Freight forwarder Panalpina and FPSO giant Modec are exchanging blows over the bill for costly damage to equipment that was banged up when a multipurpose ship (MPP) encountered heavy weather.
Modec, the Japanese owner off floating production storage and offloading units, alleges that it suffered $2.56m in damages to three compressor units shipped in six packages on the 12,700-dwt Alina (built 2010), according to legal papers obtained by TradeWinds.
The company wants Panalpina to pay $1m of that cost and has threatened to sue in Singapore.
Panalpina's denials
But Panalpina, a Swiss logistics company, has denied liability and filed litigation in a federal court in Houston insisting that the master freight forwarding agreement requires Modec to take its claims to arbitration in the Texas city.
Modec had shipped the equipment under a master freight forwarding agreement with Panalpina in December 2014. The Alina, controlled by German shipowner Gebruder Ahrens, was carrying the MAN Diesel & Turbo compressor units from Antwerp to Thailand, where they were to be delivered to a fabrication yard in preparation for use on an FPSO on the Tweneboa-Enyenra-Ntomme field off Ghana.
But, according to a claim letter by Singapore law firm Rajah & Tann, the Alina encountered heavy weather after leaving Le Havre, which caused some cargo to shift. The ship and some of its cargo suffered damage, leading it to be diverted to Newcastle.
At first, the compressor shipment appeared to have suffered only minor or superficial damage, and Panalpina arranged alternative transport arrangements.
"However, it was eventually ascertained that the motors were seriously damaged and had to undergo substantial repair at their manufacturer in Norwich, UK," wrote Rajah & Tann's Adrian Wong and Teo Shu Qiu in an exchange of letters between the two sides.
Modec claims that Panalpina demanded dead freight for the cancellation, which its lawyers say is a cost that the freight forwarder should bear.
Filed too late?
Panalpina's lawyers at Singapore firm AsiaLegal assert that Modec's claim comes too late and that any failure to properly secure and lash the cargo was not within the company's control.
"Our clients deny any and all liability for the sum and will not make payment of the same to your clients," said the firm's Magdalene Chew and Wong Teck Ming.
