Claims US$1.25 million from Evergreen! The retail giant haunts the container shipping industry like a ghost

The lawsuit recently filed by BBBY includes accusations that the carrier violated FMC service-related regulations, only fulfilled 20% of the agreed capacity commitment, and wrongly charged demurrage and demurrage charges within two years.

3B Home’s complaint details Evergreen Marine’s serious breach of service commitments. It claimed that although Evergreen promised to provide a specific number of cargo spaces for 3B Home, the actual capacity provided fell far short of this commitment. According to the provided document data, from 2020 to 2021, Evergreen promised to provide 1,250 FEU of cargo space, but only fulfilled 256.84 FEU, accounting for only 20% of the commitment. In 2021-2022, although it was promised to increase to 750FEU, only 455.92FEU was actually provided.

The document states that due to Evergreen Shipping’s capacity shortage, 3B Home was forced to seek transportation services from other sources at higher prices, and sometimes even had to abandon transportation altogether. This cost the company approximately $4 million in additional payments as it moved to the spot market.

In addition to capacity shortages, 3B Home also accused Evergreen Marine of imposing prices and surcharges outside the contract as a prerequisite for its services. The company stated that the relationship established by Evergreen and 3B Home Furnishing is based on continuous bargaining, rather than in accordance with the agreed contract rates and service commitments.

The FMC filing also cited records of communications between 3B Home and Evergreen Marine, which claimed the container line's surcharges were "simply a means to renegotiate rates." One email even showed that some customers were willing to pay an extra $1,000 on top of the contract price.

The lawsuit adds to the ongoing controversy over "unfair" practices by the shipping industry during the pandemic.

Previously, 3B Home Furnishing had filed a total claim of approximately US$38 million against Orient Overseas and Yang Ming Shipping. The complaints all point to similar practices by carriers seeking to take advantage of the disruption caused by the pandemic.

As the TPM conference in Long Beach is about to take place, this lawsuit has undoubtedly added a hot topic to the discussion within the industry: about D&D, FMC and unfair operator behavior.