Alcoa Steamship Co. v. United States

It is a principle of American maritime law that ocean carrier freight charges are not earned unless and until the goods are delivered to destination. But contractual provisions establishing the shipper’s liability for freight regardless of actual delivery have been uniformly held valid, 2 and have become common stipulations in carriers’ bills of lading. Shipments of government property are made subject to the conditions of the carrier’s usual contract of carriage unless the government standard form bill of lading specifically provides otherwise. 3 At bar is the single question of contract…