US tug and barge owner Bouchard Transportation has fallen behind on its bills, according to a flurry of lawsuits.
The New York-based company owes Martin Energy Services, ExxonMobil and Bollinger Amelia Repair a total of nearly $2.2m, according to court papers from eight different lawsuits that have arrested seven tugs and a barge.
Chief executive Morton Bouchard III said the Bollinger Amelia lawsuit and three of the four Martin Energy suits have been resolved, although Martin Energy’s attorney, Grady Hurley of Jones Walker, said only one had been.
“It’s no issue,” Bouchard told TradeWinds in regard to the Martin Energy lawsuits. “It’s an accounting error. Not happy about it.”
The $1.1m Bollinger Amelia claim, in federal court in Corpus Christi, Texas, is the largest. The company said it sent five invoices in October to Bouchard, which paid a portion of each, leaving the seven-figure sum outstanding.
Martin Energy alleged it provided fuel, water and waste disposal services this year to three tugs — the 1,110-gt Danielle M Bouchard (built 1997), 1,760-gt Kim M Bouchard (built 2015) and 591-gt Barbara E Bouchard (built 1992).
The Kim M Bouchard is the subject of two complaints, in Tampa and Miami, as it sailed between the Florida cities.
ExxonMobil’s claims total more than $500,000. It said it provided fuel and lubricants to the 713-gt Frederick E Bouchard (built 2016), 434-gt Denise A Bouchard (built 2014) and 434-gt Evening Breeze (built 2019).
Of the three ExxonMobil lawsuits in Brooklyn federal court in New York, Bouchard Transportation is named as a defendant in the Frederick E Bouchard and Denise A Bouchard cases. The Evening Breeze complaint names only the ship.
