What are the Hague-Visby Rules?

International rules on a sea carrier's duties and liability under a bill of lading: the 1924 Hague Rules as amended in 1968 and 1979. Many countries, including the UK, apply them by law.

What is the carrier's liability limit under Hague-Visby?

666.67 special drawing rights per package or unit, or 2 SDR per kilogram of gross weight, whichever is higher — unless a higher value was declared on the bill of lading.

Does the US apply the Hague-Visby Rules?

No. The US applies the 1924 Hague Rules through its Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, with a limit of USD 500 per package or customary freight unit and a one-year time bar.

Term

Hague-Visby Rules

The Hague-Visby Rules are the international rules many countries apply to carrying goods by sea under a bill of lading. They limit a carrier's liability to 666.67 special drawing rights per package or 2 per kilogram, whichever is higher, and give one year to sue. The US applies the older Hague Rules instead: USD 500 per package.

Also called Hague-Visby, Hague Rules, COGSA, sea carrier liability limitUpdated 13 October 2026

What they cover

The UK gives the Rules the force of law through its Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1971. They govern carriage under a bill of lading; a sea waybill is covered only if the contract expressly says the Rules apply. On the shipper's demand the carrier must issue a bill showing the apparent order and condition of the goods, and that bill is prima facie evidence of what the carrier received — conclusive once it has passed to a third party acting in good faith.

The limits, regime by regime

Regime	Carrier's limit	Where it applies
Hague-Visby Rules	666.67 SDR per package or 2 SDR per kg of gross weight, whichever is higher	The UK and the other states party to the 1968 and 1979 protocols
Hague Rules (US COGSA)	USD 500 per package, or per customary freight unit	The United States, party to the 1924 rules since 1937
Hamburg Rules	835 SDR per package or 2.5 SDR per kg	36 parties, including Egypt, Jordan and Morocco
Rotterdam Rules	Not in force — 5 parties, 20 needed	—

Worked example: one lost pallet

1,200 kg pallet of 10 cartons, the cartons listed on the bill: 10 × 666.67 = 6,666.70 SDR against 1,200 × 2 = 2,400 SDR → 6,666.70 SDR ≈ USD 9,022 · the same pallet billed as "1 pallet": 666.67 against 2,400 → 2,400 SDR ≈ USD 3,248 · US COGSA: USD 5,000, or USD 500 if the pallet is the package

At the IMF rate for 9 October 2026, 1 SDR = USD 1.353260. The limit does not apply when the value was declared on the bill, or when the carrier acted recklessly knowing damage would probably result.

The Gulf

Kuwait has been party to the 1924 Hague Rules since 1970. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain do not appear among the parties to the 1924 rules or to the 1968 and 1979 protocols in the depositary's lists, so check which law the bill of lading's own terms choose.

The mistake people make

Describing a consolidated load as one pallet. Under Article IV, rule 5(c), the packages enumerated on the bill of lading as packed in a container or on a pallet count as the packages; leave them off, and the whole pallet can count as one — as the example shows, the difference here is nearly USD 5,800.

FAQ