In a significant legal ruling, the Trinidad and Tobago High Court has delivered a decisive victory to ANSA McAl Ltd and Alstons Shipping Ltd by dismissing a $58 million lawsuit filed by German shipping giant Hapag-Lloyd Aktiengesellschaft. Justice Margaret Mohammed granted summary judgment in favor of the local companies, determining that the claimant had no realistic prospect of successfully proving its allegations.
The dispute originated from 2021 shipping incidents involving allegedly hazardous fuel oil that leaked from containers, causing contamination at port facilities in Spain and Jamaica. Hapag-Lloyd sought substantial damages claiming breach of contract, negligence, misrepresentation, and failure to meet common law duties in transporting the goods.
Justice Mohammed’s ruling systematically dismantled the German company’s case, noting the complete absence of evidence demonstrating that ANSA McAl or Alstons Shipping obtained any unjust benefit or gain. The court found that Hapag-Lloyd failed to establish the fundamental elements required for claims of unjust enrichment or restitution.
Crucially, the judgment clarified that Alstons Shipping acted as booking agents for Hapag-Lloyd under an established agency agreement, with responsibilities limited to marketing, sales, and cargo reservations rather than physical shipment handling. The court accepted the defendants’ argument that they reasonably relied on descriptions provided by the goods’ source company, Avani Environmental Group, which had classified the fuel oil as non-hazardous.
The ruling emphasized that the defendants were not involved in loading, inspection, or verification of goods before shipment, nor did they guarantee accuracy of weight and volume information supplied by third parties. Justice Mohammed determined that the contract of carriage existed between Hapag-Lloyd, West Indian Logistics, and another company called Mundra Oil, not the ANSA McAl subsidiaries.
In addition to dismissing the substantial claim, the court ordered Hapag-Lloyd to pay legal costs totaling $524,655.25, with 55% ($288,560.39) immediately payable since the matter had progressed beyond initial case management conferences. The legal teams representing both sides included prominent attorneys Shiv Sharma, Asif Hosein-Shah, and Nyree Alfonso for the defendants, while Marguerite Woodstock-Riley, KC, and Curtis Cave represented the claimant.