Unfair Stevedore Contract Terms – Limitation of Liability for Damage
CTAA (Container Transport Alliance Australia) is working with an Alliance company who’s stationary truck was severely damaged by a straddle carrier in a stevedore’s terminal.
Under its Carrier Access Agreement (CAA), the stevedore limits its liability to $15,000 for any one incident. The transport operator’s insurer is now asking why they would agree to these terms?
The reason is that the stevedore’s National CAA is a “take it or leave it” document, with no ability for transport operators to negotiate different terms. Want terminal access? … accept the terms or don’t come!
The small family-owned transport company will struggle to make up the difference between the cost of the truck repairs and the upper limit of liability that the stevedore might pay.
CTAA have again highlighted this to the ACCC as another example of the unfair nature of the Stevedore’s National Carrier Access Agreement.
We’re only four months’ away from the annual “farce” of having the National CAA circulated by the stevedore to transport operators for acceptance before the new Financial Year, with no prior consultation. Will transport operators in each Australian container port continue to cop this treatment?
CTAA Meets with National Freight Strategy Expert Panel
CTAA Alliance companies met in Melbourne on Friday, 16th February with members of the Industry Expert Panel assisting the Federal Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development & Cities to complete its Inquiry into National Freight and Supply Chain Priorities.
Feedback to the Expert Panel and the Strategy Secretariat covered such topics as:
- Lack of Freight Data and Performance Measurement;
- Capacity of the Freight Network & Achieving Productivity Improvements (Road, Rail & Coastal Shipping);
- Land Use Planning and Network Conflicts;
- Communicating the Importance of Freight