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Policy & Compliance


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The Ever Given on a previous visit to


Felixstowe


Ever Given owners declare General Average


Following the re-floating of the Ever Given in the Suez Canal and the owners of the ship declaring a General Average, we are reprinting old advice for new readers on what you should do if you are affected by this age old maritime law. General Average is a process whereby the parties whose interests


have been sacrificed, or who have incurred extra expense, are recompensed by the contribution of those whose interests have been saved. If you have containers on board the Ever Given you will be asked for an


indemnity or a deposit. Any standard marine insurance policy will include General Average losses, so if the goods have been insured the importer should obtain a General Average guarantee from the insurers. If no insurance has been organised, then a cash deposit will be needed. Whatever the position, your first action upon receiving notification


May 2021


that a General Average has been declared for a vessel is to give immediate notice to your customer. The appointed average adjusters will need to be in possession of a completed guarantee and bond form or cash deposit before release of cargo, so it is vital that your customer takes immediate action. Your customer indemnifies you against General Average costs in


clause 20D of the BIFA Standard Trading Conditions. Unfortunately, as in many industries, considerable de-skilling has occurred in the past couple of decades so the traditional shipping manager that understood maritime law is rare nowadays. Shipping is steeped in historic legal protocols and trying to explain General Average can be difficult to a modern buyer. Maritime Insurance policies generally include cover should a General Average be declared, so always alert your customers of the risks they run should they choose not to insure their goods.


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