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Seal breaches (door seals being broken without authorization) has become a fast growing problem since 9/11.  Prior to 2001 seals on semi-trailers, railroad cars, and ocean containers were not much more than an afterthought.  Many shippers did not even record seals numbers, consignees did not check to see if they were intact, and carriers routinely broke them to check the cargo, add freight, or even while searching for “empties” in their yards.

Since 9/11 many shippers and consignees have become increasingly vigilant regarding the integrity of their products.  This is particularly true of products such as foodstuffs, beverages, or pharmaceuticals which will be ingested by consumers.  Should shippers’ seals be broken without having been confirmed as intact by consignee it can result in the entire shipment being refused.

Even though the cargo appears to be in good order and “speculative damages” are not recoverable by claimants, refusals of large shipments, especially perishable or temperature-sensitive products can be a real problem for carriers.  The costs to carriers to secure the cargo, often in the vehicle, terminals, or even in cold storage warehouses, can be significant and are seldom recovered from the shipper or consignee.

RSG can often resolve seal breach problems to the satisfaction of all the concerned parties and at a nominal cost.  At your request we can immediately dispatch a qualified and experienced field inspector to meet with your driver and the consignee’s facility, often within a few hours.  We will discuss our involvement as an objective third party, examine the accessible cargo, and encourage the consignee to accept delivery, which is their obligation under the terms of the Bill of Lading contract.  We will look for any evidence of tampering or contamination, including but not limited to; foreign substances, broken packaging, powders, liquids, odors, debris, footprints, or any evidence that an unauthorized person had come into contact with the shipment.

If there is no evidence of entry into the vehicle, tampering, or adultery of the cargo then we can usually persuade the consignee to receive the cargo and the problem is successfully resolved.  If we are unable to resolve the consignee’s concerns we can, if you wish, procure random samples of the product and send them to one of the independent food safety testing laboratories that we use to determine the purity of products intended for human consumption.

 If you are faced with a seal breach issue please click the request form link at the top of this page, or call us at 702.400.3196 any time of day or night so we can assist you in successfully resolving the matter.

© 2014 RSG-ISoA, Inc. - last modified: November 21, 2009