How a Short-Landed Cargo Claim Is Actually Evidenced
What evidence a short-landing claim on a North American import genuinely needs, and why what is written on the delivery receipt decides most of it.
Representative scenario, not a specific client engagement. This page describes how a shipment of this kind is genuinely handled — the constraints, the approach, and where it commonly goes wrong. It does not name or describe a real Transeasy customer. Our two documented project moves are the Mexico container move and the India overweight cargo delivery.
The situation
A consignment arrives in North America and the count is short. The packing list says 480 cartons, the receiving warehouse tallies 462, and the difference is worth more than the paperwork it will take to recover. At that moment the claim is neither weak nor strong; it becomes one or the other over the next few hours, depending on what is written on the delivery receipt, who counts the cargo, and what is photographed before the pallets are broken down.
Most short-landing claims fail on evidence rather than on liability. A clean delivery receipt signed at the door is treated as proof the goods arrived complete. An unstuffed container with no photographs cannot show whether the seal was intact on arrival. A count taken after the consignment has been put away cannot be separated from internal stock movements. Carrier liability regimes are also narrow, and recovery may be capped well below invoice value even where the facts are entirely accepted.
What made it difficult
- Signing a delivery receipt clean is in practice a statement that the cargo arrived in the quantity shown, and it is difficult to withdraw afterwards.
- Notice periods for loss are short, and non-apparent loss is typically allowed only a few days from delivery before the presumption runs against the claimant.
- Carrier liability is limited by package or by weight under the applicable convention or statute, so full recovery normally depends on a cargo insurance policy rather than on the carrier.
- Suit time limits run independently of how cooperatively a claim is being discussed, and a missed limitation ends the claim regardless of its merit.
How it is approached
Everything starts at the point of delivery. The seal number is compared with the bill of lading and photographed before it is cut, the container is photographed closed, then open, then at each stage of unstuffing, and the count is taken by pallet or carton as cargo comes off rather than after it has been stored. Any shortage, damage or seal discrepancy is written onto the delivery receipt and signed or initialled by the driver before the vehicle leaves.
Written notice follows immediately. A notice of loss goes to the carrier at delivery where the shortage is apparent, and within whatever short window the applicable regime allows where it is not, quoting the bill of lading number, the container and seal numbers, the quantity short and the estimated value. Where the amount justifies it, a survey is arranged before the cargo moves again, so an independent record of the tally, the seal condition and the stow exists.
The claim pack is then assembled from documents that mostly exist already. Commercial invoice and packing list at carton level, the bill of lading, the claused delivery receipt, the warehouse or container freight station tally, the photographs, any survey report, the notice to the carrier and its acknowledgement, and a claim bill showing how the loss is calculated. Where cargo insurance is in place, the policy or certificate and a subrogation form are added and the insurer pursues the carrier.
Prevention sits at origin and costs almost nothing. Carton-level packing lists with marks and numbers that match the cargo, a piece count at stuffing with photographs of the loaded container and the seal in place, the seal number recorded on both the booking and the bill of lading, and an insured value set at invoice plus freight with the customary uplift. A consignment documented that way makes the shortage arithmetic obvious, and obvious arithmetic is what settles claims quickly.
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Takeaways
- A clean delivery receipt is the most common reason a genuine short-landing claim fails.
- Seal numbers and photographs taken before unstuffing are what separate a carrier shortage from an internal one.
- Carrier liability is capped by package or by weight, so cargo insurance is the mechanism that makes a claimant whole.
- The evidence that wins a claim is created at stuffing and at delivery, not on the day the claim is written.
Frequently asked
The quantity actually received, the shortage against the packing list, the container and seal numbers, and the seal condition as found. Keep it factual and avoid conclusions about cause. The driver should sign or initial the exception before leaving, and a photograph of the annotated receipt is worth keeping, because the copy left behind is not always the copy produced later.
Apparent loss should be noted at the moment of delivery, and non-apparent loss is generally allowed only a short window afterwards, commonly three days under the regimes applied to sea carriage into North America. Separately there is normally a one-year limit for bringing suit. Both periods are strict, so confirming them against the contract of carriage in hand is part of the claim work.
Usually not. Liability under the applicable convention or statute is limited per package or per kilogramme, and for a light, high-value carton that limit can be a small fraction of the invoice. An all-risks marine cargo policy is what covers the difference, which is why the insurance position is worth checking before the shipment rather than after the shortage is found.