Part 2. General regulations

General operating regulations of AS Muuga Container Terminal

2.1. Payment must be made for all services and work performed at the TERMINAL immediately upon the performance thereof and in accordance with the tariffs, rates and payments valid at the TERMINAL.

2.2. Payment generally takes place through non-cash settlement on the basis of letters of guarantee from the owner of the cargo or his representative (agent), hereinafter the “Client”.

The TERMINAL’s administration may demand payment in advance or that the payment be secured by pledge. If payment is not made for the provided services and work performed, the TERMINAL is entitled to arrest the cargo until the payment is made.

Expenses connected with such delays are to be paid by the owner of the cargo.
If the collection of the amount receivable from the owner (forwarding agent) was unsuccessful, the TERMINAL possesses the right to sell the cargo by auction, through a broker or in some other manner, depending on the circumstances. The amount received from the sale shall be used to cover all of the TERMINAL’s expenses.

The remainder shall be returned to the owner of the cargo if he proves within the current year his rights to the cargo.

If net profit from sales does not cover all costs, the owner of the cargo must pay the remainder.

2.3. The owner of the cargo or his representative must, with the cargo, present to the TERMINAL all necessary documents, as well as the customs permit for the import or export of the cargo.

2.4. If questions connected with the despatch of the cargo are to be resolved by state bodies (for instance customs), the owner shall pay for storage in accordance with the rates and tariffs specified in these regulations or corresponding agreements.
The TERMINAL’s administration is entitled to establish limits for the storage of such cargo or higher special tariffs for their storage.

If the Client has not provided special instructions concerning storage, the TERMINAL is entitled to select from among the various storage possibilities, including storage indoors or in the open. The covering of cargoes stored in the open may be performed by request of the Client with his own equipment or at his expense, unless otherwise agreed upon in the terms and conditions of pertinent agreements.

The TERMINAL must thereafter sensibly follow the Client’s interests. The TERMINAL’s administration is entitled to acts on its own initiative, yet shall, at the expense and risk of the Client, implement safety measures that protect cargoes from being damaged. If necessary under current regulations, by demand of government bodies or for the avoidance of accidents or on the basis of environmental protection requirements, the TERMINAL may sell, re-locate, open or destroy the cargo in the accepted manner. In such cases the administration must notify the Client in advance.

2.5. By request of the Client, the TERMINAL may issue receipt statements for cargo in storage. Receipt statements confirm the number of cargo places received; yet without a relevant special agreement do not provide confirmation of the weight, measurements, quality, content and value of cargo.

2.6. The TERMINAL bears no responsibility for the weight or number of cargo places unless the administration has assumed responsibility for the calculation or other verification measures.

2.7. If cargoes must be redistributed or divided into lots on the basis of their labelling, the TERMINAL bears no responsibility for the false issuing or placement of the cargo, if on the basis of the agreement the Client personally organised the work and was to inspect its performance.

2.8. Similarly, the TERMINAL shall not bear responsibility for damage that took place in the use of unconventional working methods used by request of the Client. The TERMINAL may refuse to use such methods if there is reason to assume that the cargo may be damaged in the performance of shipping work. In this case the Client is required, in the transport of non-standard equipment requiring special training and skills, to ensure it is sent by the driver, and also ensure the existence of attachment and separation materials, towage equipment, etc. or pay the TERMINAL’s expenses if such work is performed using its equipment and materials.

2.9. The TERMINAL does not assume responsibility for harm to handled or stored cargo that may have been caused by spontaneous natural events or bad weather, strikes, lockouts or other reasons insurmountable forces or other causes not under the control of the administration.

2.10. The TERMINAL may assume responsibility for damage connected with the loss, damage or arrest of the cargo, if it is proven that the given disappearance, damage or arrest is connected with a premeditated crime or carelessness on the part of employees of the TERMINAL. Such responsibility shall be determined by competent state bodies (court). In the case of cargoes transportable under regular conditions, the TERMINAL shall bear responsibility towards the carrier in accordance with the Merchant Marine Code of the Republic of Estonia.

2.11. The TERMINAL does not bear responsibility for the damage or disappearance of cargo caused by:
  • The absence, non-conformity or incorrectness of the labelling of the cargo.
  • Incorrect or incomplete information concerning the cargo.
  • The special nature of the cargo or its concealed shortcomings and defects.
  • The absence or insufficiency of packaging.
  • Shortcomings in the attachment and separation materials provide by the Client or defects in the expansion of cargo areas or in the transhipment of large cargoes.
  • The forgery of documents (operating orders, letters of guarantee, authorisations), and also when cargo has been issued to a representative of the owner of the cargo (forwarding agent), when the owner of the cargo (forwarding agent) has not in a timely manner notified the TERMINAL in writing of changes in the representative’s position, rights and job.
2.12. The TERMINAL does not bear responsibility for the amount and quality of cargo, is changes in amount and quality are tied to the natural attributes of the cargo or if the amount and weight of the cargo have been incorrectly indicated by the owners of the cargo or in connection with the surpassing of the storage deadlines provided for in these regulations, and also if the TERMINAL lacks the corresponding technical equipment to ensure appropriate storage conditions.

