Rotterdam Rules

Adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 11, 2008 and opened for signature in Rotterdam in September 2009, the convention would cover door-to-door contracts that include a sea leg, set carrier liability at 875 SDR per package or 3 SDR per kilogram, recognize electronic transport records, and let volume contracts depart from many terms. It enters into force one year after the 20th ratification. Only five states, Spain, Togo, the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon and Benin, have ratified, so it is not in force as of October 2026.

The Rotterdam Rules are not law anywhere yet, but they are the main proposal for updating ocean cargo liability to match containerized, door-to-door logistics. They would give legal backing to electronic bills of lading and raise carrier limits. For example, an importer booking a door-to-door move from a factory in Vietnam to a warehouse in Ohio now faces different liability regimes for the ocean, port and truck legs, which the Rotterdam Rules would unify. Until enough states ratify, contracts and cargo insurance must fill those gaps.

• Ocean Bill of LadingOcean carrier's receipt and contract
• Intermodal FreightFreight moved by rail and truck in one box

• Hague Rules1924, in force 1931 · 1924 treaty on ocean carrier bill of lading liability
• Hague-Visby Rules1968, in force 1977 · Amended Hague Rules on ocean carrier liability
• Hamburg Rules1978, in force 1992 · UN sea cargo convention with higher carrier liability

1. Rotterdam Rules, UNCITRAL uncitral.un.org
2. Rotterdam Rules, Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org