A cross-border lawsuit filed in the U.S. trades has jolted the transpacific shipping market. Legal papers released on 29 August 2025 by the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission show that Southern International Co., Ltd. (SIC), a Vietnamese freight forwarder established in 2003, is suing U.S. logistics wholesaler Daynamez. SIC accuses Daynamez of diverting more than US$2 million in freight payments, leaving 558 fully loaded containers stranded at European and U.S. ports. Follow-up remittances failed to free the cargo, and total damages now stand at US$2,615,640.

  How it began: the lure of bargain rates  

       According to the complaint, the Vietnamese forwarder’s relationship with Daynamez began around October 2023. Daynamez marketed itself as “a partner with formidable strength” and promised the most competitive freight rates on the market. Under their verbal agreement SIC had to remit the full ocean freight within five working days of loading in Vietnam; Daynamez would then pass the money to its Rotterdam-based partner so the cargo could keep moving. At first SIC stuck to the letter of the deal: it chased its own customers for payment, forwarded funds promptly, and sometimes—even when its own clients had not yet paid—advanced large sums out of pocket simply to stay compliant.

       Daynamez, however, repeatedly delayed payments to its partner, disrupting delivery schedules and directly damaging SIC’s customer satisfaction and industry reputation.

  558 containers seized: the fallout  

       The dispute erupted roughly one year into the partnership, around mid-October 2024. By then SIC had wired Daynamez about US$2.41 million covering 558 U.S.-bound containers. Without warning, Daynamez announced it had “run out of operating funds” and would stop paying all carriers. It simultaneously told its own partners that the Vietnamese forwarder was now solely responsible for any outstanding charges. The upshot: the 558 boxes were detained as soon as they reached European and U.S. ports, and SIC’s supply chain ground to a halt.

  Second rip-off: US$149.9 k vanishes, customers told to pay again  

       According to the complaint, the actual parties holding the cargo were Daynamez’s partners—Super Cargo and Kargosmart Vietnam. In an effort to free the boxes, SIC paid Super Cargo an additional US$149.9 k in October 2024 for 43 containers covered by 16 bills of lading. Super Cargo issued an invoice but refused to release the freight; worse, it later contacted SIC’s customers directly, demanding even higher ocean charges and threatening continued detention if the extra money was not paid. Super Cargo now claims it has “no service transaction” with SIC and will not return the US$149.9 k. As of September 2025—almost a year after the seizure—the 558 containers are still missing, and SIC calculates its total loss (money diverted by Daynamez plus sums withheld by its partners) at US$2,615,640.

  A warning: cross-border freight can face “linked scams”

        While domestic freight defaults are common, this U.S. broker-cum-partner scheme is more insidious: lure business with cut-rate quotes, create a cash-flow crisis by delaying and diverting payments, then hit the cargo-owner a second time through downstream parties. SIC, a compliant, long-established forwarder, fulfilled every payment obligation yet still faces massive losses. If the FMC ultimately rules in its favour and awards damages, the decision will set an important precedent: overseas brokers must honour their contracts, and forwarders will have a legal benchmark for managing cross-border risk.