2.13. The TERMINAL does not bear responsibility for damages or disappearances that cannot be avoided or reduced through monitoring or instruction by the owner of the cargo or his representative.

2.14. The TERMINAL does not bear responsibility either for means of car transport and the internal contents thereof, or for the internal condition and content of trailers, semi-trailers, containers, etc. in expanded (parcelled) cargo areas, if their seal prints correspond to those presented in the shipping documents (bill of lading, ship’s manifest, covering note, etc.). An exception is cargoes whose receipt/issue takes places by request of the Client in accordance with the attached list.

2.15. The TERMINAL is released from responsibility for a delay in the departure of the carrier and/or the cargo being left on the quay, if this is caused by:
  • The inability to load/unload equipment that requires special skills to be driven;
  • The absence of attachments on the ship;
  • Delays in making a carrier available in accordance with an agreed schedule or a unilateral change in the schedule by the carrier;
  • Delays in delivering the manifest to the carrier or his representative or a delay in bringing the cargo to be loaded;
  • Taking hazardous loads, caterpillar vehicles, heavy and oversize cargoes, whose transhipment requires the use of cranes and special equipment, to carriers.
  • In the event of the re-registration of cargo to a specific ship and/or a delay in bringing for loading or if it is not possible to send a previously registered cargo located at the TERMINAL.
In the above-mentioned cases the decision concerning the delay in the departure of the ship and/or leaving the cargo at the TERMINAL shall be made by the carrier.

2.16. The TERMINAL does not bear responsibility for spare parts and components of unpackaged cars, mechanisms and units, as well as gold, silver or other precious metals, jewellery, artworks or other valuables if a special written agreement was not concluded in advance in each individual case.

2.17. In the event of loss of or damage to cargo, the TERMINAL does not bear responsibility for subsequent unperformed work, loss in profits or other indirect losses of the owner of the cargo.

2.18. If the TERMINAL’s fault in connection with damage or loss has been ascertained, the size of the compensation shall be determined on the basis of the originals of the B/L and invoice in accordance with the cost of a similar cargo in the same place and time the given cargo was to arrive pursuant to the agreement. The cost of the cargo must be defined in accordance with the usual price of cargo of the same type and quality.

The overall value of the compensation to the Client must not, however, exceed the Client’s own liability according to the insurance. The remainder of the cost of the cargo shall be paid to the Client by the insurance company.

2.19. If a container, ship or other such transport device is used to keep a cargo together, then the content of that transport device is referred to as a cargo unit.

2.20. The TERMINAL’s responsibility for loss and damage is invalidated if the Client discovered that such a loss or damage took place during transhipment, yet has not registered in a written notice or the fact through the ascertainment and certification of independent experts before the cargo’s departure from the administration’s supervision.

It is the responsibility of the Client or his representative, who were meant to have checked the cargo, to ensure that there is no shortage or damage of the cargo in any transhipment or displacement. A written application concerning a shortcoming or damage must be presented to the administration of the TERMINAL immediately upon discovery of the shortcoming or damage. If the Client or his representative were unable to make such an application, then even though a shortcoming or damage had been determined, it is not possible to make claims to the administration at a later date.

2.21. Applications concerning damage, loss or detention that the administration of the TERMINAL has not accepted in written form shall lose their legal force within one year from the date of transhipment, unless the petitioner submits a petition against the TERMINAL before the expiry of that period.

2.22. The TERMINAL does not bear responsibility for the duration of the ships’ processing (demurrage), nor for possible delays in the processing of other means of transport, except in the case of responsibility prescribed in agreements with carriers.

2.23. The owner of the cargo or his representative is required to personally order the land transport devices necessary for the further forwarding of the cargo, including rail transport, and independently pay all expenditures of owners of transport devices.

2.24. The Client is required to co-ordinate with the TERMINAL’s administration the amount, time and size of the automobile and rail transport devices to be provided. If a ship load of cars without drivers exceeds 35 in number, the Client must co-ordinate the size of the load with the TERMINAL.

2.25. The drafting of cargoes moving under own power (except for hazardous, oversized cargoes, caterpillar vehicles and cargoes requiring special conditions for storage or transhipment, and refrigerated and other such cargoes) shall be performed by the Client through the carrier without the participation of the TERMINAL.

The TERMINAL does not bear responsibility for the transportation of the cargo outside its territory, nor is it responsible for a cargo from the moment it is loaded on any means of transport (rail car, ship, automobile).

2.26. The sender is required to bring the cargo to the TERMINAL’s warehouse, ensure that an export licence is obtained, pay the export duty, and other expenses connected with bringing the cargo to the TERMINAL’s quays and warehouses.

Place of delivery – the quays and warehouses of the TERMINAL. The delivery of cargo to the TERMINAL, its placement and attachment shall take place at the expense of the Client.
CTQI ISO 9001