Background
In mid-2024, a Bosnian construction company purchased second-hand excavators from a supplier in Shanghai, China. The parties agreed on EXW (Ex Works) trade terms, placing the burden of transportation, customs clearance, and freight entirely on the buyer. Acting independently, the Bosnian company engaged a freight forwarder based in Guangzhou to handle logistics and customs declaration. Critically, no formal contract was signed between the two sides.
Despite the supplier making the goods available as agreed, the Guangzhou forwarder repeatedly demanded unauthorized charges totaling nearly USD 40,000, citing ambiguous service fees and document handling costs. When the Bosnian client refused to comply, the forwarder withheld shipping and customs procedures, providing only partial and vague information about the cargo’s location. With mounting storage costs and project delays, the client turned to our legal team for urgent intervention.
Legal Strategy & Coordination
Upon engagement, our attorneys quickly diagnosed the real problem—not just the Guangzhou forwarder’s obstruction, but the existence of multiple intermediary freight agents with no clear accountability. The forwarding chain included a key player in Ningbo, who had direct control over the booking with the shipping line and actual possession of the cargo.
Our legal team took immediate action on several fronts:
- Multi-party Communication: We engaged directly with the Shanghai supplier, the Guangzhou agent, the Ningbo freight forwarder, Ningbo Customs, and the shipping line to map the logistics chain and identify the actual cargo controller.
- Evidence Consolidation: We collected shipping documents, payment records, port activity data, and communications to form a clear timeline of events and responsibilities.
- Strategic Pressure & Leverage: We highlighted the legal risks of continued delay, potential claims under maritime law, and the accumulating port charges, which added pressure to resolve the matter swiftly.
Key Breakthrough
The turning point came when we identified that the Ningbo freight forwarder, who had made the booking with the carrier but failed to ship out the containers, was incurring escalating demurrage and port charges. This party had the greatest incentive to settle.
Through focused negotiation and legal positioning, we facilitated a direct agreement between the client and the Ningbo forwarder—cutting through the layers of intermediaries. Our team ensured the final terms included:
- Immediate shipment of the excavators
- Waiver of unjustified surcharges
- Clear instructions for export clearance
Outcome
The client successfully took delivery of the excavators without litigation. The delay was resolved in time to meet the client’s construction schedule, and unnecessary legal, time, and port costs were avoided.
The Bosnian client commended our legal team for its precise issue diagnosis, cross-party coordination, and practical problem-solving approach in a highly fragmented international logistics dispute.