The Singer Co. (U.K.) Ltd. and another v. Tees and Hartlepool Port Authority (The Serra Dourada) - Q.B.D. (Com.Ct.) (Steyn J.) - 1 February 1988

Sub-bailment on terms - Whether exclusion clause reasonable

The plaintiffs’ drilling machine was crated and delivered by freight forwarders to the defendant port authority to be loaded on board the vessel Serra Dourada for carriage to Brazil. In the course of the loading operation (which was done by the defendant’s employees) the crate was suspended from the crane hook by two wire slings. As the crate was swung over the vessel’s hatch the crate broke; the machine fell from the crate and was badly damaged.