III. CARRIER’S LIABILITY
10. Basic Liability
(1) The Carrier shall be liable for loss of or damage to the goods occurring between the time when it receives the
goods into its charge and the time of delivery.
(2) The Carrier shall be responsible for the acts and omissions of any person of whose services it makes use for
the performance of the contract of carriage evidenced by this Bill of Lading.
(3) The Carrier shall, however, be relieved of liability for any loss or damage if such loss or damage arose or
resulted from:
(a) the wrongful act or neglect of the Merchant.
(b) compliance with the instructions of the person(s) entitled to give them.
(c) the lack of, or defective conditions of packing in the case of goods which, by their nature, are liable to
wastage or to be damaged when not packed or when not properly packed.
(d) handling, loading, stowage or unloading of the goods by or on behalf of the Merchant.
(e) inherent vice of the goods.
(f) insufficiency or inadequacy of marks or numbers on the goods, covering, or unit loads.
(g) strikes or lock-outs or stoppages or restraints of labour from whatever cause whether partial or general.
(h) any cause or event which the Carrier could not avoid and the consequence whereof it could not prevent
by the exercise of reasonable diligence.
(i) act and instructions of governments, of prince and rulers, act of god, force majeure or authorities (including
custom authorities) performing their duties.
(j) independent subcontractors not appointed by or in the direct services of the carrier.
(4) Where under sub-clause 9 (3) the Carrier is not under any liability in respect of some of the factors
causing the loss or damage, it shall only be liable to the extent that those factors for which it is liable
under this Clause have contributed to the loss or damage.
(5) The burden of proving that the loss or damage was due to one or more of the causes or events, specified in
(a), (b) and (h) (i) and (j) of sub-clause 9 (3) shall rest upon the party relying on same.
(6) When the carrier establishes that in the circumstances of the case, the loss or damage is attributable to one or
more of the causes or events, specified in (c) to (g) of sub-clause 9 (3), it shall be presumed that it was so caused and
that no further proof is required.
