The case involved a $9 million corn shipment under the CIF contract, under which the Client acted as the Seller.

All goods were delivered on time and with full documentation. Yet the Buyer delayed payment for the cargo - first citing “banking issues”, then blaming a default by their sub-buyers. Under the contract terms and applicable INCASSO payment terms, our Client was legally entitled not to discharge the cargo without payment, however, he was unable to redirect the goods to another buyer (after sending this one to the default) due to the Buyer’s bank holding the irrevocable original documents.

During this time, the Buyer was declared in default, only to later attempt to “cure” it with further promices which turned out to be baseless. The situation spiraled as our Client had to navigate mounting losses, broken promises, shifting excuses, and simultaneous pressure from the vessel Owner threatening to withdraw the ship.

After failed promises and last-minute manoeuvres, the Buyer finally settled the payment for the goods. The Client then gave green light for discharge, however, the vessel had lost its berthing turn, triggering another month of delay. And yet, after accepting the goods, the Buyer refused to pay a single dollar in demurrage.

The arbitration that followed was no less dramatic. The Buyer launched a full obstruction campaign: challenging the arbitrator’s impartiality, disputing jurisdiction, and filing a mirror-image counterclaim clearly designed to stall proceedings.

Represented by Ivan Kasynyuk, Dariia Zyma, and Viktor Romaniv, the AGA Partners team systematically dismantled every claim, rebutted all procedural challenges, and won a full award of over $700,000 in favor of our Client.