Conditions of Carriage

1. Pentland Ferries (hereinafter called ‘The Company’, which expression shall include where the context so permits its Charterers of Agents) GIVES NOTICE that it receives do shipment, Goods, Motor Vehicles and Livestock, subject to the conditions and agreement only of shipping the same under Carriage Note or Receipt in the form adopted by the Company, and if, from any cause whatsoever any Goods, Motor Vehicles and Livestock, are shipped without a Carriage Note or Receipt the Company is only liable to and only conveys and delivers the same on the terms of the Carriage Note or Receipt adopted by the Company and in the same manner as if the Carriage Note or Receipt containing these conditions has been signed and delivered to the shipper.
2. All passengers, Goods, Motor Vehicles and Livestock are accepted for carriage and are carried by the Company subject to these conditions which restrict, and in certain circumstances exclude, the liability of the Company for all loss and damage howsoever occasioned. These conditions apply at all times when the Company’s services, vessels and/or vehicles are used, and during all loading and unloading operations at assembly areas, piers and slipways whether or not these are owned or managed by the Company. Passengers, Shippers and intending Users are advised to hold adequate insurance.
3. The Company is not and shall not be held to be, a Common Carrier. It does not engage to ship the Goods, Motor Vehicles or Livestock in the first or particular vessel, or on the days of delivery to it, or an any particular day, but may send them in any vessel on any day and at any time, or may transship them from one Vessel to another.
4. The Company shall be entitled in its absolute discretion and without the requirement to give prior notice or assigning any reason, to refuse to receive or ship any Passengers, Goods, Motor Vehicles or Livestock, or any part thereof, notwithstanding it may previously been agreed to receive or ship the same.
5. All Goods, Motor Vehicles and Livestock shall be carried entirely at the Owners risk.
6. The vessels shall not be obliged to sail according to any advertisement, notice or timetable, but notwithstanding such advertisement, notice or timetable, may sail on any other day or at any other hour. They may sail with or without Pilots. They may tow and assist other vessels to be towed. They may call at ports in any order in either the outward or on the return voyage. They may call at, or stay at, any intermediate port whether on or off the customary route, for any purpose whatsoever and whether such calling is or is not mentioned in any advertisement, sailing bill notice or timetable.All the exceptions and stipulations in favour of the Company in these conditions shall continue to apply although the vessel may have deviated from the correct voyage although such deviation may amount to a change or abandonment of the voyage, any warranty or rule of law to the contrary notwithstanding, and all such deviation shall be deemed to be within the contract voyage.
7. Without prejudice to other provisions of these conditions, if in the opinion of the Company, the loading, carriage, transshipment, discharge or delivery is impeded directly or indirectly by the imminence, outbreak or existence of war, whether International or Civil, or by any exercise of control over the use of movements of the Vessel or Goods by any Government or other authority (which expression throughout this clause shall be deemed to include any Body or Organisation, International or otherwise purporting or claiming to exercise powers of a Government Authority) or by prohibition, restriction or control of intercourse, commercial or otherwise, by any Government or other Authority or by the taking of any measures by any Government or other Authority in consequence of or connected with any of the above matters, or by quarantine, sanitary customer or labour regulations, lock-outs, strikes or disturbances (whether the Company by party thereto or not) ice, earthquakes, surf, stress of weather or congestion of the port, absence from any cause of full facilities for loading, discharge or delivery, or by any danger or delay howsoever caused to the Vessel and/or delay or detain the Vessel at or off any port or place, and/or transship and forward and put into hulk lighter or craft, or land or store or otherwise dispose of Goods and all at the expense of the Owners of the Goods.
8. The Vessel and/or the Company shall have liberty to comply with any orders, directions or advice as to departure, arrival, routes, ports of loading, call or discharge, stoppages trans-shipment, discharge or destination or otherwise, howsoever given by any Government or any department thereof, or by any committee or persons having under the terms of the War Risks Insurance on the Vessel the right to give such orders or directions; and if by any reason of and/or in compliance with any such order or directions anything is done or is not done, the same shall not be deemed a deviation and delivery in accordance with such orders or directions, or in the case of passengers arrival at the port shall be a fulfilment of the contact voyage and the freight, or the passenger fare, as the case may be, shall be payable accordingly.
