This was an appeal from a judgment of the Commercial Court of First Instance (7 December 2015, 2014/1207-2015/472).

The plaintiff, acting as the insurer, claimed that the insured goods, specifically containerised glass commodities, were damaged during sea carriage by the defendant. The plaintiff sought recovery from the defendant of the compensation that it had paid to its insured.

The defendant argued that the cargo had been loaded and stowed by the shipper in the container, without the defendant's involvement, as reflected in the bill of lading. The defendant contended that it had delivered the cargo in sound condition and thus should not be liable.

The Court of First Instance determined that the damage was discovered during the unloading at Mersin. The bill of lading included the notations 'said to contain' and 'shipper’s load, count, and statement', indicating that the goods were loaded and sealed by the shipper, and the defendant had received the cargo already stowed in the container for transport. The bill of lading itself was not sufficient to demonstrate the condition of the goods due to these disclaimers under art 1239 of the Turkish Commercial Code (TCC No 6100) [based on arts 3.3 and 3.4 of the Hague and Hague-Visby Rules]. Therefore, the Court held that it was necessary to provide additional evidence proving that the goods inside the containers were loaded onto the vessel and delivered to the carrier in sound condition. The plaintiff failed to present any document proving this. No structural damage was detected on the containers, and photographs taken before the containers were unloaded showed that the crates containing the glass commodities had not shifted, moved, or tilted inside the container. Consequently, the Court ruled that the plaintiff failed to prove that the goods had been delivered in sound condition, leading to the dismissal of the case.

The decision was appealed by the plaintiff.

Held: Appeal dismissed.

The Supreme Court of Appeal found no procedural or legal errors in the assessment of the evidence or the reasoning of the Commercial Court of First Instance's decision.