In this Agreement, the following words are used in the specific sense indicated below:

A.

"Carrier" includes the owner of the ship or the charterer, party to a contract of carriage with a shipper;

B.

"Contract of carriage" shall apply only to the contract of carriage established by a bill of lading or by any similar document forming title for the carriage of goods by sea; it shall also apply to the bill of lading or similar document issued Under a charter party at the time the title governs the carrier's reports and the holder of the bill of lading;

C.

"Goods" includes goods, articles, goods and articles of any kind, with the exception of live animals and cargo which, by the contract of carriage, is declared to be placed on the bridge and, in fact, is transported;

D.

"Ship" means any vessel used for the carriage of goods by sea;

E.

"Carriage of goods" covers the time elapsed since the goods were loaded onto the ship until they were unloaded from the ship.

Subject to the provisions of Art. 6, the carrier, in all contracts for the carriage of goods by sea, shall, in respect of the loading, handling, stowage, transport, care and unloading of the said goods, be subject to the responsibilities and Obligations, as it will benefit from the rights and exemptions listed below.

1

The carrier will be required before and at the beginning of the journey to exercise due diligence to:

A.

Place the vessel seaworthy;

B.

Properly arming, equipping and supplying the vessel;

C.

Suitable and put in good condition the holds, cold and cold rooms and all other parts of the ship where goods are loaded for their reception, transport and preservation.

2

The carrier, subject to the provisions of s. 4, shall proceed in an appropriate and careful manner in the loading, handling, stowage, transport, custody, care and unloading of the transported goods.

§ 3

After receiving and taking care of the goods, the carrier, or the master or agent of the carrier, shall, at the request of the shipper, issue a bill of lading to the shipper, inter alia:

A.

The main marks necessary for the identification of the goods as provided in writing by the shipper before the loading of those goods begins, provided that these marks are clearly printed or affixed Any other means on the unpackaged goods or on the boxes or packages in which the goods are contained, so that they should normally remain legible until the end of the journey;

B.

Or the number of packages, or parts, or the quantity or weight, as the case may be, as provided in writing by the shipper;

C.

The apparent condition and packaging of the goods. However, no carrier, master or agent of the carrier, shall be required to declare or to mention in the bill of lading, marks, number, quantity or weight of which it has a serious reason to suspect that they do not represent Exactly the goods currently received by him, or that he has not had reasonable means to verify.

§ 4

Such a bill of lading will be deemed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to be deemed to be the receipt by the carrier of the goods as described in s. 3, let. A, b and c.

§ 5

The shipper will be considered to have guaranteed to the carrier, at the time of loading, the accuracy of the marks, number, quantity and weight as provided by it, and the shipper will compensate the carrier for any loss, damage and Expenses resulting from or resulting from inaccuracies in these items. The right of the carrier to such compensation shall in no way limit its liability and commitments under the contract of carriage vis-à-vis any person other than the shipper.

§ 6

Unless a notice of loss or damage and the general nature of such loss or damage is given in writing to the carrier or its agent at the port of discharge, before or at the time of the removal of the goods and their remission under the In the custody of the person entitled to issue under the contract of carriage, such removal shall be prima facie evidence of a presumption that the goods have been issued by the carrier as described in Lading.

If the loss or damage is not apparent, the notice must be given within three days of issue.

Written reservations are useless if the condition of the goods has been found to be contradictory at the time of receipt.

In any event, the carrier and the ship shall be relieved of any liability for loss or damage, unless an action is brought in the year of issue of the goods or the date on which they should have been issued.

In the event of loss or damage certain or presumed, the carrier and the receiver shall give each other reasonable facilities for inspection of the goods and verification of the number of packages.

§ 7

When the goods have been loaded, the bill of lading which the carrier, master or agent of the carrier will issue to the shipper, will be, if the shipper so requests, a bill of lading "Embarked" provided that, if the shipper has previously received Any document entitled to such goods, he shall return this document against the surrender of a bill of lading "Embarked". The carrier, the master or the agent will also have the ability to annotate at the port of embarkation, the document given in the first place, the name (s) of the ship (s) on which the goods were shipped and the date or dates of When this document is annotated, it will be, if it contains the references to s. 3, para. 3, considered for the purposes of this article as a bill of lading read "Embarked".

§ 8

Any clause, agreement or agreement in a contract of carriage exonerating the carrier or the ship of liability for loss or damage in respect of goods resulting from negligence, fault or breach of duties or obligations laid down In that article, or attenuating that liability otherwise than prescribed by this Agreement, shall be null, void and void. A clause giving the carrier the benefit of insurance or any such clause shall be deemed to relieve the carrier of its liability.

