General Average

General Average (GA) is a maritime law principle dating from Rhodian sea law (c. 800 BC) whereby extraordinary sacrifices or expenditures made intentionally by one party to preserve the common adventure — ship, cargo, and freight at risk together — are shared proportionally among all interests that benefit. When a grounded vessel is salved, when the Master jettisons deck containers to save the ship in heavy weather, when engine breakdown forces a call at a port of refuge with associated bunker + tug + agent costs — all can trigger GA.

The three essential elements

• Extraordinary sacrifice or expenditure. Ordinary running costs are not GA. The loss or cost must be beyond what would normally be incurred (jettisoning cargo IS extraordinary; consuming bunker fuel to complete a normal voyage is not).
• Intentional and reasonable. Must be a deliberate act by the Master or crew for the common safety, not an accidental loss. The reasonableness is judged at the moment of the decision, not with hindsight.
• Made for the common safety. The purpose must be to preserve all interests at risk in the venture — not to preserve only one. A sacrifice for the ship alone or the cargo alone is not GA.

York-Antwerp Rules — the three current versions

Since 1974, GA has been governed in almost all charterparties and bills of lading by the York-Antwerp Rules, an international private codification maintained by the Comité Maritime International. Three versions are currently used in practice, and the applicable version depends on what the charterparty or B/L specifies.

Common triggers for declaring GA

• Grounding. Ground refloat costs (tugs, lightering, salvage, bunker consumption, port-of-refuge charges). Ever Given 2021 Suez Canal was declared GA by owner Shoei Kisen.
• Fire. Fire-fighting sacrifice: intentional deployment of CO2 or water flooding that saves the ship but damages cargo. X-Press Pearl 2021 Sri Lanka fire, ONE Apus 2020 container loss.
• Engine breakdown + port of refuge. Deviation costs, port charges, agent fees, tug assistance, bunker to reach the refuge. MSC Napoli 2007 English Channel case triggered a major GA declaration.
• Cargo jettison. Deck containers lost overboard to reduce topside weight and restore stability. MSC Zoe 2019 North Sea.
• Salvage services. Under Rule VI, LOF-2020 salvage awards paid to salvors are allowable in GA. SCOPIC compensation is not (since Y-A 2016).

The GA process step by step

1. Owner declares GA. Shipowner (through the Master + P&I) formally declares GA. Timing: as soon after the casualty as practical; delay can prejudice recovery.
2. Average adjuster appointed. The owner selects a member of the Association of Average Adjusters (UK), AMD-Belgium, or equivalent — an independent chartered professional who calculates each interest's contribution.
3. Cargo held under lien. Under the B/L and York-Antwerp Rules, the carrier has a lien on cargo for its GA contribution. Cargo is not released to receivers until each provides security.
4. Security lodged. Cargo interests provide either (a) a cash deposit (typically 15-30% of cargo CIF value), (b) a General Average Bond signed by the cargo owner, or (c) an approved insurance guarantee from cargo underwriters. Owners with cargo policies (e.g. Institute Cargo Clauses A) recover the deposit from insurers.
5. Adjustment prepared. The average adjuster investigates the casualty, quantifies allowable sacrifice and expenditure, apportions the loss over all contributing interests (ship + cargo + freight at risk), and issues a General Average Statement. Timing: 12-36 months typical; complex cases (Ever Given) can run 3-5 years.
6. Contribution paid. Each interest pays its share; the shipowner recovers the extraordinary expenditure or is reimbursed for the sacrificed cargo/ship.

Notable recent cases

• Ever Given (2021). Grounding in the Suez Canal 23-29 March 2021. Owner Shoei Kisen declared GA on 1 April 2021. Cargo held under lien; ~20,000+ container interests required to lodge security. Adjustment settled in stages 2022-2024.
• MSC Napoli (2007). Structural failure + beaching off Devon UK. GA declared. Cargo lien litigation went to the English courts (Court of Appeal 2008). Set precedent on Master's authority to accept LOF-2020 salvage without prior owner authority.
• MOL Comfort (2013). Cargo ship broke in two in the Indian Ocean; both halves eventually sank. GA declared; complex apportionment given total loss of cargo aboard both halves.
• ONE Apus (2020). Container ship lost ~1,900 containers overboard in the North Pacific. GA declared. One of the largest container-loss casualties in decades.

Practical implications for the Master and crew

• Log every decision. The Master's bridge log + engine log + deck log are the primary evidence of the GA-triggering acts. Note times, sea state, decisions taken, orders given, personnel present.
• Photograph damage + note witnesses. Cargo damage, structural damage, port-of-refuge condition — the average adjuster will require this in the case file.
• Preserve fuel + stores receipts. Bunker consumption during a port-of-refuge deviation is a recoverable GA expenditure. Bunker delivery notes, port-agent invoices, tug receipts must be preserved.
• Do not release cargo until told. The GA lien is the owner's only lever for security. Releasing cargo without adjuster + owner clearance can extinguish the lien.

See also

• · Salvage — LOF-2020, SCOPIC, Nairobi Convention.
• · Bill of Lading — cargo lien for GA contribution enforced against the B/L holder.
• · Hague, Hague-Visby, Hamburg & Rotterdam Rules — cargo interests' GA-contribution obligation is preserved despite carrier defences.
• · P&I Clubs — advise Master + owner throughout the GA declaration and adjustment.
• · Ever Given 2021 — landmark modern GA declaration.

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