9. Goods, Motor Vehicles and Livestock may be carried from port to port until it suits the convenience of the Vessel to discharge them at the port of discharge. The Company will not be accountable for the number of livestock entered in the Manifest (such number being taken on the representation of the Shippers) nor for the correct selection of each Owner’s respective stock on landing. Goods warehoused for any reason whatsoever, agree as during transit, entirely at the risk of the parties to whom they belong.
10. Unless otherwise agreed, all lighterage, cartage, rail or other haulage, whether before or after shipment in or on the Vessel will be entirely the Owner’s expense.
11. The Company is not liable for any damage or injury to or loss of Goods, Motor Vehicles and Livestock (whether arising out of its or its Servant’s or Agents negligence or not) before, at shipment or during the passage, whether on deck or in the hold or at or after landing, or while otherwise in its custody, or in ferries or gangways or in or on boats, piers, assembly areas, slipways, offices and waiting rooms owned, managed or in any matter of ways used by the Company and without prejudice to the above general provision the Company is not liable for loss or damage howsoever arising from any of the following causes, or from any consequences of these causes (whether arising out of its or its Servant’s or Agent’s negligence or not), viz ‘delay by the vessels not sailing according to appointment, putting back, being detained, lost, damaged or injured, or making deviations, accidents losses or damage arising from the Act of God, the Queen’s enemies, pirates, restraints of princes, rulers and people, or legal process, strikes of crew or other workmen on board, or on shore; jettison, barratry, collision, stranding, vermin, fire on board or in the hulk, craft, shed, store or on shore; theft, robbery, or pilferage of whatever kind, whether on land or afloat, wheresoever occurring, whether suspected or proved or whether by passengers, persons in the employment of the ship, or any other person whatsoever, perils of the sea, rivers and navigation; from machinery, boilers, oil, steam or navigation; unseaworthiness or unfitness of the Vessels, and/or Ferryboats, at or after the commencement of the voyage, breaking down of the ship or machinery; mortality or overcrowding of livestock, kicking, plunging, vice or restlessness of Livestock; or from unne, manure, water or drainage from Livestock, defects of ventilation, ballasting, or stowage, breakage, short weight, deficiency in number, leakage, rust, stains, decay, sweating, smell, or contact with other Goods, insufficiency of packages, want of or insufficiency of accuracy in address or marks; or from any act, neglect, or mistake in judgement, defaults of the Master, mariners engineers or others of the crew of the Vessels, whether employees of the Company or not, or with the loading, discharge, stowage, storage, carriage, or handling of the Goods, Motor Vehicles and Livestock, whether before, during the voyage or after. The Company shall in no case be liable for less in Markets, Fairs or Sales. This release and indemnity is given not only to the Company itself but also to each and everyone of its Servants and Agents, and the exemption from liability afforded thereby to the Company shall extend to each such Servant and Agent.
12. Where Ferry boats are provided, such are provided only for the convenience of the Consignors, Consignees or Owners of Goods, Motor Vehicles and Livestock being held to be completed at the ship’s side without signature when they leave the vessel’s deck whether they are discharged at pier, into Ferryboat or into boat sent out to meet the vessel. In the event of owners or consignees not providing means to take delivery at the ship’s side, the Company reserves the right to detain Goods, Motor Vehicles or Livestock on board, in store or otherwise, or land them, at its discretion and entirely at the risk and expense of the owners of the said Goods, Motor Vehicles or Livestock are only to be held to be received for conveyance when they reach the vessels deck. Horses, Cattle, and Livestock of any kind must be accompanied by someone in charge provided by the sender or owner of the stock in the performance of such duty.
13. The Company does not undertake to send notice of the Arrival of Goods, Motor Vehicles or Livestock to Consignees, nor will it be accountable for the delivery or forwarding or custody of the same after being landed. If Goods, Motor Vehicles or Livestock consigned to order, or otherwise, are not claimed immediately on landing, the same shall be entirely at the sole risk of the Owners thereof.
