Policies · Force Majeure
Force Majeure Policy
Force majeure means events nobody could have planned for — wars, port closures, pandemics, government bans, severe weather. When something like this stops the work, neither side gets penalised for the delay. We tell you what happened, work with you on a re-route or hold, and split the unavoidable third-party costs fairly. We don't use 'force majeure' as an excuse for things we should have prevented.
What counts
An event outside reasonable control, not caused by the affected party's act or omission, where effects could not be avoided by reasonable means. Examples: war, armed conflict, terrorism, piracy, sabotage, riot, civil commotion, sanctions newly imposed, government / public authority order or prohibition, border / port / terminal / airport closure, vessel diversion imposed by safety or sanctions (e.g. Red Sea / Bab al-Mandab), pandemic with mandatory restrictions, earthquake, hurricane, cyclone, typhoon, tsunami, flood, drought, wildfire, lightning, exceptional weather, volcanic ash closing airspace, strike or industrial action of national / sector scope, regional or national utility failure, cyber attack of national scale against critical infrastructure despite reasonable safeguards, carrier insolvency or vessel arrest outside our control, CDS outage preventing entry submission.
What does NOT count
Inability or unwillingness to pay. Inability to source goods or labour at a profitable price. Normal carrier service variations. Routine port congestion. Routine weather. Equipment failure within Taurex control with reasonable maintenance. Staff shortages within Taurex control. Cyber incident within Taurex control where reasonable safeguards were absent. Insolvency from mismanagement. Strike action confined to one party (e.g. Taurex's own workforce — that's our risk). Market price, exchange rate, or operating cost change (may trigger CAF / surcharge under /policies/pricing-and-surcharges, not force majeure).
What happens
Notice: affected party tells the other within 48 hours of becoming aware — nature of event, expected impact, mitigation in progress. Suspension: performance affected is suspended for the duration; neither party in breach for the suspended period. Mitigation: both act in good faith — re-route via alternative carrier / port / mode, hold goods at safe location, transparent communication, provide alternatives (e.g. air upgrade if sea cut off). End: when event ends, we resume within 5 BD, notify you of revised ETA, new surcharges in force at resumption apply.
Cost allocation
Carrier-imposed war risk / emergency surcharge: customer pays (pass-through). Customer-elected air upgrade because sea cut off: customer pays uplift. Storage at safe location pending resolution: customer pays at standard rates after first 7 days. Re-routing additional freight: customer pays additional freight on cost basis. Taurex admin time: first 20 hours absorbed; thereafter our standard hourly rate. Demurrage at port from closure: pro-rata as carriers / authorities allocate. Cargo insurance claim (where ICC-A held): claimed under your policy. We do not profit from force majeure. Pass-throughs at cost.
Cancellation
If event continues more than 30 days or reasonably expected to, either party may cancel affected shipment(s). Refund of pre-paid amounts less unavoidable third-party costs incurred. Lien (our standard T&Cs) preserved over our goods in possession until paid for work done. See /policies/cancellation-and-refund clause 5.
Specific scenarios
Red Sea / Suez disruption: vessels divert via Cape of Good Hope, +10–14 days for Asia–UK, war risk surcharge ~$500–1500 / TEU applied by carriers, pass-through no mark-up. Port strike at major UK port (Felixstowe, Southampton, London Gateway): re-route to alternative port at cost; if unavoidable, container holds at port until resolved. CDS outage: HMRC fall-back procedures where available; otherwise entry delayed until CDS resumes — demurrage may be reclaimable under HMRC service-disruption code. Pandemic: crew restrictions, port quarantine, route changes follow government guidance; both parties act in good faith; insurance for pandemic delay typically NOT in standard policies. Cyber attack on critical third party: where Taurex unaffected we operate around; where affected despite reasonable safeguards we treat as force majeure.
War and strikes insurance — recommended
Cargo insurance ICC-A typically covers war and strikes only as an extension (additional premium). Where you have NOT added the extension, war / strike losses may not be insured. We recommend the War and Strikes extension for any shipment routing through high-risk areas (currently Red Sea, Strait of Hormuz, Black Sea, certain West African coast). Discuss with our insurance team — see /policies/liability-and-insurance.
Last reviewed 2026-06-06.