General Average (GA) is a management system where losses or expenses are shared and paid by all the parties involved in the common maritime adventure.
GA has a history of more than two thousand years’ and is widely known in the marine field as per the following GA principle.
・ When any extraordinary sacrifice or expenditure is intentionally and reasonably made or incurred
・ For the common safety for the purpose of preserving from peril the property involved in a common maritime adventure
In spite of the recent various changes surrounding General Average, there seems to be no fundamental changes of GA procedure up to now.
When a GA act takes place, the ship-owners may declare General Average based on the B/L stipulation, usually in accordance with the York Antwerp Rules in order to recover their loss.
We, Asai & Ichikawa, Average Adjusters, have been handling various GA adjusting cases and during this process,
we make various advices for preserving a good relationship with cargo interests and other concerned parties.
If required, we advise in Japanese and also English and sometimes obtain opinions/suggestions from competent lawyers and / or our overseas associate.
Claims for contribution in General Average are secured by a lien on the property under obligation and this lien will usually be lifted after adequate GA Security has been provided so that the cargo can be delivered to the consignees.
Our standard sample form of GA Security can be referred as below, but the requested form on each individual case needs to be confirmed.
1. An Average Bond signed by normally cargo consignees
2. A General Average Guarantee signed by the cargo underwriters
Remark : In case goods are not insured, a cash deposit will be required.
The amount of cash deposit shall be determined by the adjusters based on an estimate of values and allowance involved.
In addition to the signed documents of Average Bond and Average Guarantee, usually, a copy of commercial invoice for the respective cargo needs to be provided.
