Containerisation and the legal implications of carriage on deck

Abstract

The shipping industry, and all industry concerned in trades which involve the sale and movement of goods, expanded its language from its already extensive list of abbreviations - the fob, cif, L/C, fas etc., which were reasonably recognised, even if misunderstood - to include LCL (Less than Full Container Load), FCL (Full Container Load), TED (Twenty-foot or Equivalent Unit), CTO (Combined Transport Operator) and various others. To state the obvious, the freight or anticipated freight must have its origin in the sale price of goods; without it the vessels would not be built or there would be an under-utilisation of existent tonnage as exists at present. The premium for the insurance on the goods, the means by which the shipper obtains this security, also has its source in the sale price of the goods. Now it can easily be shown that the container revolution, although not inspired by that important body of persons, the shippers, has brought them a number of advantages. It is also reasonable to state that the documentary changes, if it were not for the changing conditions of carriage, amounted to a simplification.