Terms and Conditions

Deep Sea Cargo — Terms and Conditions

Version: 1 · Effective from: the date this version is published

1. About these terms

These terms apply when you ship goods with Deep Sea Cargo ("Deep Sea", "we") and when you use our website or your online account ("the portal"). By handing goods to our warehouse, or by accepting these terms in the portal, you agree to them.

2. Our service

We receive your goods at our warehouses in Guangzhou, China (one for sea cargo, one for air cargo), ship them by sea or air, and hand them over at our warehouse in Monrovia, Liberia. We are a freight forwarder. We do not sell goods, and we are not responsible for the quality of goods you bought from your suppliers.

3. Handing over your goods

• When you hand us goods, we write a receipt. It records what you tell us: the kind of goods and how many bags or pieces. Check it before you leave.
• The receipt records your declaration. If our own count differs, we record our count too, and both are kept.
• Declare the value. Keep your supplier's invoice or receipt for every item and show it if we ask. The value you declare, supported by that invoice, is the value we use if goods are lost (section 7).
• A sealed bag travels whole: we do not open it to split its contents between shipments. Other goods (for example cartons or doors) may travel in parts if they do not all fit on one container. Each part is shown on your documents (for example "1a" and "1b").

Goods we do not accept (prohibited):

• weapons of any kind, parts of weapons, ammunition, and replica or toy guns that look real;
• explosives, fireworks, firecrackers and flares;
• illegal drugs and narcotics, and medicines without a prescription or import permit;
• flammable, toxic, corrosive or radioactive goods, for example petrol and other fuels, gas cylinders, lighter gas, paint thinner, acids and industrial chemicals;
• counterfeit or copied branded goods, and pirated media;
• cash, cheques, gold, silver, precious stones and high-value jewellery;
• live animals, raw meat, fresh fish, plants, seeds and soil;
• ivory, animal skins and other products of protected wildlife;
• pornographic or obscene material;
• any goods whose export is banned in China or whose import is banned in Liberia.

Goods we accept only if you tell us first (restricted). They may need extra packing, papers or a different route, and some cannot travel by air at all:

• batteries, power banks, and devices with lithium batteries;
• liquids, creams, perfume, cosmetics and aerosol sprays;
• powders of any kind;
• magnets, speakers, and goods containing strong magnets;
• food in sealed packets, drinks and supplements;
• medicines with a prescription, and medical devices;
• knives, tools with blades, and machinery with oil or fuel in it;
• branded goods, for which we may ask for proof that they are genuine.

We may refuse, open or inspect goods we believe are prohibited, or restricted and not declared. You are responsible for any fine, seizure, delay or loss caused by goods you declared falsely, and we do not pay for goods seized because they were prohibited or not declared.

4. Measuring and pricing

• Sea freight is charged by volume (per cubic metre, CBM). Air freight is charged by weight (per kilogram). The rates are those in force for the route when your goods are loaded, plus any minimum charge and handling fee for that route.
• Goods are measured and priced when they are loaded onto a container or flight. We do not charge for goods that never ship, and we do not take deposits before goods are measured.
• Goods of yours loaded together as a combined load are measured and charged as one unit. The combined load can be collected all at once or a few items at a time, and storage is charged on the whole combined load until its last item is collected.
• Your invoice is one per shipment. It is a pro-forma (it can still change) while the container is being loaded, and it becomes final, with its own number, when the shipment departs. After that it is not changed. Any correction is shown as a separate adjustment.
• If goods are taken off a container before it sails, their charge is removed until they are loaded again.

5. Paying

• Prices are in US dollars.
• Customs duties and port charges in Liberia are included in our freight charge. You pay nothing extra to customs for goods you declared correctly. Duties, fines or extra charges caused by goods that were not declared, or were declared falsely, are yours to pay.
• Payment is due on collection of your goods, unless we agree otherwise.
• You may choose which invoice a payment settles. If you do not, it settles the oldest first.
• Money we pay for you (disbursements, for example a deposit to your supplier) is repaid first, before freight, when you pay an invoice it is linked to.
• Please quote the invoice number on every transfer. You receive a payment receipt for every payment.
• If you think a statement is wrong, tell us within 7 days of its date.

6. Collecting your goods

• Goods can be collected once the shipment has cleared the port and our finance staff have cleared your goods for collection. Normally that happens when what you owe on that shipment is paid.
• We may let goods go while money is still owed. If we do, you sign an acknowledgement of the amount and the date by which you will pay it.
• The person collecting may be asked for their name, which is recorded on the release note. If someone collects on your behalf, you are responsible for having sent them.
• Storage. Your storage clock starts on the day we tell you your goods are ready to collect, by WhatsApp or by phone; that day is day 1. The first 14 days are free. From day 15, storage is charged per cubic metre per day (per kilogram per day for air goods, where the schedule charges storage on air goods) on the goods still with us at the start of each day, at the rates in our storage schedule. The day you collect goods is charged for them; the next day is not. The daily rate may rise in steps until it reaches a maximum, as the schedule shows. The schedule in force on the day your clock starts applies to those goods, and it is published on our website and in your account. Storage is billed on a separate storage invoice, and it must be paid before the goods it covers are released. We do not charge storage for any days while we have stopped storage charges on your goods, and the auction date moves later by those days.
• Auction of uncollected goods. If goods are not collected by day 60 (about two months), counting the day we told you they were ready as day 1, they may be sold at auction. We will warn you 14 days and 3 days before, by WhatsApp or by phone. The proceeds are used first to pay what you owe us on those goods (freight, money we paid for you, and storage). Anything left over is held for you and paid to you when you ask. If the proceeds do not cover what you owe, you still owe the rest.

7. Delays, loss and damage

• ETAs are estimates from the shipping line or airline. We are not responsible for delays caused by carriers, customs, weather or events outside our control.
• Lost goods. If goods we received are lost while in our care, we pay you their full value: the price on your supplier's invoice, or the value recorded on your receipt if there is no invoice. We do not charge freight or storage for goods that are lost.
• Damaged goods. If goods are damaged while in our care, we pay the cost of repair or the loss in value, up to their full value as above.
• We do not pay for loss or damage caused by poor packing by you or your supplier; for sealed packages that reach you still sealed and unopened; for leaks or breakage of fragile goods you did not tell us about; for goods seized because they were prohibited or not declared; or for events outside our control (see the first point).
• Claims for damage must be made within 7 days of collection, at the time you sign for the goods where possible. Claims for lost goods must be made within 30 days of the day the shipment arrived. Bring your receipt and your supplier's invoice.
• We may deduct what you owe us on other goods from any payment we make to you for lost or damaged goods.

8. Your online account

• You sign in with your phone number and a one-time code. Never give a code to anyone else. Each code works once and expires after 10 minutes.
• Keep your phone secure. If you lose it, ask our counter to sign your account out on every phone.
• The portal is for viewing your own shipments and documents. It shows the same records our staff use. If something looks wrong, tell our counter.
• We may switch the portal off, or switch off your access, for example if we suspect misuse.

9. WhatsApp messages

If you agree at our counter, we send you status messages about your goods, invoices and payments. Reply STOP at any time to stop them. Our Privacy Policy explains what we keep and why.

10. Changes to these terms

We may change these terms. The new version is published on our website with its date, and your account asks you to accept it at your next sign-in. Shipments already handed to us continue under the terms in force when you handed them over.

11. Law

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Liberia. Disputes go to the courts of Monrovia, after we have first tried to settle them with you directly.

12. Contact

Deep Sea Cargo. Our offices, phone numbers, WhatsApp and email are in the Contact section of our website.