NITL Endorses Universal Liability Reforms

 The National Industrial Transportation League (NITL) has formally approved adoption of a new international multimodal convention on cargo liability that is currently referred to as the "Rotterdam Rules." Known as "The Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods", the NITL’s support came in the form of a resolution that was approved unanimously by the group’s board of directors meeting in Houston last week.

The NITL’s action to support the new Rotterdam Rules also includes urging the United States government to ratify the new convention (which embodies the Rules) and to seek changes consistent with the Rules in domestic U.S. law known as the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA).

As to the Rules’ impact on cargo interests, Mark Maleski, chairman of the League said, "the development of compatible worldwide standards applicable to the loss and damage of maritime cargoes is long overdue. The League’s Board of Directors has unambiguously endorsed the new Rules and established a firm mandate to work with other industry sectors to advance the adoption of the Rules in the United States and all of our trade partners as soon as possible."

For over 10 years the NITL has strongly supported maritime cargo liability reforms reflective of modern shipping practices through work with the: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); the Comité Maritime International (CMI); the League’s 2001 Memorandum of Agreement with the World Shipping Council (WSC) which represents most maritime liner carriers in the U.S. international trades; and as a private industry advisor to the United Nations Committee on International Trade Law’s Working Group #III.

Addressing the importance of the Rotterdam Rules, Peter Gatti, executive vice president of NITL said, "the reality is that in the world of maritime shipping today there is no consistency or uniformity in the application of awards for loss and/or damaged cargoes. The Rotterdam Rules will reflect current shipping practices, contain significant improvements over existing cargo liability conventions, promote harmonization among trading partners, reduce legal obstacles and will allow shippers, carriers and third parties to customize their contracts to meet their commercial needs."

As for the application of the Rotterdam Rules into U.S. law, Gatti added, "as the current U.S. law is predicated on the 1924 Hague Rules, we all know the world has changed significantly since that time and unless the Rules are soon adopted into U.S. law, U.S. interests will be subjected to inconsistent rulings, unpredictable results and operate at a competitive disadvantage to interests overseas which operate under different and more modern regimes."