Maersk’s freight forwarding operation has been hauled in front of the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) accused of having abandoned a shipment in the Republic of Congo.
With US-based NVOCCs Sealines International and Seamates International, and shipping agent Ejike International Trade, Maersk was responsible for a container destined for Sierra Leone’s Queen Elizabeth Port in June 2021, slated for arrival in 25 August.
But, by November, the shipper was still awaiting its arrival and, contacting Ejike, discovered an error in the booking had resulted in the shipment being sent to Pointe Noire, in Congo, on 18 November.
Correspondence between the shipping agent and Seamates stated: “The container is in Pointe Noire, Congo. I have been trying to discuss the matter with Maersk Line to see what happened.
“Maersk Line will not offer any help, except to give me an email for the re-export of the container lo Freetown, Sierra Leone.”
A meeting between the shipper, the agent, and Seamates led to the decision that a third party, based in Congo, would facilitate the re-export of the shipment to Sierra Leone, with Seamates absorbing the cost. But despite the offer to defray the cost of the re-export, the Sierra Leone-based agent sought a further $2,000 from the shipper to proceed.
Almost four years on, and having paid the additional $2,000 to the agent, the shipper claims that neither Ekije, Seamates, or Maersk have been able to re-export the shipment to its intended destination.
The complaint to the FMC says: “This indicates a failure by the agent and carriers to establish and observe reasonable practices for delivering the cargo per the shipping contract.”