Payment defaults in the container industry
Payment defaults register
Payment defaults in the container industry
Documented cases of buyers that received containers and did not pay. Most of them follow a gate-buy sale, where the units were delivered into the buyer's depot before payment. Check a company before you deliver, or report a default you can document.
- Invoices and gate-in records reviewed
- Listed companies can settle or respond
- Resolved cases stay visible
- Operated by MG-Atlantic SA, Geneva
Due diligence
Check a company before you deliver
Search by company name, registration number or website.
Panama · Outstanding · MG-Atlantic is a creditor
Florida Lines Global Containers (Conbrazil group)
A buyer that had paid before, then 29 containers on credit: USD 53,600 unpaid for more than a year. Blacklisted by MG-Atlantic. · US$53,600
Unpaid since July 2025
Gabon · Outstanding · MG-Atlantic is a creditor
General Transport SARL
36 containers delivered on credit, all resold, USD 28,500 still unpaid. Blacklisted by MG-Atlantic. · US$28,500
Unpaid since November 2025
Mexico · Outstanding · MG-Atlantic is a creditor
Contenedores MAS+
Eight containers delivered on credit, resold, never paid: USD 9,550 outstanding for more than a year. Blacklisted by MG-Atlantic. · US$9,550
Unpaid since October 2025
This register only lists documented cases. Run your usual checks before you deliver on credit. Buyer verification guide
Sale terms
Release sale or gate-buy: where defaults happen
| Pickup sale with release | Gate-buy sale | |
|---|---|---|
| How the buyer receives the units | Collects at the seller's depot with a release | Delivered into the buyer's depot (gate-in) |
| When the buyer pays | Before the release is issued | On or after delivery |
| Who holds the units before payment | The seller | The buyer, once gated in |
| Proof of delivery | Gate-out EIR at the seller's depot | Gate-in EIR at the buyer's depot |
| Risk of non-payment | Low | High |
| In this register | Rare | Most cases |
Release sales are normally paid before the units leave the depot. A gate-buy sale puts the containers in the buyer's hands first, which is why it needs the rules below.
Prevention
Selling on gate-buy terms: four rules
Payment before gate-in
Ask for full payment, or a confirmed transfer, before the trucks leave for the buyer's depot.
A deposit on a first deal
With a new buyer, take a deposit large enough to cover your exposure if the balance is not paid.
Deliver in tranches
On larger lots, deliver the next tranche only once the previous one is paid.
Retention of title
Where the governing law allows it, state that ownership passes on full payment, and keep every gate-in EIR.
Creditor group
Owed money by a listed company?
Open its case page and join the creditor group. MG-Atlantic puts creditors of the same company in contact so they can instruct one lawyer and share the costs.
Shared legal costs
One instruction, costs split between the creditors who join.
One coordinated action
A single file, instead of separate claims against the same debtor.
A stronger position
Several documented claims carry more weight with the debtor and the court.
Process
How a case is published
- 01
Report
A company submits the debtor, the debt and its documents.
- 02
Document review
MG-Atlantic checks the invoices, the gate-in or gate-out records and the notices sent.
- 03
Publication
A factual case page is published. Documents themselves are never published.
- 04
Creditor group
Other creditors of the same company can join to share legal costs.
- 05
Resolution
When the debt is paid, the case is marked resolved and stays visible.
Published only with invoice(s), proof of delivery and at least one formal notice, after the due date has passed.
Questions about the register
- Who can report a payment default?
- Any company of the container sector with an unpaid invoice it can document: leasing companies, traders, depots, shipping lines, freight forwarders.
- Why are most cases gate-buy sales?
- In a gate-buy sale the containers are delivered into the buyer's depot before payment, so the buyer holds them while the invoice is open. In a release sale the buyer pays first and collects afterwards.
- Is my report published as I send it?
- No. MG-Atlantic reviews the documents and writes a factual case page. Your documents are never published.
- What documents are needed?
- At least one invoice and a proof of delivery (EIR, gate-out or release). A formal notice or lawyer letter strengthens the case.
- Can a listed company respond?
- Yes. It can settle the debt or send a documented response to info@mg-atlantic.com. Verified payments are recorded on the case page.
- What happens when the debt is paid?
- The case is marked resolved with the date, and stays visible as resolved.
- Does MG-Atlantic charge for publication or removal?
- No. There is no fee to report, to publish, or to have a case marked resolved.
- How does the creditor group work?
- Creditors of the same company join from its case page. MG-Atlantic contacts them so they can coordinate legal action and share the costs.
Before you sell or deliver containers
Guides and pages used by traders to prepare a sale