Distinction between the terms “short-delivery” and “non-delivery” is not purely academic because both risks are not always insured together. In fact, there is a special Institute Clause covering the risks of theft, pilferage and non-delivery, for use with the present marine policy form, which qualifies non-delivery as appertaining to an entire package, this being the generally accepted view of the meaning of the expression in Marine market. Short-delivery is accordingly treated as failure to deliver packages containing their full contents. On the other hand, “shortage”, as applied to bagged cargoes, implies something more than pilferage or short-delivery, and is regarded as including natural loss. Frequently, too, receivers of cargo will refer to cartons as being “ullaged” when the contents have been partially lost, whereas insurers normally reserve this expression for the ordinary loss in liquid cargoes.
