Maritime claims · Commercial recovery · Principal buying
Commercial solutions for complex cargo claims. Pommer & Partners supports maritime lawyers, P&I Clubs, shipowners, insurers and cargo interests with the commercial assessment and recovery of distressed cargo. Depending on the circumstances, we may act as a principal buyer, identify alternative markets or coordinate a practical recovery solution.
Once a cargo is damaged, rejected, off specification, abandoned or otherwise distressed, the legal position and the commercial position have to be resolved in parallel. Pommer & Partners works on the commercial side: what the cargo is still worth, who can lawfully take it, where it can go, and what the realistic net effect of each option is.
Depending on the case that may mean direct purchase as principal, identification of alternative markets and buyers, remarketing, or coordination of a practical recovery solution. Not every assignment involves a written advisory report, and not every cargo is purchased with our own capital.
Pommer & Partners is not a law firm, insurer, P&I Club, appointed claims handler or independent legal adviser. Legal advice, regulatory approvals, cargo classification and technical determinations remain with the appropriate qualified parties and authorities.
Submit a cargo case
Send the commodity, quantity, current location, condition and any survey or laboratory findings available. We revert with the commercial options we consider realistic.
Please send only the information required for an initial review. Legally privileged or highly confidential documents should not be transmitted until the instructing party and the scope of the commercial discussion have been confirmed.
Submit a Cargo CaseContact Pommer & Partnerscontact@pommerpartners.com · +49 221 405027
How a commercial recovery assessment works
Each stage depends on the information genuinely available. Where a stage cannot be completed on the material at hand, the gap is stated rather than filled with assumptions.
The available cargo information is reviewed: commodity, quantity, location, condition, survey findings, contractual constraints, discharge restrictions and commercial urgency. Missing information is identified and verified facts are kept separate from assumptions.
Potential direct purchase, alternative buyers, remarketing, alternative discharge locations and other lawful recovery routes are assessed, including whether the cargo remains suitable for its intended use, for another permitted use, or requires different treatment.
Where sufficient information exists, indicative proceeds are compared against the relevant costs — diversion, discharge, handling, storage, transport, delay and other case-specific expenses. Material uncertainties are stated rather than dressed up as firm figures.
Where instructed and agreed, the selected commercial solution is supported through purchase, buyer coordination, documentation and practical recovery arrangements.
Commercial case review
We review the information required to determine whether we can purchase the cargo directly or pursue another commercially viable recovery route. The extent of the review depends on the cargo, location, available documentation and practical constraints.
Illustrative scenario · hypothetical
A bulk carrier has approximately 500 MT of heat-damaged maize remaining on board after rejection by the receiver and the relevant authorities. The vessel is permitted to depart, but the cargo cannot be discharged at the original destination. The commercial task is to identify a lawful and economically viable recovery route while considering the vessel’s onward voyage.
An assessment of a case in that shape would examine the documented condition of the cargo, possible alternative markets, permissible discharge arrangements, purchase opportunities and the net economic effect of each available option, including the cost of delay to the vessel.
This example is illustrative only. It is not a Pommer & Partners case history: no vessel, port approval, buyer, price, laboratory result or outcome is described, and nothing here should be read as evidence of a completed assignment.
Principal position
Pommer & Partners may purchase distressed cargo as principal, subject to inspection, commercial agreement and applicable requirements. Where a purchase is commercially appropriate, it can provide the entitled parties with an agreed recovery value and a defined route for transferring the cargo, subject to contract, payment, title and applicable requirements. Where a purchase is not appropriate, we may act as a commercial counterparty or coordinate the recovery instead.
Purchases are commonly concluded on an AS IS, WHERE IS basis, where the cargo is bought in its present condition and at its present location. That wording allocates commercial risk between the parties; it does not override mandatory law, regulatory restrictions or agreed contractual terms.
Any purchase requires evidence of title and authority to sell, or the written authority of the insurer or other party entitled to dispose of the cargo, together with clarification of subrogation, lien, customs and any third-party rights affecting the cargo.
Pommer & Partners acts as a commercial counterparty, not as an independent adviser. We assess distressed cargo to determine whether a direct purchase or another commercially viable recovery route is possible. Where we purchase, we act as principal and for our own account. Any purchase offer is a commercial bid and not an independent valuation.
Depending on the assignment, Pommer & Partners may act as principal buyer, manage a salvage sale or coordinate commercial recovery. Selected assignments may be undertaken on a No Cure, No Pay basis, subject to the agreed terms.
Relevant terminology in these cases includes ex vessel sales, alternative discharge, rejected bulk cargo, damaged cargo recovery and off-specification agricultural cargo — each of which is a commercial question settled case by case.
Trust & compliance
Transactions and services are subject to verification and applicable regulation, including:
Any purchase or sale requires evidence of title and authority to sell, or the written authority of the insurer or other party entitled to dispose of the cargo, together with clarification of subrogation, lien, customs and third-party rights. Recovery, recycling and disposal routes depend on waste classification and on applicable environmental, transport and customs rules in the countries involved. Potential alternative use of food or agricultural cargo, including animal-feed applications, depends on cargo condition, laboratory results and applicable food and feed legislation, and is only pursued where the competent authorities and the relevant rules allow it.
Assessment questions
By comparing realistic routes on a like-for-like net basis: a direct purchase, a managed salvage sale, remarketing, industrial recovery and compliant disposal. Each route should be tested against title, authority to sell, customs and regulatory constraints, timing and the cost exposure it removes. Pommer & Partners presents its proposals as a commercial counterparty, not as an independent adviser.
Estimate the daily cost of the status quo — demurrage or hire, terminal storage, container detention, survey and handling — and multiply it by the realistic time each route needs to complete. A route with lower proceeds that completes weeks earlier can produce a better net position than a slower, higher-priced alternative.
Typically the bill of lading and commercial invoice, survey reports, laboratory analyses or certificates, photographs, any rejection or detention notice, customs status, evidence of title or authority to sell, insurer or P&I authority where relevant, and the current cost position and time constraints.
Related
We buy damaged, rejected and abandoned cargo as principal, AS IS, WHERE IS.
Solutions for rejected and off-specification consignments.
Wet, contaminated and heat-affected consignments.
Salvage sales and cargo recovery at sea and in port.
Salvage sales of distressed cargo to vetted international buyers.
Company profile, scope of activity and machine-readable reference information.
Submit cargo details
Send the cargo details, location, quantity, condition and available survey information for an initial commercial assessment.
contact@pommerpartners.com