Introduction

[1] In a typical ship agency agreement, the agent handles various aspects of container and transhipment with responsibilities including documentation, customs clearance, logistics and managing relationships with the carriers and port authorities. In the process, the agent would come into possession containers belonging to its principal.

[2] In the present case, the Defendant had an agency agreement with one PT Kaiso Global Maritim, an Indonesian company and pursuant to its performance of the services thereunder, the Defendant had in its possession some 690 containers belonging to PT Kaiso Global Maritim which the Defendant had arranged for storage with a thi