FMC Judge Orders OOCL to Pay $45.6 Million in Landmark Bed Bath & Beyond Shipping Case

Three years after bankrupt retailer Bed Bath & Beyond accused Orient Overseas Container Line of auctioning off contracted vessel space to higher-paying cargo during the pandemic supply chain crisis, a Federal Maritime Commission administrative law judge has ordered the carrier to pay more than $45.6 million in reparations in a closely watched ruling with potentially broad implications for ocean shipping contracts.

In a 203-page initial decision issued April 24, Chief Administrative Law Judge Erin Wirth found OOCL violated multiple provisions of the Shipping Act, siding with claims brought by the retailer’s bankruptcy estate following Bed Bath & Beyond’s 2023 Chapter 11 filing and