By Richard Kamppari Baker, Claims Director, World Insurance
The Panama Canal Authority has been restricting traffic since this past summer, resulting in numerous shipments that have been stuck or delayed. This includes a heavy backlog of goods that have been sent to meet increased demand in the upcoming Holiday season.
The delays have been caused by draught in the canals, made worse by on-going restrictions, which will result in containers of perishables and Holiday-market products that will be arriving after their ETA. This is likely to lead to a mass rejection from the consignee and increased abandonment when they do arrive.
From a Freight Forwarder’s perspective, delay is generally excluded, especially if falls outside your control. Claims of such nature should be rejected. This might cause friction with customers, but to avoid expensive claims, it is imperative to not agree to specific times or dates of arrival.
Insurers, however, expect to receive many uncleared or abandoned containers that were intended for a particular market and no longer retain the same value. It is important for the Forwarder to carefully monitor all containers that might be traveling via the Panama Canal and notify their liability insurers immediately. If the goods are likely to be abandoned, it is important notify early to avoid incurring unnecessary storage/demurrage costs.
The shipper/consignee must be made aware they cannot simply abandon delayed cargo without settling all charges. Even if the cargo has little value, it will be less expensive for the shipper to accept delivery than to abandon shipments.