A container arrives, the doors open, and glass has broken somewhere inside. What happens next depends almost entirely on what you do in the next hour, and on what was specified months earlier.
The 4 Causes Behind Most Breakage
| Cause | What happens | What prevents it |
|---|---|---|
| Load movement | Cartons shift into voids and rub for the whole voyage. | A tight load, dunnage and airbags filling every gap. |
| Stack load | Bottom layers carry the weight of everything higher. | Board grade and pallet height matched to the real load. |
| Moisture | Humidity weakens board, so a rated stack stops holding. | Double wall board, and pallets wrapped rather than open. |
| Handling | Drops and knocks at loading, transhipment and delivery. | Palletising, clear marking and a forklift at both ends. |
What to Do Before You Unload Anything
Photograph the load through the open doors, before a single carton moves. That image shows whether the stack shifted, and it is the single most useful piece of evidence a claim can have.
Then record the container number, the seal number and the seal condition. A broken or replaced seal changes the whole picture, and a photograph of an intact seal removes an argument nobody wants.
The Evidence a Claim Actually Needs
Five items. Photographs of the sealed doors, the load as opened, the damaged cartons in place, and the broken goods themselves. Then the packing list and the bill of lading matching what arrived.
Add a survey where the value justifies it. SGSBOTTLE supplies the loading plan and packed weight with every order from the 14 lines in Shandong and Xuzhou, so your claim can show what left as well as what arrived.
Risk passes at a moment your Incoterm names. SGSBOTTLE ships from 14 lines in Shandong and Xuzhou.
Who Carries the Risk and When
Your Incoterm answers this. On FOB terms risk passes when the goods are loaded, so a sea-leg loss sits with you and your insurer rather than with your supplier.
On CIF the freight and insurance are arranged for you, and on DAP the risk stays with the seller to the named place. Knowing which applies before a container sails saves a 750 ml (25 oz) order from becoming a dispute about intentions.
Designing Breakage Out Before It Happens
Most of the fix sits upstream. Partitions between bottles, board matched to your stack, a wrapped and strapped pallet, and a load with no voids do more than any handling instruction.
Wall distribution belongs in that list too. A 330 ml (11 oz) bottle with even walls survives a knock that finds the thin shoulder on a heavier one, which is why the sample stage matters to your logistics as well as to your line.
What Goes on Your Enquiry
Your format in ml and oz, your quantity, the lane and season, your Incoterm, and any history of damage on that route. SGSBOTTLE comes back with the pack specification, the loading plan and the documents your claim would need.