One third of Yantian Express cargo owners refuse to pay general average

One third of the owners of cargo aboard the Yantian Express, which caught fire in January, have refused to pay towards the general average.

The general average, declared by shipping company Hapag-Lloyd, means that those with a financial investment in the vessel or its cargo pay for a proportionate amount of any losses due to an incident, such as a fire, in order for delivery of the cargo to be completed.

However, several months after the incident, only two thirds of cargo owners have paid towards the general average and salvage security, likely because businesses have deemed it not financially worthwhile to retrieve the cargo in question.

This means those who have already paid may have to bear extra costs to make up for the shortfall.

In February, 202 containers were declared lost, while another 460 stored in areas hit by the fire required inspection. Hapag-Lloyd blamed adverse weather conditions off the Canadian coast.

All crew were rescued from the ship and no injuries were reported.

Source: The Loadstar