Unforeseen liabilities for Middle East freight

In a speech to be given at the TOC Container Supply Chain Middle East Conference on 9 December, Andrew Kemp, regional director of EMEA at the TT Club, will warn of the additional insurance liability freight forwarders are open to as a consequence of dynamic changes in global trade.

“This trend is not limited to operators in the Middle East, indeed we are seeing such developments across the globe,” he said.

But it’s especially pertinent to the Middle East because the value of exports on the so called south-south coast routes between Latin America, Africa and Asia now represent 32% of global trade and transport operators are experiencing significant growth opportunities.

Mr Kemp pointed out that such growth has meant that demands on forwarders and operators are changing rapidly an customers are increasingly requiring the provision of additional logistics.

These services including warehousing, sub-assembly and packing have tight margins for error and sometimes harsh financial penalties for breakdowns in the supply chain.

The greater the services undertaken of course, the more potential there are for errors and omissions.

TT Club says it has experienced an increase in claims occurring as a result of the extension of liabilities and that awareness of the situation and seeking professional advice are essential for all forwarders and operators – especially when dealing with the rapidly developing Middle East hub.