Soya beans are big business and Brazil has now become the world’s leading producer, surpassing the United States. We looked to consultant scientist, Dr Stephanie Heard for insight into carriage of soya beans in bulk between Brazil and China and some of the problems that may be encountered due to moisture content at loading.

Gard has seen many claims arising from soya bean cargos transported from Brazil to China for damage and alleged damage at discharge. The claims are made by receivers and/or cargo insurers under bills of lading against the vessel and often involve very large security demands. These claims are often passed to charterers, particularly when the Interclub agreement terms have been incorporated in the charterparty. We would like to understand more about the trade, the cause of the damage and some advice for mitigation of losses where damage is established.