When a carrier declares general average, send the notice to the cargo insurer immediately, identify the actual cargo owner or receiver, and build the exact security pack required by the appointed average adjuster. Do not assume that an insurance certificate alone releases the tea. A cargo bond, an insurer guarantee or cash deposit, the commercial invoice and sometimes separate salvage security may all be required before delivery.
This checklist controls cargo release and the later adjustment file. It is separate from the arrival damage notice and evidence workflow: tea can arrive physically sound and still be asked to contribute, while damaged tea may need both a general-average record and a separate cargo claim.
Understand the event before signing security
The current York-Antwerp Rules 2016 define a general-average act as an extraordinary sacrifice or expenditure intentionally and reasonably made for the common safety to preserve property in a common maritime adventure from peril. An independent average adjuster later assesses allowable amounts and apportions them among contributing interests.
The York-Antwerp Rules are not a convention that automatically governs every shipment. They operate when incorporated into the relevant contract of carriage, and the applicable version, adjustment place and governing law must be read from the issued bill of lading or waybill. A declaration is also not the final invoice: the adjustment normally follows later after values and claims have been collected.
Build one twelve-gate security record
| Control gate | Buyer should record | Hold or escalation trigger |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Case identity | Vessel, voyage, casualty date, container, bill of lading, tea lot, package count and adjuster reference | The notice cannot be tied to the buyer's cargo |
| 2. Contract basis | General-average clause, York-Antwerp version, adjustment place, law and dispute terms | The demand cites terms different from the issued transport document |
| 3. Parties and title | Cargo owner, receiver, buyer, seller, insurer, broker, carrier, adjuster and authorised signatory | Ownership or signing authority is unclear |
| 4. Release requirement | Bond, insurer guarantee or cash deposit, invoice, value declaration, deadline, channel and receipt | Staff rely on a generic web form instead of the case notice |
| 5. Insurance response | Policy or certificate, claim reference, insurer acceptance, guarantee status and exclusions raised | No authorised insurer contact owns the response |
| 6. Cargo value | Commercial invoice, currency, trade term, freight, insurance and later damage deductions | Declared value cannot be reconciled to evidence |
| 7. Security wording | Exact case-prefilled form, amendments, reservation language, amount and beneficiary | A non-standard change or blank field is unexplained |
| 8. Salvage | Whether a separate salvor demand, guarantee or deposit applies | General-average security is assumed to cover salvage automatically |
| 9. Physical cargo | Location, carrier hold, terminal free time, release status, condition and custody | Release delay is creating unowned storage or demurrage exposure |
| 10. Cargo loss | Survey, affected quantity, cause evidence, insurer settlement and adjuster notification | Damage is omitted from the value or allowance file |
| 11. Adjustment | Value submission, claim submission, estimates, correspondence, recoveries and final contribution | An adjuster request or objection window is missed |
| 12. Close-out | Release, deposit custody/refund, final adjustment, payment authority and archived evidence | The shipment is closed while security or refund remains open |
Use a nine-step buyer workflow
1. Authenticate the notice and freeze the file
Verify the adjuster's identity and communication route through the carrier or an independently obtained contact. Match every reference to the issued transport document and container record. Save the original notice and attachments; verify any payment instruction independently.
2. Notify the cargo insurer and internal owners
Forward the full notice promptly to the insurer or broker named in the verified cargo-insurance document. Copy the people responsible for logistics, finance, claims and receiving. Ask who will issue the guarantee, who may sign the bond, whether the event is potentially covered and which costs need prior approval. Do not promise that insurance will pay: coverage depends on the policy and circumstances.
3. Establish the contract, party and cargo chain
Read the general-average clause in the governing bill of lading or waybill, including the stated rules, place and law. Confirm the cargo owner, receiver and authorised signatory. Reconcile the invoice, packing list, container, lot and package marks through the shipment document pack.
4. Translate the case notice into a release checklist
The CMI's current guidance says the usual cargo-security route is a bond from the cargo owner or receiver plus either a cash deposit or, for insured cargo, a guarantee from a reputable insurer. The actual notice controls the case. Record every form, prefilling requirement, attachment, signature, transmission channel and acknowledgement. A BIMCO Average Bond Clause in the carriage contract may change whether a separate bond is needed, but it does not erase the other case requirements.
