Two Eastern Mediterranean Maritime-connected companies are looking to the courts to keep it out of arbitration with bunker provider Integr8 Fuels.
Prose Shipping and Poles Shipping, the one-time and current registered owners of the 50,341-dwt bulker Poles (built 2002), argued in the US federal court for the Southern District of New York that they were never party to a 2018 fuel sale while the ship was on a bareboat charter to a now-bankrupt company.
"The basis for the stay and injunction is that there is no agreement to arbitrate any dispute between [Prose and Poles] and Integr8," the complaint, which was filed on 14 January 2021, read.
"[Prose and Poles] will suffer irreparable harm if forced to arbitrate a dispute with Integr8 because neither Prose nor Poles has entered into an agreement to arbitrate with Intergr8."
The Malta-flagged Poles was known as the Sea Lavender and under charter to Harmony Innovation Shipping for a voyage from Indonesia to India in August 2018, when the complaint said Harmony contracted with Integr8 to buy between 350 and 500 tonnes of fuel in Singapore.
Prose and Poles argue the entire transaction was carried out between Integr8, Harmony and physical supplier Southernpec (Singapore).
According to the complaint, the Poles was returned in September and Integr8 sent Harmony an invoice for $230,000.
Since, liquidation proceedings have commenced against Harmony in Singapore and Hong Kong, the complaint said, and Prose sold the ship to Poles.
Equasis shows the ship has always been managed by Eastmed.
Integr8, the registered owners argue, did not pursue the unpaid fuel claims until the autumn of 2019 and arrested the ship in the Ivory Coast in April 2020.
That May, Integr8 began arbitration proceedings against Prose and Poles before the Society of Maritime Arbitrators in New York.
"Neither Poles nor Prose is a signatory to an agreement to arbitrate with Integr8 or the [general terms and conditions] which purport to include an arbitration clause," the complaint read.
"[Prose and Poles] did not contract with Integr8 for the sale of the bunkers that were delivered to the vessel, Harmony did."
The registered owners want the court to stay arbitration proceedings, rule Integr8 has no agreement to arbitrate and award it attorneys fees.
Integr8 did not immediately return a request for comment.
Prose and Poles are being represented by Gina Venezia, Don Murnane and Yaakov Adler of Freehill, Hogan & Mahar.
