Transportation of works of art by sea

Abstract

Air transport, for all but the largest and heaviest works of art, has virtually supplanted transport by sea, notwithstanding the much higher freight charges to be incurred, and this has been encouraged by a number of contingent factors. Until recently, marine freight rates have tended to be calculated on an ad valorem basis, so that the cost of shipping high-value objects by sea could be out of all proportion to their volume or weight. This practice has largely disappeared, though wharfage remains in some ports, and the insurance premium rates for marine transport compare very favourably with those payable for air freight when calculated on the basis that both are escorted/couriered consignments subject to special controls. The biggest disadvantages of marine transport have been the extended time during which the escorts/couriers are engaged in a single operation and the lack of precisely quantified information with regard to the environmental conditions actually experienced by works of art when transported long distances by sea.’ In order to be considered seriously again as a regular means of transport, the environmental conditions anticipated must be at least as good as those experienced in transportation by air, and the economies to be achieved by taking advantage of the very much lower marine freight rates must more than compensate for the increased manpower costs incurred if the consignments are accompanied by escorts/couriers. During the second half of 1990 the arguments in favour of alternatives to air freight have been much strengthened by virtue of one single carrier gaining a monopolistic control of all main-deck air freight between London and New York, accompanied by a sharp increase in freight rates. The second factor is political instability and the threat of terrorist attacks on aircraft. The old proverb recommends that one should not put all one’s eggs in one basket, and for this reason insurers of high-value consignments often require them to be split between a number of flights so as to limit the disaster risk. This, however, increases the number and cost of the escorts and couriers needing to be employed, whilst on a ship the exposure of containers to terrorist acts is substantially less. A damaged work of art, even a severely damaged work of art, is infinitely to be preferred to total destruction, and the liability to catastrophic loss, as against damage, in consequence of an incident is a factor that has to be borne in mind when a transportation strategy is evolved.’ The strategic intention is always to minimize the exposure of the work of art to hazards or changes in environmental conditions which might affect it adversely whilst limiting the financial cost of achieving the same. Thus, in evolving the transportation strategy, the mode(s) of transportation to be employed, the packing specifications, the insurance contract and the use to be made of escorts or couriers cannot be considered in isolation from one another because each has a direct impact on all the others. The total cost to be incurred is, of course, of great concern to the organization or person paying for