Shipping and Claims · 1 of 3
How a shipment is prepared is written into the rules rather than left to the shipper. "Packaging includes packing, preservation, and other procedures designed to protect materiel from damage or deterioration while in transit or in storage" (SAMM C7.8.1).
There is a published floor. "Foreign Military Sales (FMS) shipments are packed to not less than Military Level A/B as defined in Military Standard (MILSTD)-129 or in accordance with best commercial practices based on the mode of shipment selected for the purchased items (i.e. water, air, motor, rail)" (SAMM C7.8.1).
The obligation sits with the supplier, and it follows the route rather than the sale. "The DoD contractor is responsible to package the freight in accordance with the mode of shipment selected to its ultimate destination" (SAMM C7.8.1). A buyer that changes the delivery route after packing has been done has changed the packing requirement as well.
One of the commonest ways for a defense shipment to be stopped at a border has nothing to do with what is inside it. Wooden packaging is governed by an international phytosanitary standard, and the manual points to the American procedure for complying with it (SAMM C7.8.1.1).
Enforcement is not centralized. "International requirements are enforced by individual ISPM 15 member countries", and where a country's inspection procedures are published they should appear in the relevant section of the transportation regulation (SAMM C7.8.1.1.1). A partner whose customs authority is strict about timber should make sure that is documented where shippers will read it.
There is an explicit procedure for the case where the wrong wood was used. Where old, non-compliant timber was used for a shipment to a participating country and it cannot be remediated or repacked without extra cost, ammunition containers being the example given, "the purchaser should be given the option to wait for a new procurement packed in ISPM 15 compliant WPM, to waive the ISPM 15 requirement for that case only, or to pay for remediation or repacking costs" (SAMM C7.8.1.1.1).
That is three bad options presented honestly, and the choice belongs to the buyer. Shipments to countries outside the standard are certified under a separate departmental pest-free certification instead.
Marking is the thin layer of information that lets a crate be tracked, cleared and claimed for. "Marking identifies the contents along with the shipper and consignee. FMS shipments are marked and labeled with a military shipping label in accordance with MIL-STD-129" (SAMM C7.8.2).
Eight items are required as a minimum. Four identify the consignment: the case identifier, the transportation control number, the transportation priority and the project code where one applies. Three identify the parties: the sender's name, address and telephone number, the consignee's address and telephone number, and the ultimate consignee address from the address directory in both coded and plain form (SAMM Table C7.T3).
The eighth is the one that causes arguments at the receiving end. A military shipping label is required for each piece of equipment, and any box holding several items, related or not, is marked as a multipack (SAMM Table C7.T3). A crate opened at destination and found to contain three unrelated items is behaving correctly if it carries that marking.
The case identifier and control number are what tie a physical crate back to a line on a document, which is why a discrepancy report without them is difficult to resolve. What that report involves is set out in supply discrepancy reports.
The insurance section opens by restating where ownership sits, because everything else follows from it. "Title of Foreign Military Sales (FMS) shipments transfers to the purchaser at the point of origin unless otherwise specified in the Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA)" (SAMM C7.10.1).
The consequence is stated without hedging. "The Department of Defense is not responsible for any loss or damage that occurs in transit or after passage of title" (SAMM C7.10.1). A crate crushed in a port thousands of miles from the buyer's country is the buyer's crate. Where title passes and why is covered in title transfer and risk in transit.
Given that, the manual sets out a default and an exception. The default is self-insurance by omission: "If a purchaser does not want to self-insure a shipment, the purchaser should obtain commercial insurance" (SAMM C7.10.1). A buyer that has arranged nothing is carrying the risk itself, whether or not it intended to.
There is a nudge on the cases that matter most. "Commercial insurance is highly encouraged for large dollar value items" (SAMM C7.10.1).
The practical route runs through the forwarder rather than the government. "The FMS freight forwarder should arrange commercial insurance as part of its contract with the FMS purchaser" (SAMM C7.10.1). That places cover in the same contract as the movement, which is where a claim will be argued. How a forwarder is appointed is described in delivery term codes and freight forwarders.
The government route exists and is deliberately narrow. "In exceptional situations, an Implementing Agency (IA) may obtain insurance and the cost of the insurance will be billed as a separate line item on the LOA" (SAMM C7.10.1). Being a separate line rather than a percentage means the cost is visible, and it means the request has to be made while the case is being written.
Packing, marking and insurance look like three separate administrative chores. In a claim they behave as one.
Recovery from a carrier is capped. Limited liability prevents a buyer from recovering full value, and across the routes available, "the most that the purchaser might collect for loss or damage is the limited liability applicable to the commercial ocean, air, or inland carrier" (SAMM C7.21). The gap between that figure and the value of the cargo is what commercial insurance covers.
The official record is what makes the insurance claim work. A transportation discrepancy report documents lost shipments and creates a record for later claims, and the manual notes that where a buyer has commercial insurance, "the official record may help the purchaser when submitting insurance claims" (SAMM C7.21).
Which brings the chain back to the label. The report is built from the case identifier, the control number and the shipping documents, all of which come from the marking rules. A shipment packed to standard, marked completely and insured through the forwarder is a shipment that can be claimed for. One that is none of those is a loss.
| Level A/B | The minimum military packing standard applied to shipments under a case. SAMM C7.8.1. |
|---|---|
| ISPM 15 | The international standard governing wooden packaging, enforced country by country. |
| TCN | Transportation control number, one of eight required markings on every shipment. |
| Multipack | A box holding several items, which must be marked as such. |
| Limited liability | The carrier's capped exposure, which is why commercial insurance exists. |
Every statement above links to the document behind it. The full source list for this piece is on the sources page.
This page describes public United States government programs for general information. It is not legal, regulatory or procurement advice, and it does not address the facts of any particular case.
Cargo is most vulnerable at the end of the chain, furthest from the people who packed it. Sentfore provides secure transport, protective security and site support for defense programs in difficult environments. Requirements can be sent through the contact page.