Claims filed in US federal courts following the massive ONE Apus cargo loss last year have surpassed $13m.
Cargo insurers are seeking at least $11.4m from carriers for everything from furniture to sex toys lost in the Pacific Ocean after the 14,052-teu, 2019-built container ship ran into severe weather in November 2020.
A further $1.66m is being sought in two lawsuits filed against the vessel and its ownership interests by cargo owners.
All were filed in the past six weeks. They argue that the vessel interests or those that booked space on the ship are liable for the lost cargo.
The ONE Apus was 1,600 nautical miles (2,960 km) north-west of Hawaii while sailing from Yantian in China to Long Beach in California when severe weather sent 1,800 boxes overboard.
The loss was one of the largest in recent years, with some containers reported to be containing dangerous cargo.
The cargo insurers have filed at least a dozen lawsuits in the Southern District of New York against the non-vessel operating common carriers.
Frequent defendants in those cases include AP Moller-Maersk subsidiary Damco International, All-Ways Forwarding International, Kuehne + Nagel and Orient Express Container.
Maersk, All-Ways and Kuehne + Nagel did not respond to a request for comment. Orient Container Express declined to comment.
The lawsuits against the ONE Apus come from De Well Container Shipping and Backer EHP.
De Well, a New York non-vessel-operating common carrier, sued in November, arguing that it had arranged to ship goods in 27 containers. It seeks $1.48m.
Backer EHP, a Tennessee company that makes heating elements and temperature control systems, sued in the Central District of California for $182,302 for its lost cargo.
Both name the ship and Ocean Network Express as defendants, along with HMM and Hapag-Lloyd, which had a vessel-sharing agreement with ONE.
The De Well lawsuit names the ONE Apus' registered owner, Chidori Ship Holding, bareboat charterer Jessica Ship Holding and technical manager NYK Shipmanagement as defendants.
Backer also names Yang Ming Marine Transport and CH Robinson International as defendants.
ONE did not respond to a request for comment. Yang Ming, CH Robinson, Hapag-Lloyd and HMM declined to comment.