5. Control the security wording and cash decision
Use the case-prefilled CMI form or other instructed wording only after the insurer and authorised reviewer have checked it. Highlight amendments rather than silently accepting them. If the cargo is uninsured or the insurer will not guarantee, obtain the adjuster's written cash-deposit instruction, beneficiary, bank verification, amount basis, currency, custody terms and refund route. Never send funds from an emailed bank change without independent verification.
6. Submit defensible value and condition evidence
Attach the commercial invoice to the bond and explain the trade term. Where the sale is not CIF, the adjuster may need freight and insurance figures to establish the cargo value. Report cargo loss or damage promptly with survey and settlement evidence because damage may affect contributory value or create a claim for an allowance.
7. Separate general average, salvage and cargo damage
One casualty can create three related but different files. General-average security supports the later contribution adjustment. A professional salvor may request separate salvage security. Wet, missing or contaminated tea needs the independent carrier-insurer notice, survey and mitigation file. Record cross-references, but never assume that one bond, guarantee, survey or payment resolves all three.
8. Obtain written release and receive under quarantine
Track the carrier or adjuster's written confirmation that general-average requirements are satisfied, then coordinate terminal and carrier release. Monitor free time and document who owns avoidable storage costs. At destination, keep the tea on the normal arrival quarantine and inspection workflow; security release is not proof of package condition, food compliance or contract conformity.
9. Maintain the long-tail adjustment file
Keep the adjuster informed of contact changes and respond to value, damage and recovery requests. If York-Antwerp Rules 2016 apply, Rule E includes periods for value and claim particulars and permits estimates when information is late. Treat the actual rule, governing law and adjuster's message as the live timetable. Reconcile the final adjustment, insurer payment, contribution, deposit refund and third-party recovery before closing the file.
Keep five requirement types separate
- Legal requirement: maritime, insurance, lien, contract, limitation and payment law may control enforceability, release, contribution and remedies.
- Voluntary guidance: the CMI Guidelines and recommended security forms explain practice but do not override the carriage contract, York-Antwerp Rules or governing law.
- Trade reference: the York-Antwerp Rules apply through contractual incorporation; BIMCO clauses are model wordings only when adopted.
- Buyer specification: the twelve-gate record defines internal evidence, approvals, fraud checks, release controls and stop conditions.
- Contract requirement: the issued carriage and insurance contracts determine the applicable rule version, security obligation, cover and dispute route.
Common buyer mistakes
- Treating a declaration as proof of the final amount owed.
- Waiting until the tea reaches the terminal before contacting the cargo insurer.
- Assuming an insurance certificate automatically releases the container.
- Signing a bond for the wrong legal party or cargo reference.
- Using the wrong York-Antwerp version from a generic online checklist.
- Paying a cash deposit to bank details changed only by email.
- Submitting the invoice without explaining freight, insurance, currency or later damage.
- Assuming general-average security also satisfies a separate salvor's demand.
- Ignoring terminal free time while documents circulate.
- Closing the purchase file before the final adjustment or deposit refund.
Practical conclusion
Use the sequence authenticate - notify insurer - map contract and ownership - list security - verify wording and funds - prove value - separate salvage and damage - obtain release - reconcile adjustment. The buyer's immediate objective is controlled cargo release without surrendering fraud controls or losing the evidence needed for the later calculation.
For future purchases, connect this response plan to the agreed freight and insurance term, Yunjing Tea's bulk packing plan and sample-to-shipment quality controls. To discuss a specification-based order, send the product, pack, quantity, destination and intended shipping term.
Sources checked 31 October 2026: the Comité Maritime International's current York-Antwerp Rules page and recommended 2016 text with the 2022 Rule XXI technical alteration; CMI's current second-edition General Average Guidelines and security forms, approved by CMI, IUMI and ICS; BIMCO's current Average Bond Clause 2018 guidance; and the United Kingdom's current Marine Insurance Act 1906, section 66 as one legal example. Confirm the actual transport contract, policy, governing law, adjuster instructions and security wording for the shipment.