14. The Company undertakes no responsibility for the safe custody or delivery of, nor will it be accountable for any loss which may happen to any Bullion, Bank Notes or other Negotiable Securities, Title Deeds, Clocks, Watches, Jewellery, Precious Stones, Paintings, Prints, Statuary, Silk Lace, Furs, Gold or Silver of any kind, or other articles of value, either before or at shipment, during transit, in landing or afterwards, whether conveyed in charge of Passengers or otherwise.
15. All Goods, Motor Vehicles, Livestock are subject to a general lien. The said lien extends not only for the freight of the said Goods, Motor Vehicles and Livestock, but for all other freights or arrears of freight, storage or charges due by the Consignors, Consignees or Owners thereof, to the Company and whether the freights, arrears of freights, storage or charges are in respect of Goods, Motor Vehicles or Livestock upon which the lien is exercised or of any Goods, Motor Vehicles or Livestock handled at any time by the Company, such as general lien shall be exercisable by sale without notice to the Owners at such time and in such manner as the Company may desire and it may deduct from the proceeds of the sale the cost and expenses of and incidental to such sale.
16. These conditions shall, subject to the provisions of the current Road Traffic Acts or other Acts apply to Coach Traffic whether conducted by animal or motor or by other power, except in so far as they are applicable to Coaches; and in the case of Coaches, these conditions shall be read submitting the word ‘Coach’ for the word ‘Vessel’ wherever the latter word occurs.
17. These conditions also apply to Passengers, except in so far as they are inapplicable to them, and in the case of Passengers, these conditions shall be so read as if the word ‘Passengers’ were substituted for the word ‘Goods’ wherever the latter word occurs.
18. Passengers travelling by Vessels are allowed 50kg of Luggage free. All beyond these quantities will only be taken by special arrangement with the Company, their Agents, or the Purser of the Vessel. Carriage of Motor Vehicles and Livestock previously arranged for (and in all cases entirely at their Owners risk) will be taken by the Company’s vessels, provided there are suitable persons in charge. Dogs and Cycles are carried entirely at their Owner’s risk, both as to any injury or damage whatever, done to themselves, or any injury or damage they may do to anyone or anything in any way. Owners require to see to their Dogs and Cycles themselves.
19. With regard to Through Tickets, the contract of each carrying Company and liability thereof is limited to its own Vessels, Ferries, Coaches, Railways or Aeroplanes. In cases where the journey is not continuous, Through Tickets do not include the cost of transfer between Railway and/or Aeroplane Termini in Towns or between Railway Stations, Coaches, Ferries and Vessels. All Tickets are issued subject to the Conditions and Regulation referred to in the Timetables, Bills and Notices of the Authorities, Companies or Owners on whose Railway’s, Coaches, or Vessels they are available, and they are issued by the Company as Agents for and on behalf of the other Authorities, Companies or Owners on whose Railways, Coaches or Vessels are available.
20. In cases of average, same to be settled in accordance with York – Antwerp rules, 1974.
21. No Agent or Servant of the Company has authority to dispense with or vary any of these conditions, and all Passengers Tickets and Bills of Lading and other Receipts for Goods, Motor Vehicles and Livestock, signed by any Agent or Servant of the Company shall be subject to these Conditions, whether or not the same be repeated therein.
22. In the case of Goods, Motor Vehicles or Livestock consigned to a destination entailing carriage by rail, such carriage shall be subject to the conditions set out in the appropriate regulations relating to the carriage of merchandise by passenger train or other similar service.
23. The Company or its Agents are not storekeepers or warehousemen.
24. In these conditions (unless contrary to the context) ‘Goods’ includes all cargo and other property, except Motor Vehicles and Livestock, and includes Passenger Luggage. ‘Motor Vehicles’ includes all carriages (whether self propelled or not) Lorries, Omnibuses, Motor Coaches, Motorcars, Motor Cycles and other mechanically propelled vehicles ‘Livestock’ includes all living animals. ‘Passengers’ includes persons in charge of Goods, Motor Vehicles or Livestock. These conditions apply to Vessels and Coaches which may be chartered or hired, as well as to Vessels and Coaches belonging to the Company. In these conditions a general condition shall not be restricted in its application by express special conditions.
25. All Passengers, Goods, Motor Vehicles and Livestock are subject to search at the request of the Company or third Parties duly authorised. All passengers and shippers agree to such search.
26. The Terms and Conditions shall be governed by Scots Law and any disputes thereunder shall be determined in Scotland according to Scots Law.

