Mund & Fester GmbH & Co KG (the plaintiff), an insurance company acting under an assignment of rights, claimed for damage to a cargo of bananas and pineapples. The cargo was carried in containers from Davao, the Philippines, to Damman, Saudi Arabia, on board the MV Francoise Gilot. The cargo was delivered on 5 and 6 November 2012. The plaintiff alleged that the cause of damage was the excessive delay in the carriage of the cargo. The bill of lading provided for the Hague-Visby Rules as the applicable law and a nine-month limitation period.

APL Co Pte Ltd (the defendant) alleged the claim was time-barred according to the provision in the bill of lading stating a nine-month limitation period. The First Maritime Court held that the one-year limitation period set out in art 3.6 of the Hague-Visby Rules prevails. As a certification of presentation of the lawsuit was published in a newspaper on 30 October 2013, the time bar was interrupted. According to art 58 of the Code of Maritime Procedure, this is a method to interrupt the limitation period. The defendant appealed the decision.

Held: The Maritime Court of Appeals affirmed the decision.