News / Shippers brace for extra costs as carriers invoke force majeure

© Andrii Yalanskyi

With US east and Gulf coast ports inaccessible and carriers unable to fulfil contracts, contract provisions have cushioned the blow for box lines, but leaving shippers to swallow the extra costs.  

Matthew Gore, partner at law firm HFW, told The Loadstar: “If carriers are unable to fulfil their contracts… there will typically be provisions which will excuse them from performance where this is due to matters which are outside of their control.” 

He was referring to a force majeure clause in ...