Hapag-Lloyd has had its liability capped after a fire aboard one of its containerships in early January.
District judge Gregory Woods signed an order last Friday limiting claims against the German shipowner to $15.9m after the 3 January fire on the 7,510-teu Yantian Express (built 2002) in the North Atlantic.
The fire started in a sealed container stowed on deck, court papers said, which saddled the "shipper(s), receiver(s), owner(s) and consignee(s) of the cargo" with the liability, instead of the owner.
