Scope of Inter-Club New York Produce Exchange Agreement 1996
Inter-Club New York Produce Exchange Agreement (ICA) 1996 applies to any charterparty which is entered into after September 1,1996 on the NYPE form 1946 or 1993 or Asbatime Form 1981 or any subsequent amendment of such Forms.
The definition of cargo claims includes claims for loss, damage, shortage, over carriage of or delay to cargo and is broader than that contained in the 1984 version of the Inter-Club New York Produce Exchange Agreement (ICA) in that it includes related customs dues, fines, interest and certain costs.
Claims arising under Through Transport or Combined Transport bills of lading are included but only when it is established that the cause of the loss or damage occurs between and including loading and discharge of the chartered ship. Claims arising under other types of contracts of carriage, such as waybills and voyage charterparties, are also included (Clause 4a).
There is also a requirement that cargo claims have been properly settled or compromised and paid (Clause 4c):
- This does not mean that a claim must have been fully investigated or negotiated before settlement
- A settlement which at the time was made for purely commercial reasons would still be proper and so recoverable under the Inter-Club New York Produce Exchange Agreement (ICA) if thereafter it could be shown that, absent the settlement, the payer would have been liable for an amount equal to or greater than the amount paid in settlement.