Brazil, cargo, claims Home Publications Articles Cargo Claims in Brazil - Practical Guidance Cargo Claims in Brazil - Practical Guidance Publications Steamship Mutual Published: January 28, 2020 Contact author Download article pdf Image Representacoes Proinde, Club correspondents in Brazil, have produced a useful and detailed Guide to cargo claims in Brazil . Mr Ricardo Martins, Managing Director at Proinde explained as follows: “The world’s fifth largest and fifth most-populous country, Brazil is one of the leading producers and a top exporter of a host of mineral and agricultural commodities, in addition to animal protein and manufactured products. More than 90% of the country’s foreign trade flows through a hundred ports and terminals spread across 7,500 kilometres of coastline along the Atlantic Ocean. In recent years, Brazilian ports have handled over one billion tonnes of seaborne cargo every year, with about 80% of this volume shipped abroad, mainly to China, the EU, the USA and Mercosur. Despite a large amount of freight carried by sea, the share of the Brazilian-owned fleet is marginal, with only 3% of national ships moving cargo in and out of the country. Brazil is essentially a cargo-owning nation, and there has been little or no interest from the civil society and lawmakers over the years in getting the country to adopt global conventions on carriage of goods that afford a wide range of limitations and defences for the carrier. Instead, Brazil applies its domestic statutes which, in contrast, offer fewer immunities to the sea carriers. In most jurisdictions claims concerning cargo liabilities are dealt with according to a long-established and well-known set of rules where factual circumstances determine the outcome of a dispute; conversely, handling cargo claims in Brazil can be a complicated task due to the intricate legal framework involved and some uncertainty that permeates specific issues of law. The Brazilian judicial system is known for its ineffi