Maersk Owes $5.8 Million for Losing Goods at Sea, Target's Insurance Co. Argues

Shipping giant Maersk Line owes insurance company Starr Indemnity & Liability Co. over $5.8 million for losing around 57 containers of consumer goods at sea while carrying them from Cambodia and China to Los Angeles, the insurance firm argued in an Oct. 19 complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Starr, the insurer for retail giant Target Corp.'s goods, said the goods were lost due to the "negligence and breach of duty" of Maersk and its employees (Starr Indemnity & Liability Co. v. M/V Maersk Eindhoven, S.D.N.Y. # 23-09177).

Starr said the goods were delivered to Maersk in Cambodia and China aboard the M/V Maersk Eindhoven for ultimate delivery in California. The shipping company accepted the shipment and agreed to ship it to Los Angeles "in like good order and condition as when shipped, delivered to and received by them," the complaint said.

However, the consumer goods were lost overboard due to what Starr claims to be negligence. Filing an admirality or maritime claim against Maersk and the vessel itself, the insurance company said Maersk owes it $5,804,056 as a result. The loss was "proximately caused or contributed to by the fault, neglect and want of care on the part of Maersk and/or their agents, servants, employees or representatives, in that defendants failed to maintain proper care, custody, and security for the shipment, or from other acts, omissions, matters or transactions for which defendants are liable."