Hague-Visby Rules
International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading (Brussels, 1924), as amended by the Visby Protocol 1968 and the SDR Protocol 1979
When it applies
Carriage of goods by sea under a bill of lading, where the bill is issued in a contracting state, the carriage is from a port in a contracting state, or the contract incorporates the Rules. The most widely applied sea regime in world trade.
Limit
Article IV rule 5(a)666.67 SDR per package or unit, or 2 SDR per kilogram of gross weight of the goods lost or damaged — whichever produces the higher figure.
Notice of loss
Article III rule 6Notice in writing before or at the time of removal of the goods where the loss is apparent; within three days of delivery where it is not apparent. Missing the notice is not fatal to the claim, but it costs the shipper the presumption and puts the burden of proving the condition on delivery back on them.
Time bar
Article III rule 6One year from delivery, or from the date the goods should have been delivered. Extendable only by agreement.
When the limit is lost
The carrier loses the limit where the damage resulted from an act or omission done with intent to cause damage, or recklessly and with knowledge that damage would probably result. Also where the shipper declared the nature and value of the goods and it was inserted in the bill of lading.
What the cap pays on a sample consignment
Applying the published limit to a sample consignment of 1,000 kg gross, 10 packages, invoice value US$120,000. The consignment is an illustration chosen so the arithmetic is checkable — it is not an average, a typical shipment or a measurement.
No conversion between SDR and any currency is shown. The International Monetary Fund revalues the SDR every business day, so a converted figure printed on a page is wrong by the time it is read.
What this means for cover
The per-kilogram figure is what bites on dense, valuable cargo. A container of anything worth more than a couple of SDR a kilogram is under-protected by the Rules by design — that gap is the reason cargo cover exists.
Other sea regimes
Sources
This page summarises the instruments above. It is not the wording, and it is not legal advice. Where a summary conflicts with a convention text, a policy wording or a certificate, that document governs.
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