The plaintiff shipped 60 drums of chloramphenicol on board the Nedlloyd Leuve for carriage from Bremen, Germany, to Chittagong, Bangladesh. The first defendant/carrier failed to deliver the cargo when the ship berthed in Chittagong. The second defendant, the carrier's local agent, MM Isphahani Ltd, acknowledged a short landing and the Chittagong Port Trust also issued a certificate to that effect. The plaintiff sent its claim bill for BDT 1,027,502 for the total value of the goods lost plus interest. The defendants argued, among other things, that there was no disclosure of the actual value of the cargo in the bill of lading and that the defendants could at best be held liable to pay the plaintiff GBP 100 per package for the loss, as per the package limitation clause in the relevant bills of lading, and that the plaintiff was not entitled to any interest.

Held: Judgment for the plaintiff.

On behalf of the defendants it has been contended that the plaintiff is not entitled to more than GBP 100 per drum of the cargo. The Court's attention has been drawn to art 4.5 of the Hague Rules, which reads as follows:

Neither the carrier nor the ship shall in any event be or become liable for any loss or damage to or in connection with goods in an amount exceeding £100 per package or unit, or the equivalent of that sum in other currency, unless the nature and value of such goods have been declared by the shipper before shipment and inserted in the bill of lading.

There is no substance in the above contention. The bill of lading and the attached statement show that the nature and value of the cargo were clearly declared by the shipper before the shipment. The plaintiff is entitled to realise the value of the cargo from the carrier and the insurer, but as it has failed to substantiate its claim for 20% interest per annum on the value of the goods not delivered, that claim is rejected. Judgment for the full value of the cargo.