Legal case: an Indonesian freight forwarder withheld the cargo documents — how we got the client's cargo back without going to court
You paid the freight, the containers arrived at the destination port, and you can't collect them: your Indonesian partner won't release the bills of lading and isn't answering. Port storage and demurrage charges accrue every day. We walk through a real case and explain why, in Indonesia, a dispute is better started not with phone calls but with an official letter from a legal specialist.
What happened
A freight forwarder from the Middle East came to us. Through an Indonesian forwarding company, he had shipped two consignments of cargo from Jakarta. He had paid the freight in advance, and on one invoice alone that was about 13,000 US dollars. Both shipments reached the destination port on the same day.
The Indonesian forwarder issued the bills of lading but kept them. He did not send the originals to the client and did not arrange a telex release (an electronic authorisation for the carrier to release the cargo without the originals) either. He stopped answering calls and emails. It later turned out that, a few weeks before the deal, the company had been expelled from the international network of forwarders through which the client had found it.
Why cargo is "frozen" without a bill of lading
Konosemen (bill of lading) is defined in Indonesian law in Art. 506 KUHD (Commercial Code). It is a dated document in which the carrier confirms that it has received the cargo and undertakes to deliver it to the stated place and hand it over to the stated person. In practice, the bill of lading works as a document of title: whoever holds it collects the cargo. So as long as the counterparty holds the bills of lading, the cargo has arrived, but the consignee cannot take it.
Why we started with a somasi
At first the client asked us to "just call them". We suggested a different route.
A somasi is an official written demand to perform an obligation by a set deadline. Under Art. 1238 KUHPerdata (Civil Code of Indonesia), a debtor is considered in default once a written demand or a similar act has been sent to them. Under Art. 1243, compensation for losses, as a general rule, becomes mandatory when the debtor still fails to perform after such a demand.
A somasi has three practical functions:
It fixes your position. In the letter, our legal specialist sets out the facts, references to documents and specific demands with a deadline.
It becomes evidence in court. A phone call will not count as evidence. A letter confirms that you tried to settle the dispute before going to court and that the debtor was formally warned.
It changes the tone of the conversation. A letter from a legal specialist on official letterhead, delivered by courier, by email and by messenger, shows the counterparty that the next step is court or the police.
Usually 2–3 letters are sent at intervals of 7–14 days. The law does not set the number of letters; this is established practice.
How events unfolded
Day one. The client came to us. Using open sources, we checked that the Indonesian company was registered as an international logistics operator, and we gathered the documents: invoices, payment confirmations, bill of lading numbers and correspondence.
Day two. Our legal specialist prepared a draft somasi and a power of attorney. The client read the text and made an important correction: the consignee named in the bills of lading was his company, so the letter went out in the company's name, not in his personal name.
Day three. The somasi went to the counterparty through three channels: by courier to the registered address, by email and on WhatsApp.
A few days later the company released the smaller consignment and replied to our legal specialist with a letter: it denied the claims and stated that it had fulfilled its obligations.
About two weeks after the letter was sent, the client told us that the second consignment had been released too. The dispute was closed without going to court.
What we chose not to do, and why
We did not call the counterparty, although the client asked us to. While a somasi procedure is under way, the position needs to be recorded in writing. Verbal agreements with a company that has already shown bad faith only give it time.
What to do if you work with an Indonesian freight forwarder
Check the company before paying. You need its registration in the AHU registry (the Ministry of Law's register of legal entities), a licence for the relevant type of activity in the OSS system, and its status in industry networks. Expulsion from a network a few weeks before the deal is a signal to stop.
Tie the payment to the release of documents. If the scheme is "freight paid first, bills of lading released afterwards", agree in writing in advance on the deadline for releasing the originals or a telex release after the money arrives.
Keep all correspondence and payment receipts. Bill of lading numbers, invoices, SWIFT confirmations and messages with promises are the basis of the future letter.
At the first signs of silence, don't wait for weeks. Port storage and demurrage charges grow every day, and you will have to recover them later as well.
Send the somasi through a legal specialist and through every known channel: by courier to the registered address, by email and by messenger. That makes it harder for the counterparty to claim it received nothing.
Decide in advance whether you are ready to go further: a second and third letter, a lawsuit, a police report. A somasi works better when readiness for the next step is visible behind it.
Is a counterparty in Indonesia holding your cargo or your money?
Write to us: we will go through the documents and correspondence, check the Indonesian company using open sources, prepare a somasi and send it to the counterparty through every known channel. If a letter is not enough, we will suggest the next step.
