Marine Perils

A sea voyage is exposed to many perils, some such as, willful acts, loss of market due to delay, or anything that is illegal and contrary to public policy are not insurable. However, many fortuitous perils are insurable. The MIA states that marine insurance shall provide cover against perils of the sea- in a manner and to extent thereby agreed between the assured and the insurer. In brief, examples of the perils that may affect the vessel and the cargo are:

The Vessel

• Contact with exterior items, e.g. bridges, docks, cranes, or other equipment concerned with cargo handling, rocks, aircrafts, and objects dropped there from
• War, strikes and malicious acts
• Pollution by cargo or fuel
• Accidental damage to the vessel while loading, discharging, or shifting cargos.
• Negligence of officers, crew, pilot’s charterer or repairers
• Barratry of the master, officers or crew
• Fire, volcanic eruption, or explosion
• Piracy or damage of vessel by violent theft
• Action of normal atmospheric conditions such as rain, sun and waves
• The chemical reaction of steel with cargo carried or with sea water
• General average sacrifice

The Cargo

• Contact with exterior items- contamination by taste, smell color, quality, taint by oil chemical, water, sweat, condensation etc.
• Fire, smoke heat, spontaneous combustion or explosion
• Piracy, pilferage or theft
• Action of normal atmospheric conditions – wind, rain sun and waves
• General average sacrifice
• War, strike, deliberate damage or destruction, radioactive contamination
• Washing overboard
• Impact damage during loading or discharge, crushing, breaking loose during the voyage, denting, scratching, brushing, accident to mode of transport
• Rust, oxidation and discoloration
• Twisting and bending
• Short -delivery, non-delivery, mysterious disappearances
• Tearing of bags due to hooks slings, fork lift trucks
• Inherent vices
• Breakage, cracking, chipping or leakage