Shanghai Changying Industry Co., Ltd. vs. Pacific International Lines (Pte) Ltd.
Entrusted by a consignor in Philippines, Pacific International Lines (Pte) Ltd. (PIL) transported a 40 feet container of fresh bananas from Panabo Port of the Philippines to Shanghai Port of China. A clean bill of lading was issued by PIL and Shanghai Changying Industry Co., Ltd. (Changying) was marked as the consignee thereon.
The container was conveyed to the destination in due course. After taking over the container by Changying from PIL the container was moved into a place for quarantine inspection by the government authority and stayed there for several days. Afterwards the container was carried to the warehouse of Changying for devanning, it was at that time the goods were found in frozen condition and resulted in total loss.
Attorney Benjamin was retained by Changying to sue PIL into Shanghai Maritime Court for the damages. According to the temperature records provided by PIL in the course of the proceedings, the inside temperature of the container was kept at the right cooling temperature of 13.5℃ during the course of marine transportation but down to below 0℃ during the period when it was placed in the quarantine inspection site. As revealed by the carrier’s pre-trip inspection report on the container, the temperature falling was caused by breakdown of a temperature sensor.
The controversial focus of this case is whether PIL had fulfilled its obligations in providing a sound container fit and safe for carrying the goods and caring for the goods. Attorney Benjamin did a good representation job to convince the judges of the carrier’s failure in fulfilling its obligations and rewarded a favorable judgment to the client of Changying.
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