cargo, claim, coffee, Supreme Court, Court of Appeal Home Publications Articles Cargo Claims: The Carrier's Burden Cargo Claims: The Carrier's Burden Publications Heloise Campbell Published: December 18, 2018 Contact author Download article pdf Image In V olcafe v CSAV [2018] UKSC 61 the Supreme Court overturned the decision of the Court of Appeal on the burden of proof in relation to the inherent vice defence in the Hague Rules. This decision has provided clarity on the burden of proof in actions against a shipowner for loss of or damage to cargo and will be of importance to all those involved in the carriage of goods by sea. In upholding the appeal, the Supreme Court has held that, as a bailee, a carrier will be liable for loss or damage during the voyage unless it is able to prove that on the balance of probabilities the loss or damage was not caused by any breach of its Article III.2 cargo care duties, or that one of the defences in Article IV.2 applies. In order to rely on one of the Article IV.2 defences, the carrier must also prove that the loss or damage was not caused by its own negligence or breach of Article III.2. Therefore, for any cargo claim, the carrier has the burden to prove that the loss or damage was not caused by the carrier’s negligence. The Court of Appeal decision was discussed in detail in a previous article . Facts By way of a recap, the claims were for condensation damage to nine consignments of bagged coffee beans carried in containers from Columbia to various disports in Northern Europe. The claimant cargo interests alleged that the carrier had failed to take reasonable care of the cargo and was in breach of its obligation to carefully load, handle, stow, carry, keep, care for and discharge. Pursuant to the terms of carriage, the carrier’s stevedores were responsible for preparing the containers and stuffing the bags into them at the loadport. Two firms of stevedores were employed to perform this task.  The coffee was stowed in unve