The plaintiff brought this case against the defendants, deugro Ocean Transport Inc (deugro Ocean), Moon Rise Shipping Co SA (Moon Rise), Clipper Bulk Shipping Ltd (Clipper), and the M/V Clipper Kamoshio, claiming damage to steel pipes transported on the vessel. In November 2018, deugro Ocean issued three bills of lading for the transportation of 10,996 steel pipes from Kuantan, Malaysia, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Moon Rise was the registered owner of the vessel. Clipper was the time charterer of the vessel.

Clipper moved for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff's claims against it failed as a matter of law. Clipper contended that the Carriage of Goods By Sea Act (COGSA) governed the plaintiff's allegations and exclusively provided plaintiff's remedies. Clipper argued that the plaintiff failed to allege its claims under COGSA and, even if it did, Clipper did not have the requisite relationship with the plaintiff for the plaintiff to be entitled to remedies under COGSA.

Held: Motion granted.

COGSA applies to '[e]very bill of lading or similar document of title which is evidence of a contract for the carriage of goods by sea to or from ports of the United States, in foreign trade': 46 USC § 30701 n. Under COGSA, Plaintiffs may recover only from 'carriers' of the cargo. 'Carrier' includes 'the owner or the charterer who enters into a contract of carriage with a shipper': COGSA § 1(a). The term 'contract of carriage' applies only to those contracts 'covered by a bill of lading or any similar document of title': COGSA § 1(b). A contract of carriage with an owner may either be entered into directly between the parties or by virtue of a charterer's authority to bind the owner by signing bills of lading for the master. Thus, the plaintiff must establish that the defendant was a party to the bills of lading, or that the defendant, as the owner of the vessel, authorised for bills of lading to be signed on its behalf.

Here, the plaintiff does not dispute that COGSA governs this dispute. Clipper time-chartered the vessel from Moon Rise. Clipper then executed a booking note with deugro (Japan) Co Ltd (deugro Japan), reserving space on the vessel for the transport of the steel pipes. Following this contract, deugro Japan executed a bill of lading with deugro Ocean for the transport of the steel pipes. Finally, deugro Ocean, as the carrier, contracted with Sumitomo Americas, and the shipper, Sumitomo Corp. Consequently, the bills of lading covering the carriage of the steel pipes were executed by deugro Ocean and Sumitomo Americas, with Sumitomo Corp as the shipper. The plaintiff fails to proffer any evidence that Clipper executed the contract of carriage related to the carriage of the steel pipes or, as the owner of the vessel, authorised deugro Ocean to sign the bills of lading. Thus, the plaintiff failed to demonstrate that there is a material fact issue as to whether Clipper is a carrier.