Addendum relating to the carriage of Passengers
and their Luggage and Vehicles

The provision of the Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea 1974 (hereinafter referred to as ‘The Athens Convention’) shall be deemed to be incorporated in the forgoing Conditions of Carriage, and such of said Conditions of Carriage as are compatible with the Athens Convention shall be of no effect.

The Athens Convention in most cases limits the carrier’s liability for death or personal injury or loss or damage to luggage (including a vehicle) and makes special provision for valuables. The Athens Convention presumes that luggage has been delivered undamaged unless a written notice is given to the carrier in the case of apparent damage, before or at the time of disembarkation or redelivery, or in the case of damage which is not apparent or of loss within 15 days, from the date of disembarkation or redelivery, or from the time when such redelivery should have taken place. Passengers should note that under the Athens Convention any action for damages arising out of the death or of personal injury to a passenger, or for the loss or damage to luggage (including a vehicle) shall be time-barred after a period of two years.

The foregoing paragraphs relating to the incorporation of the Athens Convention in foregoing Conditions of Carriage shall not be constructed so as to restrict or remove the right of the Company (as defined in the Conditions of Carriage) to any limitation of or exemption from liability accorded to Ship-owners or other persons by the statute or rule of law for the time being in force.

A copy of the Athens Convention can be seen on request at the Company’s offices.

CARRIAGE OF DANGEROUS GOODS BY SEA

Shippers attention is drawn to their responsibility as per the requirements of the Merchant Shipping (Dangerous Goods) Regulations 1997, and the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. The recommendations of the I.M.D.G Code also form part of these Conditions of Carriage. No person must send or attempt to send or carry such goods without giving written notice of the nature of these goods to the Company or Master at or before the time of sending the same to be shipped, or taking the same on board. The Goods must be packaged appropriately and capable of withstanding the ordinary risks and carriage by sea. The Goods must be durably marked and labelled with the relevant technical name – trade names alone shall not be used. A packing certificate must be provided (this applies to all Goods, not merely Dangerous Goods). The statute also strictly prohibits the sending of Dangerous Goods under false description and the giving of a false description of the sender or carrier. Contravention of the statute involves serious penalties.

The Consignors of Livestock, and all others concerned, are held responsible for compliance with any laws or regulations in operation as to the removal thereof, and will be held responsible for any penalties or damages resulting from non-observance of such laws or regulations.

Regulations for the conveyance of Petrol, Fuel Oil and cylinders of Liquefied Hydrocarbon Gas in accompanied Motor Cars, Dormobiles, Caravans or Baggage Trailers, carried by sea.

In these regulations, ‘Vehicle’ shall mean any motor car, dormobile, caravan, baggage trailer, motor cycle combination, motor scooter or moped.

No vehicle shall be tendered for carriage by sea if it contains any gas or inflammable liquid (whether or not in separate containers) save that –
2.1 on all vessels operating on the Company’s routes the vehicle may contain the quantity of petrol or fuel oil remaining in the main fuel tank; and

2.2 Vehicles may carry cylinders of Liquefied Hydrocarbon Gas (e.g. Bottogas, Calor Gas) provided that: –

2.2.1 the vehicle shall be at the point of shipment 30 minutes before the advertised latest time for motor cars

2.2.2 the maximum number of cylinders carried in any vehicle shall be three, except in the case of small expendable cartridges, hermetically sealed and packed in an outer container, when up to twelve may be carried.

2.2.3 all cylinders shall be adequately secured in the vehicle by the owner against movement of the ship.

2.2.4 all cylinders shall be declared in writing to the Shipping Officer before shipment. Cylinders with filling stations seals intact, and un-pierced expendable cartridges will not be subject to test. All unsealed cylinders (whether full, partially used or ’empty’) with valves closed shall be produced or be readily assessable for testing for leakage by a representative of the Company. No pierced expendable cartridges shall be carried in any vehicle and any such cartridge must be discarded before shipment.

2.2.5 unsealed cylinders not of British manufacture, which may be of such construction, that the recognised test cannot be applied, will be accepted for shipment if they are disconnected from the vehicle and carried on the open deck of the ship clear of passengers spaces. The owner’s car registration number shall be chalked on each such cylinder, which must be claimed by the owner on disembarking.

2.2.6 any cylinder found to be leaking will not be accepted for shipment.

2.2.7 After inspecting or testing, and before shipment, all cylinders shall be re-secured in the vehicle by the owner to the satisfaction of the Company’s representative.

2.2.8 passengers will NOT be allowed access to any vehicles containing cylinders after loading except in the presence of a ship’s officer or member of the crew.

3. In the case of any vehicle which, in accordance with these Regulations may be tendered for carriage with petrol or fuel oil in the main fuel tank of the vehicle.

3.1 the fuel supply shall be shut off.

3.1.1 In the case of gravity feed, by closing the cock;

or

3.1.2 In the case of a pump feed, by stopping the engine;

and

3.2 the fuel tank shall not have been overfilled before loading.

 

4. No vehicle shall be tendered for carriage loaded with another vehicle or motor boat which contains any gas or inflammable liquid whether in the fuel tank or elsewhere.

For Pentland Ferries

A Banks
Director