Icicle Seafoods has filed a lawsuit in US District Court for the Southern District of New York against Maersk for $85,070 in damages, after a shipment of frozen Pacific cod from Dutch Harbor was declared unfit for sale to the customer in Spain.
Icicle contends, in the lawsuit filed in New York on Aug. 12, that there was negligence on the part of the Danish international container shipping firm or its subcontractors regarding the shipment of 810 bags of frozen Pacific cod.
The litigation notes that a consignment of 810 bags of frozen Pacific cod in a refrigerated container was delivered in good condition about Feb. 17, 2015 to Maersk at Dutch Harbor for transport to Vigo, Spain.
The shipment left aboard the M/V Lindavis about Feb. 17 and was discharged at Tanjung Pelepas Container Terminal in Malaysia on March 30, due to alleged temperature anomalies.
The consignment was then put into a reefer container on March 31 and held for inspection. On April 22, 2015, a cargo inspector at Malaysia deemed the cargo unfit for sale to the intended customer, the lawsuit said.
The cargo was then returned to the Port of Tacoma on Aug. 14, where it was determined to be unfit for human consumption and destroyed.
Meanwhile Icicle submitted a claim to Maersk on April 17 for damages sustained.
On March 23, 2016, Maersk advised Icicle that they considered Aug. 14, 2015 to be the final discharge date and that the one year statue of limitations would expire on Aug. 14, 2016.
According to Icicle, the invoice value of the consignment was $76,152, and additional shipping costs of $8,917 brought the total loss to $85,070.
