GENERAL CONDITIONS OF TRANSPORT OF VEHICLES AND CONTAINERS

Definitions

The terms “Society”, “Company” and “Carrier” identify “Caronte&Tourist S.p.A.”;

“Vehicle” includes any means of transport, either tyred or tracked, both independent and not;

“Loader” defines the person requesting embarkation, presenting vehicle to embarkation, the driver, the sender of container and is to be considered also as a delegate of the receiver in the port of disembarkation;

The terms “Container” and “transport case” include any container, box, transportable tank, blade or wooden board or any other transport aids used to consolidate and transport goods.

The Society Caronte&Tourist S.p.A. undertakes transport of vehicles and containers to the following conditions, the content of which the loader, subscribing this contract, declares to know exactly and to accept as well as to the conditions of the laws in force where not derogated by the following contractual regulations.

1) This contract of transport is valid only for vehicles and/or transport cases indicated and for the ship and departure therein specified. Loader must preserve diligently this document in order to justify his/her right to transport and show it on request to any executive of company or ship officer. The contract is not transferable.

2) Passage fare

The passage fare indicated in the contract doesn’t include administration of food on board, overnight stay and permanence on board which are at the expenses of drivers/companions of embarked vehicles, and are to be paid at embarkation. All the expenses, taxes, embarkation and disembarkation dues, stamp duty etc. are charged to the loader.

3) Presentation for embarkation, accommodation on board and disembarkation, responsibilities

The loader is bound:

a) to fill in, for the part in his/her competence, to the aims of the “declaration of embarkation”, the contract of transport providing the specific areas whit the required information.

b) to present vehicles and containers to embarkation at least two hours before departure;

c) to show, as presenting for embarkation vehicles and transport cases, the document of transport issued by the Society or by its Agents as well as all the other papers required for transport, including the customs certificates;

d) to use for naval transport, in consideration of peculiarity of this transport, completely working vehicles, particularly for braking, suspension and rolling devices, with a maximum height of 4 mt. above ground;

e) to present for embarkation vehicles with load fixed and raised with care and all precautions required by goods typology and characteristics of vehicles according to criteria adapted to the naval transport;

f) to arrange at his/her exclusive care, expenses and risk, the fixing and raising of load, either on vehicle or within the container, as well as closing, covering and sealing of vehicle and/or transport cases. Carrier under no circumstances will be responsible for loss and/or damages to the load and/or to the vehicle/transport case deriving from deficiency or inadequacy or insufficiency of raising, closing or covering, as well as from overload of the vehicle/transport case, being understood that overloaded vehicles and transport cases travel at loader’s exclusive risk and will be liable to an extra freight, according to fare.

g) Likewise, the Company will be not responsible for loss and/or damages deriving from any other reason and/or caused to vehicles or transport cases indicated in this document and/or to goods therein contained, by any vehicle or transport case embarked on the same ship.

It is understood that in case of breakdown of the load, the restoration and other similar expenses will be charged to the party entitled for redelivering even if   paid in advance by the Company for safety reasons. The embarkation acceptance by the ship Command doesn’t imply the recognition of accuracy and truth of declarations given by loaders in the transport papers, neither of the existence of conditions as stated in points d), e) and f) in this article, with the subsequent exclusion of every responsibility by the ship Command and the Company, also towards third parties, with regard to declarations of loaders, requirements of vehicles and/or transport cases and arrangement of load. The loader will be however responsible for any damage to the ship and third parties resulting from non-fulfilments referable to the above listed duties as stated in points from a) to f) in this article.

4) When the consignee or driver of vehicles or transport cases presented for embarkation is different from the loader indicated in the transport paper, the above mentioned consignee or driver will sign the contract of transport in the name and on behalf of the loader as representative of him/her.

5) Missed departure

The loader who fails to present in time (see art.3 point b in this General Conditions) for departure his/her vehicles and or/transport cases which however are not embarked owing to the him/her, has no right to be refunded not even partially of the paid fare and  on the contrary is obliged to pay fully the transport fare, if not completed yet, as well as to repay the possible major damage.

6) The reservation, the issue of the document of transport and the payment of fare doesn’t constitute an obligation for the Society to have the ship ready to embark vehicles and/or transport cases neither imply that vehicles or transport cases will be actually embarked. The embarkation really depends on the needs of the Company and on board safety and on any other reason preventing embarkation.

If embarkation doesn’t take place owing to the Company, this last should only refund freight or the part of it already cashed, and it will be not responsible for any kind of expenses and damages.

7) The Society has the faculty to cancel the scheduled departure, to add or omit stops, to start or finish the trip in a port different from the scheduled one, to assign the ship to another line, to replace the ship, to anticipate or delay time of departure.

Likewise it is not obligatory for the Society to indicate scheduled date and time of arrival to the port of destination. In no one of the cases included in this article the Loader will have right to the repayment of damages and/or refund for any kind of expenses.

8) Embarkation and disembarkation, responsibilities

Embarkation and disembarkation of vehicles and transport cases take place at loaders’ and receivers’ own expenses, care, risk and responsibility, as the Company has no responsibilities neither towards third parties. The drivers of vehicles or tractors or any other means possibly employed (even if depending on port company or other third parties), in carrying out embarkation, disembarkation and pause operations, work as delegate of loaders and receivers who are also responsible for damages possibly caused by drivers, both to the ship and people and to things belonging to third parties, during the performance of embarkation, disembarkation and pause, both on board and on wharf.