1

Neither the carrier nor the ship shall be liable for any loss or damage resulting from or resulting from the state of inairworthiness, unless it is due to a lack of due diligence on the part of the carrier to put the ship in a state of Seaworthiness or to provide the ship with suitable armament, equipment or supply, or to appropriate and repair the holds, cold and cold rooms and all other parts of the ship in which the goods are loaded They are suitable for the reception, transport and preservation of goods, all In accordance with the requirements of Art. 3, para. 1. Whenever a loss or damage has resulted from the inairworthiness, the burden of proof with respect to the exercise of due diligence shall be on the carrier or on any other person availing themselves of the exemption provided for In this article.

2

Neither the carrier nor the ship shall be liable for loss or damage resulting from or arising out of:

A.

Acts, negligence or defect of the master, sailor, pilot or operator of the carrier in the navigation or in the administration of the ship;

B.

Fire, unless caused by the carrier's fault or fault;

C.

Perils, dangers or accidents of the sea or other navigable waters;

D.

An "act of God";

E.

Facts of war;

F.

Because of public enemies;

G.

A judgment or coercion of a prince, authorities or people, or judicial seizure;

H.

A quarantine restriction;

I.

An act or omission of the shipper or owner of the goods, its agent or representative;

J.

Strikes or lockouts or stoppages or barriers to work, for any reason, partially or completely;

K.

Rioting or civil unrest;

L.

Rescue or attempt to save lives or property at sea;

M.

Volume or weight shrinkage or any other loss or damage resulting from latent defects, special or vice-specific nature of the goods;

N.

Lack of packaging;

O.

Inadequate or imperfect marks;

P.

Hidden defects beyond due diligence;

Q.

From any other cause not arising out of the carrier's fault or fault or the fault of the carrier's agents or agents, but the burden of proof will be on the person claiming the benefit of this exception and Will be required to show that neither the carrier's personal fault nor the fault or fact of the carrier's agents or agents contributed to the loss or damage.

§ 3

The shipper shall not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by the carrier or the ship which would arise or result from any cause without any act or omission of the shipper, its agents or servants.

§ 4

No diversion to save or attempt to save lives or property at sea, or a reasonable diversion shall be deemed to be an offence under this Agreement or the contract of carriage, and the carrier shall not be liable for any Loss or damage resulting from the loss.

§ 5

The carrier, such as the vessel, shall not be liable for any loss or damage to or damage to the goods for a sum exceeding 100 pounds sterling per package or unit, or the equivalent of that sum in another currency, unless The nature and value of these goods were not declared by the shipper prior to their boarding and that this declaration was inserted in the bill of lading.

This statement thus inserted in the bill of lading will constitute a presumption, unless proven otherwise, but it will not bind the carrier, which will be able to challenge it.

By agreement between the carrier, the master or agent of the carrier and the shipper, a maximum sum other than that recorded in that paragraph may be determined, provided that this conventional maximum is not less than the figure above Fixed.

Neither the carrier nor the ship shall in any case be liable for loss or damage to or damage to the goods, if in the bill of lading the shipper knowingly made a false statement of their nature or value.

§ 6

Goods of a flammable, explosive or dangerous nature at which the carrier, the master or the agent of the carrier would not have consented, knowing their nature or character, may at any time before Offloading, being landed at any place or destroyed or rendered harmless by the carrier without compensation and the shipper of such goods shall be liable for any damage and expenditure arising or resulting directly or indirectly from Their boarding. If any of these goods in the carrier's knowledge and with the carrier's consent became a danger to the ship or cargo, it could also be landed or destroyed or rendered harmless by the carrier, No liability on the part of the carrier, if not the common head of damage, if applicable.

¹ A carrier shall be free to abandon all or part of its rights and exemptions or to increase its responsibilities and obligations, as provided for in this Agreement, provided that such abandonment or increase Be inserted in the bill of lading issued to the shipper.

² Nothing in this Agreement shall apply to a group of parties; but if bills of lading are issued in the case of a ship under the control of a party, they shall be subject to the terms of this Agreement. Nothing in these rules shall be deemed to prevent the inclusion in a bill of lading of any lawful provision concerning common damage.

