated and for the ship and the departure indicated therein. The consignor is to keep this document diligently, in order to justify his/her right to carriage and to present it to any officer of the ship's company or officer who so requests. The contract is neither transferable nor negotiable.
2 - Price of passage
The passage price indicated in the contract does not include the provision of food and beverages aboard, overnight sleeping quarters and/or stay on board which will be borne by any eventual driver/escorts of the embarked vehicles, and which must be regulated separately at the time of boarding. In addition, all charges, taxes, boarding and disembarking fees, stamp duty, booking fees, etc., are also to be borne by the consignor.
3 - Presentation at the loading area, arrangements on board and disembarking responsibilities
The consignor is required:
- to complete, for that falling under his/her competence, for the purpose of the "embarkation declaration", the contract of carriage, indicating in the appropriate spaces the data required therein;
- to present the vehicles and containers at the loading area at least two hours prior to departure;
- to exhibit, at the time of presentation at the loading area for vehicles and containers, the transport document issued by the Company or its Agents, a personal form of identification, as well as all other documents required for transport, including customs documentation;
- to use for maritime transport, in consideration of the particularity of such transport, vehicles that are efficient in every respect (in particular, with regards to the braking, suspension and rolling elements) and which do not exceed 4.20 m in height from the ground;
- to arrive at the vehicle loading area with the load arranged and mounted on the vehicles themselves with the diligence and prerequisites required by the type of goods and the characteristics of the vehicle, all according to suitable criteria for sea transport;
- to undertake, under their sole care, expense and risk, the arrangement and mounting of the load, on the vehicle or inside the container, as well as the closure, coverage and levelling of the vehicle and/or container itself. Under no circumstances is the Carrier liable for loss and/or damage to the cargo and/or the vehicle/container resulting from lack or inadequacy or insufficiency of the mounting, closure or coverage, as well as the overloading of the vehicle/container, with overloaded vehicles and containers travelling at the sole risk and danger of the consignor, and are subject to a supplementary freight charge at current prices.
Likewise, the Company is not liable for any loss or damage arising from any other cause and/or act for any vehicle or container specified in this document and/or the goods contained therein, by any other vehicle or container embarked on the same vessel. It is understood that, in the event of a collapse of the cargo, the costs of reinstatement and any other necessary acts, shall be borne by the person responsible for the delivery, even if anticipated by the Company for reasons of safety.
The acceptance of embarkation by the ship's Command does not imply any recognition of the accuracy and veracity of declarations made by the consignors in the transport documents nor of the existence of the conditions set out in points (d), (e) and (f) of this article, with the consequent exclusion of any responsibility of the ship's Command and for the Company, even against third parties, in relation to the declarations of the consignors, the requirements of the vehicles and/or containers and the arrangement of the cargo. The consignor is, however, liable for any damage to the ship and to third parties resulting from non-fulfilment of the obligations set out in points (a) to (f) of this article.
4 - Undersigning of the contract
If the consignee or driver of the vehicles or containers presented at the loading area is a person other than the consignor indicated on the shipment document, the above consignor or driver shall sign the transport contract in the name and on behalf of the consignor, as the authorised representative of the same.
5 - Missed departure
Any consignor who does not present themselves in time (please see Article 3, point (b) of these General Conditions) at the time of departure of his/her own vehicles and/or containers and, in any event, has not boarded because of the consignor themselves, they are not entitled to any refund, even partial, of the price paid and is, in fact, obliged to complete the payment of the freight price if this has not already been paid in full and to compensate for any further damage.
6 - Boarding
The reservation, the issuance of the transport document and the payment of the price do not constitute a commitment by the Company that the ship is ready to receive the vehicles and/or the containers or that the vehicles or containers have effectively embarked. Effectuating the boarding depends on the Company's requirements and safety on board, and any other reason that may prevent boarding. In the event that boarding does not take place due to the Company, the Company is only required to return the freight charge or part thereof, and is not required to pay for any expenses or damages of any kind.
