## Facts

- Wemhoener Pressen, a German manufacturer, sold a hydraulic press to an Ohio buyer and arranged shipment from Germany to Ohio through a forwarding agent.
- The press was crated and lashed with steel cables to a non-motorized flatbed “mafi” trailer owned by the ocean carrier, Polish Ocean Lines (POL), for roll-on/roll-off transport.
- An express cargo bill served as the bill of lading and incorporated POL’s standard bill of lading terms, including a Himalaya clause and a provision extending the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA) beyond the usual “tackle-to-tackle” period.
- The bill of lading included COGSA’s $500-per-package liability limitation and provided an option to declare higher value for higher freight; Wemhoener left the declared-value space blank.
- After discharge at the Port of Baltimore, Ceres Marine Terminals (a stevedore/terminal operator) unloaded the crate on the mafi and moved it to a storage area.
- While preparing the shipment for inland rail transport, a Ceres employee used a cutting torch to remove the steel cables, igniting the packaging and damaging the press (and the mafi).
- Wemhoener sued Ceres for negligent handling and argued for application of Maryland law to avoid the $500 limitation.

## Issues

1. Whether federal maritime law (admiralty) governed Wemhoener’s negligence claim against Ceres, rather than Maryland law.
2. Whether the bill of lading’s Himalaya clause and contractual extension of COGSA applied to Ceres and limited Ceres’s liability to $500 per package for the post-discharge fire.

## Decision

- The Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s partial summary judgment for Ceres.
- Federal maritime law governed because the claim arose from an international contract of carriage governed by COGSA and the terminal services were performed under that carriage arrangement.
- The contractual extension of COGSA remained effective at the time of the fire because delivery had not yet occurred.
- The Himalaya clause was sufficiently specific to cover Ceres as an intended beneficiary (agent/independent contractor performing carriage-related services).
- Ceres could invoke COGSA’s $500-per-package limitation, and Wemhoener’s failure to declare a higher value left the limitation enforceable.

## Legal Principles

- Federal maritime law governs disputes arising from an international bill of lading governed by COGSA, including the availability and scope of contractual liability limits.
- Parties may contractually extend COGSA’s application to periods before loading and after discharge, including time in the custody of stevedores or terminal operators, until delivery occurs.
- A Himalaya clause can extend COGSA defenses and limits to third parties (such as stevedores/terminal operators) when the clause clearly identifies a class that includes them.
- COGSA’s $500-per-package limitation is enforceable when the shipper had a fair contractual opportunity to declare higher value and did not do so.

## Conclusion

The court held that uniform federal maritime rules governed the post-discharge terminal-handling loss and that the bill of lading’s contractual COGSA extension and Himalaya clause limited the terminal operator’s liability to $500 per package because delivery had not yet occurred and the shipper did not declare a higher value.


Wemhoener Pressen v. Ceres Marine Terminals, Inc., 5 F.3d 734 (4th Cir. 1993)