Dispute between K+N and energy shipper goes to arbitration
28 / 06 / 2022
A dispute between Kuehne+Nagel and oil and gas field services company Baker Hughes has been ordered to arbitration by a US federal court judge.
The case centres on the September 2020 transportation of an air cargo shipment that was seized by customs authorities at its destination in Brazil.
In court documents seen by Air Cargo News, the forwarder said that it had discharged all of its statutory and contractual duties and alleged that through no fault of its own, the airline transporting the cargo failed to ensure that the required security manifest travelled with the cargo resulting in the seizure.
At no time was Kuehne+Nagel authorised or requested to take any action with Brazilian customs authorities to obtain release of the cargo, court documents state.
After a claim was registered by Baker Hughes and after multiple meetings to find an agreement, the case ended up at the district court for the Southern District of New York when the shipper sought to move the claim to arbitration.
Kuehne+Nagel filed the case with the court as it sought to have the arbitration request dismissed.
However, the court ruled that the case should go to an arbitrator to decide the merits of the claims.
“The parties are hereby ordered to file a letter updating the court on the status of arbitration on July 22, 2022, and every 60 days thereafter, until arbitration has been completed,” the court ruled.