¹ Notwithstanding the provisions of the foregoing Articles, a carrier, master or agent of the carrier and a shipper shall be free, for specified goods, whatever they may be, to enter into any contract with conditions Any liability and obligations of the carrier for such goods, as well as the carrier's rights and exemptions in respect of those goods or concerning the carrier's obligations with respect to the state of airworthiness of the carrier Ship to the extent that this stipulation is not contrary to public policy, or The care or care of its servants or agents as to the loading, handling, stowage, transport, care, care and unloading of the goods carried by sea, provided that in this case no bill of lading has been or is And that the terms of the agreement entered into are inserted in a receipt which will be a non-negotiable document and shall bear reference to that character.

² Any such agreement will have full legal effect.

³ It is, however, agreed that this section will not apply to ordinary commercial shipments, made in ordinary commercial operations, but only to other shipments where the character and condition of the goods to be transported and The circumstances, the terms and conditions to which the carriage must be made are such as to justify a special agreement.

Nothing in this Convention shall defend a carrier or a shipper to insert in a contract provisions, conditions, reservations or exemptions relating to the obligations and responsibilities of the carrier or the ship for the purpose of Loss or damage to the goods, or their custody, care and handling, prior to the loading and subsequent unloading of the vessel on which the goods are transported by sea.

The provisions of this Agreement shall not affect the rights or obligations of the carrier as a result of any law in force at this time in respect of the limitation of liability of owners of seagoing vessels.

¹ The monetary units referred to in this Agreement shall be of equal value.

² Those of the Contracting States where the pound sterling is not employed as a currency unit reserve the right to convert the sums specified in sterling in the present Convention into round figures, according to their monetary system.

³ National laws may reserve the right of the debtor to be free in the national currency, according to the exchange rate on the day of arrival of the ship at the port of unloading of the goods in question.

The provisions of this Convention shall apply to any bill of lading created in one of the Contracting States.

¹ After the expiry of the two-year period not later than from the date of signature of the Convention, the Belgian Government shall enter into contact with the governments of the High Contracting Parties which have declared their readiness to ratify it To make a decision as to whether it should be brought into force. The ratifications will be deposited in Brussels on the date which will be determined by common accord between the said governments. The first deposit of ratifications will be recorded by a record signed by the representatives of the states which will take part in it and by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Belgium.

² Subsequent filings shall be made by means of a written notification addressed to the Belgian Government and accompanied by the instrument of ratification.

³ A certified copy of the record of the first deposit of ratifications, of the notifications referred to in the preceding paragraph, as well as the instruments of ratification that accompany them shall be immediately, by the government Belgium and through diplomatic channels, provided to those States which have signed or acceded to this Convention. In the cases referred to in the preceding paragraph, the said Government shall, at the same time, make known the date on which it received the notification.

¹ Non-signatory States may accede to this Convention, whether or not they have been represented at the international conference in Brussels.

² The State wishing to accede shall notify the Belgian Government in writing by sending it the Act of Accession, which shall be deposited in the archives of the said Government.

³ The Belgian Government shall immediately forward to all signatory or acceding States certified copies of the notification and the act of accession by indicating the date on which it received the notification.

The High Contracting Parties may, at the time of signature of the deposit of ratifications or upon accession, declare that the acceptance they give to this Convention does not apply either to any of the autonomous dominions, colonies, Possessions, protectorates or overseas territories under their sovereignty or authority. Consequently, they may subsequently accede separately on behalf of one or other of these autonomous dominions, colonies, possessions, protectorates or overseas territories thus excluded in their original declaration. They may also, by complying with these provisions, denounce this Convention separately for one or more of the autonomous dominions, colonies, possessions, protectorates or overseas territories under their sovereignty or Authority.

In respect of the States which have participated in the first deposit of ratifications, this Convention shall have effect one year after the date of the record of that deposit. States which subsequently ratify or accede to it, as well as in cases where the implementation will take place at a later stage and in accordance with art. 13, it will have effect six months after the notifications under s. 11, para. 2, and art. 12, para. 2, will have been received by the Belgian Government.

¹ If one of the Contracting States wished to denounce this Convention, the denunciation shall be notified in writing to the Belgian Government, which shall immediately communicate a certified copy of the notification to all other States, in their Indicating the date on which it was received.

² The denunciation shall have effect in respect of the State alone, which will have notified it and one year after the notification has been received by the Belgian Government.

¹ Each Contracting State shall have the option of provoing the meeting of a new conference in order to seek the improvements which could be made to this Convention.

² Those States which would make use of this option would have to notify one year in advance of its intention to the other States, through the Belgian Government, which would convene the conference.

Done at Brussels, in one copy, on 25 August 1924.

(Suivent signatures)