| TITLE |
DESCRIPTION |
| B.D.I. |
Both days inclusive. |
| Bailee |
A party (eg port &/or dock authority, warehouseman, container operator, etc) who enters into a contract of bailment with the bailor to look after the goods whilst in the care of the bailee. The overseas carrier is also a bailee in regard to the contract of carriage. A bailee has an insurable interest in his potential liability under the contract. |
| Bailee Clause |
Prior to the introduction of the Institute Cargo Clauses (1982) most sets of cargo clauses incorporated the bailee clause. Its purpose was to direct the attention of the assured to his duty to protect insurers’ interests by preserving all rights against carriers and other bailees. Whilst the clause does not appear in the Institute Cargo Clauses (1982), its substance appears in the ‘duty of the assured’ clause, therein. |
| Bailor |
A party who entrusts his goods to a bailee under a contract of bailment. |
| Ballast |
Material carried in a vessel to ensure stability when the vessel is without cargo, or with only a small amount of cargo. A vessel is said to be “in ballast” at such times. The passage is called a ‘ballast passage”. A ship proceeds in ballast when she is en route to another port for the purpose of picking up cargo. |
| Ballast Passage |
A ballast passage occurs when the vessel is on a passage from one port to another without cargo. |
| Bareboat Charter |
Under this form of time charter the charterer hires the vessel and pays all expenses incurred during the period of the charter. The Institute Time Clauses (Hulls) automatically terminate the policy if the assured hires out his vessel on bareboat charter without first obtaining written approval from the insurers to continue the contract during the charter hire. |
| Barge |
Either dumb or powered, barges are mainly used for bulk cargo carriage, but are also used for the carriage of goods from ship to shore or vice versa and for onward carriage where the overseas vessel cannot navigate due to the shallow draught required. A dumb barge is one without means of propulsion and it is usual for such barges to be towed individually, or in strings, by powered barges or tugs. |
| Barratry |
The MIA, 1906, defines barratry as a wrongful act, wilfully committed, by the master or crew to the prejudice of the shipowner, or, as the case may be, the charterer. The peril is covered by the Institute Hull clauses, but is subject to due diligence on the part of the owners, managers or charterers. The peril does not apply to cargo insurance and is not incorporated in cargo policies. |
| Basis of Valuation |
Declarations under an open cover must not exceed the limit any one vessel as provided by the cover. Subject to this, shipments may be declared even after loss provided the shipments come within the scope of the cover. To protect the insurer regarding the declared value of such late shipments a clause is inserted in the open cover defining the basis which shall be used to reach the acceptable insured value.The basis normally includes the prime cost of the goods, plus insurance charges, freight and a fixed percentage representing the profit to the seller. |
| Bilge |
A drainage space in a ship. The bilges are located at the lowest part on each side of the ship (i.e. at the curbed portion which lies between the side shell plating and the bottom shell plating). Surplus water in the ship is drained into the bilge tanks from which it is pumped out of the ship. |
| Bill of Lading |
A shipping document prepared by the shipping agent and containing a complete description of the goods to be shipped. The carrier signs the bill of lading, but will qualify it if the goods are unsound or improperly packed. He may refrain from qualifying the bill if the shipper is prepared to give him a letter of indemnity to protect him from liability for damage to the goods. An unqualified bill is called “Clean” and a qualified bill is called “Foul”, “Dirty” or “Unclean”. A “Clean” bill is only prima facie evidence that the goods were sound when shipped. A bill of lading may be “Shipped” or “Received for Shipment”. |
| BIMCO |
Baltic and International Maritime Conference. |
| Bona Fide |
Made in good faith. |
| Bonded Goods |
Goods, on which duty has not been paid, held in bond either by the Customs or in a bonded warehouse. Goods which are only in the port for transhipment are held in bond. |
| Bordereau |
Plural Bordereaux. A French word in common use in the insurance market. A schedule or list. It may be used in reinsurance and treaties where details of the month’s or quarter’s underwriting entries by the original company are submitted on bordereaux. |
| Both to Blame Collision Clause |
In marine insurance this clause is referred to in the Institute Cargo Clauses where it is stated that the assured shall not be prejudiced by reason of signing a contract of affreightment containing the “Both to Blame Collision Clause”. The clause in the contract of affreightment protects the carrier who has indirectly paid part of the collision damage to his own cargo by reason of the operation of some foreign laws. |
| Breach of Condition |
When a condition of the insurance is broken by the assured the insurer may avoid the contract from inception. |
| Breach of Contract |
Where one of two parties to a contract breaks one of the conditions of the contract whereby the aggrieved party suffers a wrong or injury, the aggrieved party has the right to sue for damages for breach of contract. The marine broker being the agent of the assured, there is an implied contract between the agent and his principal, so that if this principal suffers a wrong or injury due to the broker’s negligence the broker may be sued for damages in respect of breach of contract under the law of agency. |
| Breach of Warranty |
Whether or not it affects a claim on the policy the assured must literally comply with a warranty in the policy. In the event of breach of warranty by the assured the insurer is, automatically, discharged from all liability as from the date of the breach; but he remains liable for insured losses occurring prior to that date. |
| Break Bulk |
Method of carrying cargo. Sometimes termed “conventional carriage”. It is carriage of goods other than by unit carriage (eg containers). Generally, the term is applied to goods that have been carried to a certain point by container, or some other form of unit carriage, and have been removed from the container for onward carriage. |
| Breakage |
Ordinary breakage is considered to arise out of negligence and is not contemplated as an insured marine peril by the insurer when assessing the premium rate. For this reason ordinary breakage, which occurs on fragile goods such as glass, china, asbestos sheets and earthenware, is excluded from the policy by the Marine Insurance Act (Section 55 (2)(C)) unless the policy specifically includes “breakage”. Obviously a high rate would be charged by the insurer to include the risk on fragile goods. |
| Breakdown Clause |
Applies to refrigerating machinery in a vessel as specified in the clause. The clause attaches to policies covering goods which are subject to deterioration due to non-refrigeration and/or delay. It provides that the insurer shall be liable for any deterioration proximately caused by the breakdown of machinery but only when the breakdown period exceeds 24 hours or some other specified period. |
| Bulk Cargo Carrier |
Vessels employed exclusively in carriage of bulk cargoes. The term is generally used for coke or coal carriers. |
| Bulk Oil Clauses |
A set of Institute trade clauses published in February 1983. In general, cover follows the same pattern as the Institute B clauses (1982), but relating to loss and/or contamination of the cargo. Additional risks include leakage from pipelines during loading, etc; negligence of masters, officers or crew in pumping cargo ballast or fuel; and contamination due to stress of weather. The usual exclusions are incorporated, except deliberate damage and, of course, insufficiency of packing, etc. Duration of cover is from tank to tank with a 30 day time limit after the carrier arrives are the discharge port. A special claims adjustment clause is incorporated. |
| Bullion |
Gold or silver valued by its weight, ignoring its coin value. |
| Bunkers |
A term used for fuel on which the ship is run. It derives from the storage space for the fuel which is called a “bunker”. |
| Bureau Veritas |
This is a French Classification Society. Vessels registered with the Bureau Veritas may appear in Lloyd’s Register with the notation BV shown. The cypher to denote full class in the Bureau Veritas Register is 3/3 L1.1. |
