Case Background
Our firm represented a Hong Kong trading company (Plaintiff) in a bill of lading fraud dispute against an international shipping giant (Defendant).
Key Difficulties:
- P South Korean buyer took delivery of 516 tons of special steel (valued at USD 308,000) using a copy of the bill of lading.
- P The Hong Kong trader, still holding the full set of original bills of lading, faced bank deductions.
- P The involved vessel was about to undergo a change of ownership.
Our Firm's Strategy:
- Dissected the bill of lading trap: Identified the carrier’s violation of Article 71 of the Maritime Code for delivery without presentation of the original bill of lading.
- Mapped the fund flow: Demonstrated the trader had paid 100% of the letter of credit amount.
- Established a transnational evidence chain: Connected Japanese loading port records / South Korean discharge port CCTV / Hong Kong bank slips.
- Countered the shipowner’s evasion tactic: Exposed the Panama registration loophole (ownership transfer finalized within 3 days of arrest).
- Pioneered exchange rate loss claims: Converted the USD payment obligation into an interest-bearing RMB-denominated claim.
- Segregated liability entities: Eliminated unrelated claims, focusing solely on the core loss of goods value.
Case Outcome:
- Recovered USD 262,000 in full loss: Equivalent to 85% direct recovery of goods value (industry average <40%).
- Textbook vessel arrest tactic: Pioneered the “Arrest + Registration Freeze” dual-track system.
- Exchange rate loss precedent: Established the rule applying the interest rate of the payment location (China) to cross-border trade claims.
- Precedent-setting exchange rate loss ruling: Established the rule applying the interest rate of the payment location to cross-border trade claims.
This Case Refined Our Firm's Core Competencies:
- Bill of lading fraud detection: Penetrated a three-version bill of lading scam within 72 hours.
- e Four-nation judicial coordination: Seamlessly integrated evidence from China, Japan, South Korea, and Panama.
- Art of maritime injunction: Executed precise arrests during the narrow vessel ownership transfer window.
- • Cross-border loss quantification: Pioneered the RMB interest calculation model for USD receivables.
- 🟒’± Cross-border loss quantification: Pioneered the RMB interest calculation model for USD receivables.
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