The container arrived with the seal intact.
The seal number matched the shipping documents. There were no obvious signs of tampering, and the container appeared to have remained closed throughout the transit.
When the doors were opened, however, the cargo was found in a different condition.
Some packages had shifted. Stacks had leaned against the container walls. In more serious cases, heavy units had moved from their original positions, causing crushed packages, deformation and other damage.
The first reaction is usually predictable:
“But the seal was intact.”
It is a valid observation. But it answers only one question.
It tells us about the condition of the container doors. It does not tell us what happened to the cargo inside.
What Does an Intact Seal Actually Prove?
After many years surveying container cargo, I have seen this misunderstanding repeatedly.
An intact seal, with the correct seal number, is useful evidence that the container was not apparently opened after sealing.
But it does not confirm how the cargo was packed or secured.
A seal does not:
- distribute the cargo weight;
- control the centre of gravity;
- provide blocking or bracing;
- replace suitable dunnage;
- prevent cargo from shifting during transport.
These are separate issues.
When a cargo damage claim arises, treating an intact seal as evidence that the cargo was properly secured can lead the investigation in the wrong direction.
The Important Evidence Is Created Before the Seal Goes On
Once the container doors are closed and sealed, the original arrangement inside is no longer visible.
That is why the condition of the cargo before closing can be critical.
A surveyor should be looking at practical questions:
- How was the cargo positioned and stacked?
- Where were the void spaces?
- Was suitable blocking, bracing or dunnage provided?
- Were heavy or high-centre-of-gravity units adequately restrained?
- Were the securing arrangements appropriate for the cargo and its intended transport?
Photographs taken during stuffing, packing records and other contemporaneous evidence can become particularly important later.
When a claim is reported at destination, the surveyor is often comparing two different moments: the cargo condition before the doors were closed and the cargo condition when those doors were opened again.
The better that evidence is recorded at origin, the more reliable that comparison can be.
Cargo Can Move Without the Door Ever Being Opened
During ocean and inland transport, cargo is exposed to vibration, acceleration, braking, pitching, rolling and other dynamic forces.
If the cargo is not adequately restrained, movement can occur even though the container remains sealed.
A small amount of movement may create additional clearance. Repeated movement can then cause packages to shift further, press against adjacent cargo or container structures, or place additional loads on securing materials.
By the time the container reaches the consignee, the seal may still be completely intact while the cargo arrangement has changed significantly.
This is why the surveyor should not stop the investigation at the seal.
The seal may explain the condition of the doors.
It does not explain the condition of the cargo.
Seal Integrity Is Not Cargo Security
The distinction is straightforward:
Seal integrity concerns whether the container remained closed.
Cargo security concerns whether the cargo was adequately positioned and restrained inside the container.
One does not prove the other.
For a surveyor, the important question is therefore not simply whether the seal was intact upon arrival.
It is whether the cargo was properly positioned and secured before the container was closed, and whether there is sufficient evidence to establish that condition afterwards.
Because an intact seal tells us that the door was not apparently opened.
It does not tell us what happened to the cargo inside.
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