Q: Several friends' shipments were delayed & cost more than expected this past summer.
Isn't the Intl Shipping company responsible to deliver the shipment on a timely basis and at the price quoted?
Thanks so much!
Lital.

A: Dear Lital,

Thanks for writing and I am glad to try to explain this.

During the strike and port slowdown at the end of the summer, many vessels skipped Israel and offloaded their containers in nearby ports.
This allowed them to maintain the integrity of their shipping schedules (or...get to the next port in time.) International maritime law allows them to do this.

What makes this really unfortunate is the shipping line's right to declare "End of Voyage" (EOV) in this circumstance. This declaration means they have finished their obligation to ship your container. If you want to get your container from (for example) Cyprus, which you obviously will want, you have to pay for another sailing - from Limassol, Cyprus to Israel.

Bottom line, you end up paying for another shipment and to rub salt in the proverbial wound - your shipment arrives much later than expected.

Shipping agents like myself, are in a bind when this happens. We are really very similar to travel agents in that we do not own or operate vessels, but rather book passage on them. If the vessel is late or stops elsewhere, there is very little we can do about it.

It is a lousy situation and basically the owner of the goods is the one who has to pay for the extra costs.

All the best,
Shmuel