US-flagged Maersk unit fined US$31.9 million for over-billing Pentagon

Time:2012-01-06 Browse:51 Author:RISINGSUN

US-FLAGGED Maersk Line Ltd will pay US$31.9 million compensation for overcharging the Pentagon for transporting thousands of containers to Iraq and Afghanistan, reports the Virginian Pilot.

This is the culmination of a 2004 whistleblower case against Singapore`s APL by an informer who receives a $3.6 million reward, reports Newark`s Journal of Commerce. Maersk was added to the lawsuit in 2007. Singapore`s APL paid $26.3 million to the US Government in 2009.


Maersk said wartime conditions caused the inaccuracies in documentation, Reuters reported. The US Justice Department said the carrier overcharged by billing above the contractual rate for the transport of reefer boxes billed for late fees by not accounting for cargo transit times.


Maersk was accused of billing for GPS-tracking devices that were not or only partially provided, and for not crediting the military for storage fee rebates received by the carrier at a Kuwaiti port.