Lines question where Spoornet's liability begins

WHILE THE shipping lines proclaim themselves happy about the Spoornet/Price Forbes reaction to their published complaints about the new insurance scheme (FTW February 20, 1998), they still profess to have a number of unanswered questions on the issue.
Never mind the latest information that has been released (FTW February 27, 1998), said Syd Oram of Durban-based Mariott Insurance and adviser to the ASL (Association of Shipping Lines) and ASABOSA (Association of Ships Agents and Brokers of SA). We are still waiting for answers to questions that we posed to Spoornet at two meetings last year.
Three of these questions are of a critical level, Oram added. If they (Spoornet) had communicated and responded to the questions raised by the lines at these meetings, he said, we wouldn't have this situation of uncertainty.
A primary concern for the lines, according to Oram, is - under the new scheme where Spoornet insure the cargo on its inland rail leg - where is the hand-over point from the carrier to Spoornet.
In other words, asked Oram, where does Spoornet's liability begin?
If the sea carrier issues a through bill-of-lading (BoL) to Johannesburg, for example - and a high proportion of the containers landed in Durban do move up-country on this basis - then the shipping line is responsible through to Johannesburg, according to Oram.
If a claim arises on that landside leg, he said, the cargo underwriter will automatically ask: Who is the carrier?
So, of course we are interested on behalf of the cargo owners in what happens to the cargo after a landing order is created - and where the hand-over points are.
Oram also points to the lines still waiting for some sort of detailed example of the terms and conditions of the insurance scheme. What is the exact policy and contract wording? he asked.
The lines also have concern about the actual limits of indemnity. We have had a fairly vague and generalised summary of these limits, said Oram. The R500 000 and R60 000 limits. But we need to know the fine detail of the indemnity structure, and all its possible implications.
Even that R500 000 limit raises questions.
The half-million is a moot point, said Oram. We accept that Price Forbes has done its research on container content values, but will the maximum indemnity remain at R500 000?
As a benchmark, it is very dependent on things like the exchange rate - and the real value (against US dollar terms) of the goods. In the last eight months, for example, the rand has slipped by about 15%. So, will there be some sort of annual allowance added to the indemnity to cover this sort of thing?
We don't know. We need to be told.
Oram asserts that he has no doubts about the research that has gone into the scheme , nor the professionalism of Price Forbes in the insurance industry. But, he added adamantly: The level of communication from Spoornet so far has been been very poor.
Nobody's in a points-scoring game. What the ASL/ASABOSA are entitled to is full details of the contracts involved in the scheme.
We are not complaining, as has been averred, but asking.