Cargo Damage

Cargo Damage refers to physical damage, loss, or deterioration in quality of goods during international transportation, loading/unloading, and warehousing, commonly seen in sea, air, land, and multimodal transport. Usage scenarios include: insurance claims (e.g., All Risks, WPA), carrier liability determination, quality clauses in sales contracts, and handling discrepancies in letter of credit documents. Precautions: First, cargo damage may be caused by various reasons such as improper packaging, poor stowage, seawater ingress, theft, war, etc., with different reasons corresponding to different responsible parties and insurance coverages; Second, unlike 'Cargo Shortage', cargo damage emphasizes physical damage to the goods, while cargo shortage emphasizes shortage in quantity; Third, unlike 'Loss', cargo damage usually refers to partial damage, while loss refers to total loss; Fourth, claims require inspection reports, bills of lading, insurance policies, etc., and attention must be paid to the time limit for claims (e.g., written notice within 3 days after taking delivery in sea transport). Foreign trade practitioners should clarify the risk transfer point under trade terms (e.g., CIF, FOB) and insure appropriate coverages to cover cargo damage risks.