American home furnishing giant company claims $1.25 million from EVA Shipping

Bed Bath & Beyond, an American household goods retail giant, recently filed a claim against EVA Shipping through the Federal Maritime Commission, amounting to about US $1.25 million. The lawsuit filed by BBBY includes allegations that the carrier violated FMC service-related regulations, fulfilled only 20% of the agreed capacity commitment, and wrongly collected container delay fees and demurrage fees within two years.

According to 3B Home, EVA Shipping promised to provide a certain number of cargo space for 3B Home, but the actual capacity provided is far from being achieved. According to the documents provided, EVA promised to provide 1,250 FEU of cargo space from 2020 to 2021, but only fulfilled 256.84 FEU. In 2021-2022, although the promise increased to 750FEU, the actual capacity provided was only 455.92 FEU.

Due to capacity shortages at EVA Shipping, 3B Home was forced to look for shipping services from other sources at higher prices, sometimes even having to abandon shipping altogether, the document noted. That cost the company about $4 million in extra payments as it switched to the spot market.

In addition to the shortage of capacity, 3B Home also accused EVA Shipping of imposing prices and surcharges outside the contract as a precondition for its service provision. The company said that EVA's relationship with 3B Home was based on continuous bargaining, rather than on agreed contract rates and service commitments.

The lawsuit adds to controversy over the shipping industry's "unfair" practices during the pandemic. It comes after 3B Home has filed claims against OOCL and Yangming Shipping totaling about $38 million. The complaints all point to operators trying to exploit the chaos caused by the pandemic to adopt similar practices.

美国家居巨头公司向长荣海运索赔125万美元

       美国家居用品零售巨头3B家居，近日通过美国联邦海事委员会向长荣海运提出索赔，金额高达约125万美元。BBBY提出的诉讼包括指控该承运人违反了FMC服务相关的规定，仅履行了商定运力承诺的20%，并且在两年内错误地收取了滞箱费和滞期费。

       3B家居称，长荣海运承诺为3B家居提供特定数量的货运舱位，但实际上提供的运力远未达到。据提供文件数据显示，2020年至2021年期间，长荣承诺提供1250 FEU的货运舱位，但仅履行了256.84FEU。而在2021-2022年，尽管承诺增加至750FEU，实际提供的也仅为455.92FEU。

       文件指出，由于长荣海运的运力短缺，3B家居被迫以更高的价格从其他渠道寻找运输服务，有时甚至不得不完全放弃运输。这使得该公司在转向现货市场时额外支付了约400万美元。

       除了运力短缺问题，3B家居还指责长荣海运在合同外强加价格和附加费，作为其提供服务的前提条件。公司表示，长荣与3B家居建立的关系是基于持续讨价还价，而非按照约定的合同费率和服务承诺进行。

       这一诉讼增加了航运业在疫情期间的“不公平”做法的争议。此前，3B家居已对东方海外和阳明海运提出合计约3800万美元的索赔。这些投诉都指向了运营商试图利用疫情引发的混乱采取了类似的做法。