ABSTRACT
It is to this period of responsibility that the Hague-Visby Rules attach with the force of law. However, the carrier’s contractual responsibility, and also its parallel responsibility as a bailee, extends to the time at which it makes delivery of the goods to the person entitled to their possession. The carrier will remain responsible for the goods notwithstanding that they are no longer on the carrying vessel but have been transferred into the custody of a subcontractor engaged by the carrier, such as a terminal operator. Thus, in Sze Hai Tong v Rambler Cycle Co , 1 the carrier was liable both in breach of contract and in conversion when its agent at the port of discharge wrongfully released the cargo to a party without production of the bill of lading.
