Himalaya Clause

A Himalaya clause extends the carrier’s contractual defenses and liability limits to its servants, agents, and independent contractors, typically stevedores and terminal operators, who would otherwise be exposed to a direct tort claim by the cargo owner. The device works around the privity rule by constructing an agency or, under modern statute, a third-party benefit. It takes its name from the steamship Himalaya in Adler v Dickson (1955), where a passenger sued the master and bosun because the ticket conditions did not yet reach them.