The coming weeks will bring continued uncertainty in the transport industry due to governments prioritising specific supplies, consumer spending decreases and personnel shortages. At the same time, the need for the supply chain of essentials – foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment – to remain robust and efficient remains critical.

Against this backdrop, freight transport specialist insurer, TT Club is warning that all sectors in the industry will be under pressure by customers and suppliers to help mitigate potential issues, losses and liabilities, in variously complex scenarios at ports, terminals and warehouses, as well as for carriers, forwarders and logistics companies.

“As we have advised in the past, fundamentally there is a need to communicate; to have an open dialogue with customers and suppliers and a good understanding of fast-changing controls and regulations imposed by local, national and even international authorities,” comments Peregrine Storrs-Fox (pictured), TT Club’s risk management director.

“The physical movement of cargo is understandably experiencing delays due to cancelled ship sailings, shortage of air freight capacity and land border checks and these disruptions to the norm will cause friction between the various links in the chain. An understanding of ‘what is going on’ by participants in the chain will serve to ease such friction.

“Any party seeking in the event of a future dispute to rely on a force majeure defence may well face the burden of evidencing that they took all reasonable steps to mitigate the loss."

TT Club's dedicated page of materials on this topic will no doubt serve as a useful resource for transport industry stakeholders: https://www.ttclub.com/resources/coronavirus-guidance/

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