Maritime Lawyers – Trade & Transport Law Expert

We have a wealth of experience acting for a range of different businesses within the trade and transport space including international carriers, P&I Clubs, freight forwarders, marine insurers, road carriers and importers and exporters.

Container detention refers to a fee charged by a shipping line for the use of a container beyond the free time allowed for loading and unloading the container.

The amount of container detention charged will vary depending on the line and the duration of the detention. It’s important that parties manage their container usage properly and return containers within the free time allocated to ensure they do not incur detention fees.

If you have received an invoice from the shipping line or freight forwarder and you don’t understand why you have received it, it is likely that you are the named consignee on the bill of lading or waybill. As consignee it is likely you are being considered responsible for the collection of the goods. This can be confusing to some people because often they did not enter into the contract with the shipping line. However, there are likely terms and conditions that make you responsible (for example the arrival notice that you received prior to collecting the goods likely contains terms and conditions making you responsible for the return of the container and any charges incurred in respect of the container). There is also legislation in Australia that likely makes the consignee or person who received delivery of the goods liable for detention charges. For example, in NSW the Sea Carriage Documents Act 1997 (NSW) sets out the rights and liabilities under a contract of carriage. There is similar legislation in other states.

You might also like to read our article on how to avoid an unexpected container detention bill.