7 - Cancellation of the journey
The Company has at its full discretion to cancel the announced departure, to add or omit stops, to commence or end the voyage at a port other than that established, to divert the ship to another line, replace the planned ship, anticipate or delay the date and time of departure. It is equally not binding for the Company to indicate the date and time scheduled for arrival at the ship's destination. In none of the cases covered by this article does the consignor have the right to compensation for damages and/or reimbursement for expenses of any kind.
8 - Embarkation and disembarkation, responsibility
The boarding and disembarking of vehicles and containers takes place at the expense, care, risk and responsibility of the loaders and receivers, excluding any liability of the Company, even against third parties. Drivers of vehicles, tractors or other vehicles, if any, used (whether or not employed by a port company or by other third parties in charge of the Carrier) when carrying out the embarkation, disembarkation and stopping operations, act as auxiliaries and/or appointees of the consignors and receivers, who bear any risk of such operations and are also liable for any damage caused by the same conductors, both to the ship and to persons or third-party property, in the execution of embarkation, disembarkation and stopping manoeuvres, both on board and on the dock.
9 - Return and deposit
Upon arrival of the ship, the return of the vehicles and/or containers is effected subject to the presentation to the Carrier of the transport document (Interchange), which is duly signed for receipt. The driver and/or escorts must promptly remove their vehicles and/or containers at the time in which the ship is ready for landing operations. At the time of arrival, if the vehicles and/or containers have not been removed in a timely manner, the Company will always, at the expense, risk and responsibility of the consignor and receiver, move the vehicle and/or container on land and return it only after reimbursement for all expenses incurred for transport, landing and stopping operations. In the event that, for any reason, the vehicles and/or containers cannot be returned to the consignor and/or receiver, the vehicles and/or containers may remain parked unattended at the risk of the consignor and/or receiver. The Company shall not be liable for damages and/or missing items with relation to the vehicles and/or containers and to the goods loaded and/or contained therein. Delivery of vehicles and/or containers and their cargo must be effected (under specific contractual derogation - pursuant to Article 424 of the Italian Maritime Code) - in favour of the carrier under the liability law referred to in Article 422 of the Maritime Code, from the outset of the unloading operations, even if carried out by means of onboard equipment.
10 - Obligations of the consignor
Vehicles on board the ship shall be parked in accordance with the provisions of the ship's Command. Drivers must always be at the disposal of the ship's Command and execute any orders that may be issued by them, particularly in cases of emergency.
11 - Violations
The consignor and driver must comply with the regulations and requirements of the maritime, port, customs, health, and public safety authorities. They are responsible for any violations with regards to the competent Authorities and the Company itself. The Company has the right to reimbursement from them for all damages, expenses, fines, penalties, administrative sanctions and any other kind of dues that may result from the abovementioned violations.
12 - Loss, breakdown and tampering
The Company is not liable for any loss, breakdown or tampering of goods loaded on vehicles and/or arranged inside the containers, just as with any removable items left within the vehicle.
13 - Dangerous goods
The consignor has the obligation to declare to the Company and/or its agents prior to embarkation, of the existence of dangerous goods on board the vehicle and/or inside the container. Boarding is granted within the limits of the applicable law concerning this matter and must be expressly authorised in writing by the Command of the ship that may arrange for the positioning of the vehicles and/or containers on the open deck. To this end, the consignor pre-emptively and expressly accepts the positioning of the vehicles on the open deck. In the case of failure to provide notification, the consignor shall be completely liable for any and all consequences resulting from such omission from the Company and third parties, in civil, criminal and administrative contexts.
14 - Loading under cover and in the open
The Company is free to load the vehicles and containers both under cover and in the open-air at their sole discretion. The risks of losses and/or damage to the vehicles and/or containers and the goods transported, under cover or otherwise, are borne by the consignor and/or the owner of the vehicle.
