German firm sues Hong Kong’s Apple Daily for failing to pay storage fees for 471 rolls of paper

Rolls of newsprint ordered from Canada a month before tabloid announced closure in June 2021 still in local warehouse, court hears

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The printing press at Apple Daily headquarters in Tseung Kwan O prints the last copies of the newspaper, issued on June 24, 2021. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 7:02pm, 6 Sep 2024Updated: 7:25pm, 6 Sep 2024

A German logistics company has sued the now-defunct Apple Daily for allegedly failing to pay storage fees for 471 rolls of imported paper that were ordered a month before the Hong Kong tabloid’s abrupt closure in 2021, with the newsprint still sitting in a warehouse.

In a writ made available in the High Court on Thursday, shipping company Hapag-Lloyd Aktiengesellschaft and subsidiary Hapag-Lloyd (China) Limited claimed Apple Daily and paper manufacturer Resolute FP US Inc were responsible for fees incurred from the delayed collection of the paper, shipped in 11 containers, since July 2021.

The plaintiffs claimed the defendants placed the order in May 2021 for 471 rolls of newsprint to be shipped from Montreal, Canada, to the city.

However, Apple Daily announced its closure on June 21, 2021, resulting in the cargo being “uncollected” and remaining in storage at the plaintiff’s warehouse in New Keen Depot in Tsing Yi.

The German company did not mention in the legal document the total amount of claims they were suing for, but listed the fees triggered by the delayed collection, including demurrage, detention, storage, survey, drayage, inspection and others.

The Apple Daily newsroom, closed since June 2021, in Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate. Photo: May Tse