9) Redelivery and deposit

When the ship arrives, the redelivery of vehicles and/or transport cases takes place upon the restitution to the Carrier of the documents of transport regularly signed for quittance. The accompanying drivers and/or receivers should pick up in good time their vehicles and/or transport cases when the ship is ready for the disembarkation operations.

If at the arrival vehicles and/or transport cases are not picked up in good time, the Society will act, always at loader’s and receiver’s expenses, risk and  responsibility, to land vehicle and /or transport case which will be redelivered only after refunding of all expenses due for transport and disembarkation operations.

If for any reason vehicles and/or transport cases couldn’t be redelivered to the loader or receiver for his/her absence or denial, they will be parked on land unattended at loader’s and/or receiver’s risk and the Society will be not responsible for damages and/or shortages to vehicles and/or transport cases and to the goods therein loaded and/or contained. Redelivering of vehicles and/or transport cases and their load should be understood as carried out (for specific contractual derogatory stipulation - ex art. 424 cod. Nav. - in favour of Carrier of regulation on responsibility as in art. 422 cod. Nav.) from the beginning of the unload operations even if carried out with ship’s means.

10) Loader’s duties

The vehicles on-board should be left with openable doors and keys inside, according to the instructions given by the ship command. Drivers should remain at disposal of the ship command and carry out the instructions possibly given by the same command, in particular in emergency cases.

11) The loader and the accompanying drivers should observe regulations and  directions of maritime, port, customs, sanitary and police Authorities. They will be responsible for any violation towards competent authorities and the Society. The Society will have right to compensation on them for any damage, expense, fine, administrative or any other kind sanctions deriving to It from the above mentioned violations.

12) The Society is not responsible for losses, breaking and deteriorations of goods loaded on vehicles and/or contained in transport cases, as well as for transportable items left in side the vehicles.

13) Dangerous goods

The loader is obliged to declare to the Society and/or to its officers the presence of dangerous goods on the vehicle and/or inside transport case before embarkation. Embarkation will be allowed according to the relative current regulations and should be expressly authorised in writing by the ship Command that will have faculty to put vehicles and/or transport cases on deck. To this aim loader will previously and expressly accept this collocation of vehicles.

If this condition will be not declared beforehand the loader will be unlimitedly responsible for any consequence deriving from this omission towards the Society and third parties, in civil, penal and administrative place.

14) Loading on and below deck

The Society has right to load vehicles and transport cases both on and below deck at its own exclusive discretion. Risks of losses and/or damages to vehicles and/or transport cases and to goods transported on and inside them will be charged to the loader and/or owner of vehicles.

15) Refrigerator vehicles

Refrigerator vehicles are subject to the security regulations indicated by RINA and competent authorities, regulations which forbid the use on-board of the energy sources of the vehicle. The ship on demand expressed by the Loader at the booking office, and in so far as electric outlets allow, will permit the connexion to the on-board circuit (220 V 50 cycle three-phase alternating current) only if vehicles are provided with the special explosion-proof connection approved by competent authority.

The connexion is allowed at risk and under responsibility of the loader towards the ship as well as third parties, excluding any responsibility of the Carrier and/or ship for power failure, black-out, voltage jumps and for any other fault and breakdown in the ship’s generation and distribution of electric current anyway derived and/or caused. The current supply will be refused and interrupted if, according to the ship Command, the refrigerator vehicle’s engine will prove to be not correctly working not granting thus the safety for the load and the ship. 

16) The declarations of the loader or his/her knowledge of quality, weight, value and/or conditions of the vehicle and/or transport cases and of the load therein estimated or the embarkation without reserves are not opposable to the Company and don’t imply recognition or responsibility for the Company.

17) Loading units

Without prejudice to the exclusions of responsibility indicated in this document, the vehicles (being understood as tractor and trailer), transport cases, goods and any other item therein contained, constitute at every legal effect, for specific acceptance by the loader, a single loading unit which is accepted by the loader without any declaration of value.

18) The Carrier is not responsible for damages caused by missed departure, delays or hindrances at the arrival. Moreover It is not responsible for losses and/or damages both to vehicles and/or transport cases and goods therein contained which could occur before and during the embarkation, on-board, during or after the disembarkation.

19) General average

General average will be regulated according with the York and Antwerp regulations of 1950/1974. The receivers before picking up goods should subscribe the “Lloyd’s Average Bond” as well as pay, out of provisional deposit, the dues that the shipping Company will define as guarantee of the definitive contribution and condition for the picking up of goods.

Deposits as in the 22nd of the above mentioned regulations will be paid in Messina on a special account registered jointly in two trustees’ names, i.e. the shipping Society and a representative chosen by the parties concerned with the load, at a bank chosen by mutual consent by the shipping Company and the parties concerned with the load.

To this aim, in the various ports of disembarkation, the deposits will be received by the officers of the shipping company who will send them immediately to Messina. The regulation of the general average will be held, in a friendly way, in Messina whatever the destination of embarked goods and will be drawn up by an average adjuster whose appointment is reserved to the shipping society.

The depositaries give up every opposition and are obliged to pay the contribution definitively fixed from the value of the loaded items in the general average Regulation.

20) Competent Court

Every controversy possibly arising with regard to this document of transport should be start before the judicial authorities of Messina, expressly derogating the competence of any other judicial Authority, both Italian and foreign, also depending on proceedings connection and enforcing absolutely the Italian law.