15 - Animals
The Company and, on its behalf, the ship's Commander, at his or her sole discretion, has the right to refuse the boarding of containers and/or vehicles containing animals of any kind. The transport of such containers and/or vehicles and animals placed therein, if authorised by the Commander, is at the sole risk of the consignor and the owner of the animals (if different from the consignor), it being understood that any authorisation for boarding by the Commander is not to be considered as the assumption of responsibility, in any way, by the Ship and the Company. Without prejudice to the aforementioned, the consignor is also responsible for the maintenance of animals (water, food etc.) during transport and, for this purpose, can access the local garage only with the authorisation of onboard personnel to be contacted in a timely manner by the consignor.
16 - Refrigerated vehicles
Refrigerated vehicles are subject to the safety regulations prescribed by RINA and the competent Authorities, regulations which prohibit the use of the vehicle's energy sources on board. The ship, at the request of the consignor, formulated at the time of reservation and depending on the availability of power outlets, may permit connection to the electrical circuit onboard (alternating current of 440 Volt 60 periods), always provided that the vehicles are equipped with the special flameproof coupling approved by the competent Authorities. The connection is allowed at the risk and responsibility of the consignor, also with regards to the ship and to third parties, excluding any liability of the carrier and/or vessel, for any power failure or interruption, voltage surges and any other fault and breakdown in generation and distribution of electric power by the ship, from any cause generated and/or produced. The supply of energy is refused and interrupted where, due to the opinion and discretion of the ship's Command, the engine of the refrigerated vehicle is not functioning properly and does not provide adequate safety guarantees for the cargo and the ship.
17 - Recognition of Liability
They are not enforceable against the Company and do not involve acknowledgment or liability on its behalf, the declarations of the consignor or, in any case, knowledge of the quality, weight, value and/or conditions of the vehicle and/or container and the estimated load therein, or the boarding unreservedly.
18 - Load units
Without prejudice to all exclusions of liability specified in this document, the vehicles (understood unitarily as motor and trailer), containers, goods and any other objects contained therein shall constitute for all effects of the law, by way of the specific acceptance of the consignor, a single loading unit, which is accepted by the consignor without any declaration of value.
19 - Disclaimer and complaints
The Carrier is not liable for damage caused by lack of departure, delays and/or impediments to arrival. Additionally, the Carrier is not liable for any loss and/or damage to vehicles and/or containers or to goods/merchandise contained therein, which may occur before and during boarding, aboard the ship, during the passage (except in the sole hypothesis of gross negligence of the Carrier), as well as during or after disembarking. Any damage to vehicles and/or containers or any other harmful event during transport must be reported by the driver or receiver to the ship's Command or to the agents and/or officers on board - at the risk of forfeiture - prior to disembarking. To this end, the driver or receiver must lodge a complaint with one of the onboard officers, which must be signed by the driver or receiver. In the event of an accident on board, the driver must in any case immediately report the incident to the Commander who, if necessary, will draw up a report to start the appropriate insurance procedure. Otherwise, and therefore in the absence of a report from the Commander in service, the Company cannot accept any complaints regarding claims on board ships and/or within the areas under its jurisdiction.
20 - General average
The general average is governed by the York-Antwerp Rules of 1950/1974. Before receiving the goods, the receivers must sign the "Lloyd's Average Bond", as well as carry out, as a provisional filing, the payment of the share that the shipping company determines to guarantee the definitive contribution and as a condition for the collection of the goods. The deposits referred to in section XXII of the above rules must be effectuated in Messina, into a special account designated jointly by two trustees, namely the armoury company and a representative chosen by the persons involved with the cargo, at a bank of choice between the armoury company and the said representative of the persons concerned with the load. For this purpose, in the various ports of unloading the goods, the deposits are collected by the agents of the Company, who will send them immediately to Messina. The rule of general average takes effect, amicably, in Messina no matter what the destination of the goods loaded and is compiled by a liquidator whose appointment is reserved to the Company. The Custodians renounce any opposition and shall be obliged to pay the contribution which, on the basis of the value of the goods loaded, is definitively determined in the general average rule.
21 - Jurisdiction
All disputes relating to the validity and/or interpretation and/or execution of this contract of carriage must be brought exclusively before the Messina Judicial Authority, expressly excluding the jurisdiction of any other Italian or foreign judicial authority, including upon the dependence of the connection of cause, and thus Italian law is indisputably applicable.