News / European shipper in FMC case slams Hapag-Lloyd 'incompetence'

Antwerpen Express

The European shipper whose containers attracted more than $289,000 in detention and demurrage (D&D) charges has condemned Hapag-Lloyd USA for “organisational incompetence”.

A consignment of 70 containers was shipped from Antwerp to Charleston, South Carolina, by Hapag-Lloyd and on to Nashville by rail company CSX, under the same bill of lading.

Hapag-Lloyd has instigated proceedings against the rail company for its failure to release 10 containers, on which it had levied $136,500 in D&D charges, between 7 September and 7 October 2022, because it said they ‘belonged’ to Hapag-Lloyd and could not be loaded onto chassis belonging to forwarder ME Day’s trucking company.

The shipper, who doesn’t want to be named, claims Hapag-Lloyd should have organised chassis so the freight “could be delivered in a timely manner”, and it was due to its “incompetence” that the boxes were not released.

Those charges were paid by ME Dey in order to retrieve the cargo on behalf of the shipper, who said: “A daily charge of $500 just for goods one needs urgently in my personal opinion is simply not acceptable.”

ME Dey has also instigated proceedings to recover the D&D fees. President and MD Sandi Siegel said: “We are excited and optimistic about recovering the funds. I am pleased that it has the attention and interest of the FMC. I have been deluged with support from the community who have had similar experiences and are cheering us on for taking on the carrier.”