About the Author(s)
Mazhar Ali Nanjiani
The writer has over 30 years of diverse experience in the field of education, most of which was spent at Jennings Private Secondary School and the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (IVS), Karachi. He has an MA in English Literature from the University of Karachi, an LLM from the Sindh Muslim Govt., Law College, Karachi, an MS in Educational Administration from Hofstra University, New York, and is presently pursuing a PhD in Education from Greenwich University, Karachi.
The term Short Landing has been asked quite often in the LL.B., Part I paper IV in the ‘Law of Carriage of Goods’ portion but nothing is written in the usual course books under this heading, neither any definition or explanation can be found while consulting various law dictionaries and other relevant books under the subject of law (This was the situation in 1986) hence, this paper.
The term Short Landing means that the goods or merchandise which are imported, at the time they reach their destination, are short in quantity, or packets, as we can say they are not equal to the number mentioned in the Bill of Lading.
When a person wants to import goods from abroad, he contacts the concerned dealers of that merchandise in his country. For the payment of those goods he contacts his banker, who gives guarantee to the bankers of the dealers from whom the goods are to be purchased. The contract is made and before the goods are sent, the papers come to the banker of the importer, consisting of three documents, mainly:
- Bill of Lading, giving the description of the goods which will be coming.
- Certificate of Origin, that the goods are manufactured in the same country from which they are sent, and
- Certificate of Originality, that the goods are original/ genuine, or of No. 1 quality, or first quality.
When the goods reach the port of destination, they are not handed over directly to the importer, but are received by the Port Trust. Then the goods are inspected by the port authorities whether there is any objectionable item, whether the same amount or quantity mentioned in the bill of lading has arrived and whether the goods are in good condition or are damaged. If they are damaged, the port authorities note it down in the POR (Port Out-turn Report) or in their log book. If the goods are short in number, i.e., if it is mentioned that 100 cartons have been sent and only 85 have reached the port, then the port issues a certificate of Short Landing saying that the merchandise is short. During the inspection; 1. A representative of the shipping company, 2. The Insurance Company, and 3. The importer, may also be present.
The certificate of Short Landing is received by the importer, who takes it to the insurance company and makes his claim. When the claim has been settled, the importer signs a letter of subrogation in favour of the insurance company that full and final settlement has been done. The insurance company then makes inquiries ans makes a claim from the port authorities or the shipping company, whoever it thinks is responsible for the damages or loss of the goods. If the claim is settled, well and good, otherwise the insurance company may also file a suit against the shipping company or whoever is responsible for the loss and / or damages on the basis of the letter of subrogation.
Letter of subrogation is issued by the importer as well as by the clearing agent, certifying his settlement with the insurance company and in turn the insurance company can recover from those who are responsible and liable to compensate the original importer.
Short Landing is of three kinds
- When goods are misplaced in the ship.
- When the goods are misplaced or stolen from the port.
- When due to the negligence of the seller, less amount of goods are shipped from the beginning.
S.T.C. (Said to Contain): The contents as mentioned on the bill of lading. The port and shipping company is responsible for the carton only but not its contents. It is the duty of the customs to check what is inside the cartons.
The above write-up was explained to me on request by Advocate (Late) Aziz Malik when I was a student of LL.B., at the Sindh Muslim Govt. Law College, Karachi. Draft was checked by Mr. (Late) Saleem Thaver – Director, Services International, Clearing Forwarding and Shipping Agents. I am grateful to both these gentlemen.
Later on I found the Pakistan Shipping Guide by Commander M. M. Yusuf, 1969-1971. The passage below is quoted from page 141 of that book:
“Short Landing of goods
In accordance with the international shipping and trading practices, the buyer’s action for short landing should be against the carriers through their local agents. It is the responsibility of the carriers to deliver the goods in good order as they have certified having received them in good order from the sellers by issuing a Clean Bill of Lading.
The reponsibility of delivering of goods to the Port Trust, as per Bill of Lading, rests with the steamer’s agent. The Port Trust issues a receipt to the steamer’s agent for full or part delivery of the goods as the case may be. The port trust them makes deliveries to the consignees. For short landing of the goods, the responsibility is that of the steamer’s agent. The importer’s claim, if any, is therefore to be lodged with the steamer’s agent.
In case the Port Trust receives the goods in full but later on, a shortage is discovered at the time of giving delivery to the importers, a claim is to be lodged with the Port Trust.
Intimation of claim is to be given in both the cases, to the insurers together with a copy of each of the following:
- Letter addressed to the Steamer’s Agent/ Port Trust.
- Short Landing Certificate.
- Survey Report.
Thereafter the insurers will meet the claim of the importers and pursue the matter further with the carriers under right of subrogation.” (Yusuf, 1969-1971)
Yusuf, C. M. (1969-1971). Short Landing . In Pakistan Shipping Guide (p. 141).
