Target Insurer Files Suit Against Maersk For Compensation For Containers Lost Overboard

Starr Indemnity & Liability Co. has sued Denmark-based Maersk, a shipping company, in the Southern District of New York. According to the suit, between Jan. 12 and Feb. 4, 2021, the Maersk Eindhoven, a container ship, picked up consumer goods in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and Yantian District, China, bound for transport to California. The total value was $5.8 million.

According to the suit, the entire cargo, which included goods for Minneapolis-based Target Corp, was lost overboard, “due to the negligence or breach of duty of defendants and/or their agents, servants, employees or representatives.”

The Maritime Executive reports an incident aboard the Maersk Eidenoven that happened on February 17, 2021, while the vessel was off the coast of Northern Japan. Maersk reported that the vessel experienced an engine stop in heavy seas causing it to be unable to maneuver and experience a severe roll.

It was later determined that the engines on the 11-year-old ship shut down when an indicator recorded low engine oil pressure triggering a safety feature. 260 containers were lost, and 65 were damaged. The vessel docked in Yokohama and then resumed its voyage to Los Angeles at the beginning of March.

The number of containers lost overboard from ships reached a new low in 2022, according to data from the World Shipping Council. That was a strong reversal. Nearly 4,000 boxes went overboard in 2020, plus another 2,000 in 2021 in a series of high-profile incidents, several involving Maersk, and the Maersk Eindhoven.

Starr is demanding the seizure and sale of the ship to help Target pay for its losses.