General average is one of the oldest principles in maritime law: where a sacrifice or extraordinary expenditure is made for the common safety of the vessel and everything aboard, the cost is shared proportionally between the ship and all the cargo interests. It long predates modern insurance and it remains fully operative today.
The practical consequence surprises people. If a vessel suffers a serious casualty and general average is declared, cargo owners may be required to post security — a bond, a guarantee, or a cash deposit — before their containers are released, regardless of whether their own goods were damaged at all. Adjustments can take a very long time to finalise. Cargo sitting at a port awaiting security is cargo not reaching a customer.
The protection is straightforward and inexpensive relative to the exposure: proper marine cargo insurance, with the general average contribution covered, and confirmation that the policy actually responds to the routing and commodity in question. We raise it at structuring stage rather than at claim stage, because the moment it becomes relevant is the worst possible moment to discover a gap.
Harbour Strategies (HK) Limited · 10 February 2026
Editorial commentary by Harbour Strategies. Figures and regulatory details should be verified against primary sources before being relied upon.
