ABSTRACT
Cargo claims are brought by cargo interests against carriers when the cargo in which they have an interest is not delivered, is delivered short or is delivered damaged. Those cargo interests may be the shippers of the goods; they may be the receivers of the goods; they may be charterers or sub-charterers of the vessel on which the cargo was shipped. Bills of lading typically state in pre-printed wording that the goods have been shipped in apparent good order and condition. There may be circumstances, however, where the identity of the only party to whom the shipper wants the goods delivered is known when the bill of lading is issued. The main identifier, then, in discovering whom the claimant can pursue in a cargo claim is the signature at the foot of the bill of lading, assisted by the banner logo at the top of the bill of lading.
