A lychee shipment to China is returned: the reefer container spiked to 15°C for 6 hours — the whole lot fermented. The cargo owner claims 2 billion VND from the logistics firm; the firm blames the container lessor; the lessor says the unit ran fine and the fault was the operator’s settings. Nobody is liable because the contract merely said “refrigerated transport” without defining temperature, measurement points, or remedies. A cold chain is a chain of liability — where it breaks must be clear from the contract.
What makes up a cold chain?
A cold chain keeps farm produce at controlled temperatures continuously from harvest to consumer: cold storage, refrigerated trucks/reefers, and temperature-controlled transfer points. For fresh produce and seafood, the cold chain is not just logistics but a food-safety condition under the Food Safety Law 55/2010/QH10 — a temperature break means food-safety risk, not merely quality loss.
Cold-storage investment: land and fire safety
Building cold storage is an infrastructure investment: it needs suitable land-use rights (commercial/service land or industrial-cluster/logistics land), construction permits, and above all fire protection — cold stores use flammable insulation (foam panels) and heavy-duty refrigeration electrics, strictly managed under the Fire Prevention, Fighting and Rescue Law 55/2024/QH15 (effective 01/7/2025). Many cold-store fires start from refrigeration electrical faults — fire-safety approval belongs at the design stage, not after construction.
Refrigerated logistics contracts: four survival clauses
- Committed temperature band: state the storage temperature (e.g., 2–4°C), measurement points, data loggers, and who supplies and calibrates them.
- Break liability: define a “cold-chain break” (threshold exceeded for how long), immediate notification duties, and a compensation formula tied to cargo value.
- Handover and inspection: handover records noting temperature at each leg; without records, disputes have no evidence.
- Cargo insurance: buy transport cargo insurance with reefer extensions; read exclusions closely (many policies exclude damage from wrong temperature settings).
Typical disputes and handling
Cold-chain disputes are usually evidence disputes: whose data logger counts, whose equipment was properly calibrated. Contracts should mandate a common logger standard, real-time data sharing, and a designated independent surveyor for incidents. For exports, pre-shipment inspection and condition records are the first line of defense against importer claims.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What legal checks apply when leasing cold storage?
Check fire-safety eligibility (acceptance records), environmental permits (wastewater, refrigerant-gas emissions), and lease allocation of refrigeration maintenance and electrical duties — a fire from electrical faults can land on the lessee if the contract is silent.
2. Who bears loss when the lessor’s power cut breaks the chain?
Per the lease: if the lessor committed to maintain temperature with backup power and failed to run it, the lessor is liable. Leases should impose continuous-temperature duties, including grid outages, with specific remedies.
3. Does insurance cover cold-chain breaks?
It depends. Standard cargo policies may exclude storage-related damage; buy reefer-clause extensions and read exclusions such as wrong temperature settings or improper stuffing.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council