Shippers File Lawsuit Over Damaged Moroccan Fruit

Delaware officials recently celebrated growing shipments of Moroccan clementines to the port of Wilmington, but it’s not always smooth sailing in the fruit import business.

A group of fruit shippers and exporters has filed a federal lawsuit in Wilmington against the owners of a vessel hired to take a shipment of clementines from Morocco to Wilmington last year.

The plaintiffs claim that after setting sail, the ship had to be diverted for hull repairs, and that by the time it arrived in Wilmington, the fruit was not in good condition. They are seeking more than $75,000 in damages.

The lawsuit was filed one day after Gov. Jack Markell and other officials welcomed Morocco’s ambassador to the United States last week to celebrate Delaware’s fruit imports from the North African country.