There has recently been a number of claims for damage to soya bean cargoes at the discharge port – mainly in China.

Grain cargoes in general – and soya beans in particular – have a high risk of going mouldy on board the ship during the voyage. Most if not all the cargoes are loaded in apparent good order and condition but there is an inherent vice - the soya beans have a tendency to deteriorate unless cargo loading temperatures are low and average moisture content is low.

The reason why soya bean cargo damage claims are frequent is that the contractual moisture content is stated usually as ‘14%  maximum’ and most cargoes are shipped above the 11.5% needed for stability.

*The reported average moisture content of 12.6% for recent cargoes from Brazil is high risk – the risk of self-heating is high. Most cargoes outturn in apparent good order and condition and are accepted without claim. But many cargoes will self-heat before arrival at the discharge port and there will be cargo damage. If the voyage is delayed this risk increases.