European Union Member France's CMA CGM S.A. Is 41st Company Sued Using Libertad Act- Shipping To Cuba Through Jamaica And Using Port Mariel

Marseille, France-based CMA CGM S.A. (2020 revenues approximately US$31.5 billion) has “a presence in 160 countries through 755 offices, 750 warehouses, 110,000 employees and a wide fleet of 566 vessels, CMA CGM serves 420 of the world’s 521 commercial ports and operates 285 shipping lines.” CMA CGM S.A. has served the Republic of Cuba marketplace since 2000 and was “the first international company to sign such a logistics development agreement in Cuba.” The company is represented in the Republic of Cuba by Havana, Republic of Cuba-based Navemar S.A.

ODETTE BLANCO DE FERNANDEZ née BLANCO ROSELL; EMMA RUTH BLANCO, in her personal capacity, and as Personal Representative of the ESTATE OF ALFREDO BLANCO ROSELL, JR; HEBE BLANCO MIYARES, in her personal capacity, and as Personal Representative of the ESTATE OF BYRON BLANCO ROSELL; SERGIO BLANCO DE LA TORRE, in his personal capacity, and as Administrator Ad Litem of the ESTATE OF ENRIQUE BLANCO ROSELL; EDUARDO BLANCO DE LA TORRE, as Administrator Ad Litem of the ESTATE OF FLORENTINO BLANCO ROSELL; LIANA MARIA BLANCO; SUSANNAH VALENTINA BLANCO; LYDIA BLANCO BONAFONTE; JACQUELINE M. DELGADO; BYRON BLANCO, JR.; MAGDALENA BLANCO MONTOTO; FLORENTINO BLANCO DE LA TORRE; JOSEPH E. BUSHMAN; CARLOS BLANCO DE LA TORRE; and GUILLERMO BLANCO DE LA TORRE; Plaintiffs, v. CMA CGM S.A. (a/k/a CMA CGM THE FRENCH LINE; a/k/a CMA CGM GROUP); CMA CGM (AMERICA) LLC. [1:21-cv-22778]

Berliner Corcoran & Rowe LLP (plaintiff)
Horr, Novak & Skipp P.A. (plaintiff)
Fields PLLC (plaintiff)
Law Offices of John S. Gaebe P.A. (plaintiff)

LINK To Complaint (7/30/21)
LINK To Libertad Act Lawsuit Filing Statistics

Excerpts

As discussed more fully below (infra at ¶¶ 97 - 136), CMA CGM has trafficked and continues to traffic in the Confiscated Property, the claims to which are owned by Plaintiffs, since the opening of the Port of Mariel, more than 6 years ago. According to the International Maritime Organization (“IMO”), a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for regulating shipping, vessels operated and directed by CMA CGM have repeatedly trafficked in the Confiscated Property by “calling” at the Terminal de Contenedores del Mariel (“TCM” or “Container Terminal”), which is part of the Port of Mariel within the Zona Especial de Desarrollo Mariel (“ZEDM”) (a/k/a Mariel Special Economic Zone) and within the Bay of Mariel,8 and while calling at the Container Terminal, engaged in commercially beneficial transactions and other commercial activities with the Container Terminal, Almacenes Universales S.A. (also known as “AUSA”),9 and/or the ZEDM. CMA CGM profits by, from and through the business activities of the CMA CGM operated vessels that call at the Port of Mariel.

As discussed more fully below (infra at ¶¶ 117 – 126), Defendant’s trafficking includes Defendant acting as the carrier for cargo shipments from multiple U.S. Ports, including PortMiami in Miami-Dade County, Florida, to the Port of Mariel. According to Bills of Lading on file with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Defendant has served as the carrier for at least 602 cargo shipments from various U.S. Ports to the Port of Mariel, the final destination declared. Defendant first carries the containers to Kingston, Jamaica, where the containers are off-loaded and then loaded onto other ships (including some ships owned by Defendant) and are then carried to the Port of Mariel, the declared final destination.

CMA CGM Group
Marseille, France
10 May 2015

The CMA CGM Group is pleased to announce that Rodolphe Saadé, CMA CGM Group’s Vice-Chairman, signed in Cuba in the presence of President François Hollande and of Mr Matthias Fekl the French Minister of State for Foreign Trade, on May 11th, an unprecedented agreement. This agreement covers the operation and development of a logistics platform on the port of MARIEL, in cooperation with the major Cuban logistics company: AUSA. CMA CGM, [is] the first international company to sign such a logistics agreement. CMA CGM LOG, the CMA CGM Group’s subsidiary dedicated to logistics, will contribute to the operations of this new area. The platform will be part of MARIEL ZEDM – Zona Especial de Desarrollo Mariel, Cuba Special Economic Zone project. ZEDM is a strategic 4,600 ha logistics and industrial project area for Cuba. This agreement is symbolic regarding Cuba’s goods and services development. CMA CGM LOG will operate a 17 ha logistics platform with AUSA, including: 12,000 square meters warehouses, 5,000 cubic meters of reefer warehouses. CMA CGM LOG will be in charge of: the goods unbundling and distribution on the island the exports consolidation; the import and export goods warehousing; containers distribution; empty and full containers storage. CMA CGM has been present in Cuba since 2000 and is one of the only three shipping companies to call the country. It is the first international company to sign such a logistics development agreement in Cuba.

Created in 2001, CMA CGM LOG is the CMA CGM Group’s subsidiary specialized in freight forwarding and logistics solutions. Its 1,000 experts offer logistics solutions that are complementary to maritime services in 36 countries, including air freight, multimodal transport, custom clearance, warehousing and distribution… After a sustained growth in 2014 and the opening of offices in 6 new countries, CMA CGM LOG accelerates its development in 2015.