On a full container of one product, a claim is a straightforward conversation. On a mixed container, it is not. Six products loaded on one bill of lading, at one set point, sometimes from more than one supplier, means the first question is never how much was lost. It is which part of the load failed and why. This note sets out how that is worked through.
Separate the three failure types first
A short shipment is a counting problem. You ordered forty cartons of pomegranate and thirty-six arrived. That is resolved against the packing list, the loading tally and the seal record, and it is normally settled by credit note without much argument.
An off-spec delivery is a grading problem. The fruit arrived in the quantity ordered but the size, count or class does not match what was confirmed. This is assessed against the written specification, which is exactly why the specification needs to be written before loading rather than described in a call.
A condition failure is a transit problem. The goods left in specification and deteriorated on the way. This is where a mixed load gets interesting, because the single reefer set point that suited five products may not have suited the sixth.
Why the set point matters to liability
A mixed container runs at one temperature. If the loading plan put a chilling-sensitive product into a load set for citrus, the resulting damage is a planning failure and it sits with whoever built the plan. If the plan was sound and the temperature record shows a deviation, it is a carrier or equipment issue. If the plan was sound and the record is clean, the likely cause is fruit condition at loading. The temperature download is therefore the first document to pull, not the last. Our note on temperature and ethylene compatibility in a mixed reefer explains how the compatible groups are set.
What to collect in the first 24 hours
Photograph the container doors and seal before breaking it. Photograph the load in place before unloading. Download the data logger and the reefer unit record and note the download time. Count the cartons product by product against the packing list and record any discrepancy on the delivery note before signing. Take pulp temperatures on arrival, from several positions in the load rather than one. Where the value at stake justifies it, appoint a surveyor immediately, because a report produced three days after unloading carries much less weight. The practical sequence is set out in more detail in our note on how documents are split on a shared container.
How the claim is apportioned
Where several buyers share a container, each buyer claims only for their own pallets, on their own commercial invoice value. Where several suppliers contributed to one load, the exporter of record handles the claim with each supplier separately but presents one position to the buyer. Freight and demurrage costs are apportioned by pallet space, not by cargo value, unless the contract says otherwise. Agreeing that apportionment method at the order stage removes most of the friction later.
How settlement usually works
Small quantity discrepancies are settled by credit against the next order, which is the fastest route for both sides. Grade failures are usually settled as a price adjustment on the affected pallets, calculated against the market value achieved rather than the invoice value. Condition losses go to insurance where cover exists and the exclusions do not bite, and to commercial negotiation where they do not. A claim brought within the contractual notification window, normally 48 to 72 hours from discharge, with photographs and a temperature record attached, gets resolved. One raised a week later with a description and no evidence rarely does.
Peivana loads mixed containers from Egypt with GLOBALG.A.P and BRC certified sourcing, quotes on the same day, and confirms the specification and the reefer set point in writing before loading. To discuss a mixed load or an open claim, contact us on WhatsApp at +20 10 9911 1918.