An affiliate of New York shipowner Foremost Group has launched New York litigation against an Argentine shipyard group over alleged delays in a project to fix a vessel that slammed into a bridge.
En May Maritime, the registered owner of the 85,000-dwt bulker En May (built 2017), has filed papers in a federal court in New York to seize more than $1.84m in funds from Proios, a Buenos Aires ship repair and marine service contractor.
The dispute stems from a January incident that saw the kamsarmax En May hit a pillar of Argentina’s Zarate-Brazo Largo Bridge, causing significant damage to the ship.
En May Maritime hired Priois to carry out repairs of the vessel at a nearby port berth, with a 90-day deadline on the work, according to legal papers filed by Freehill, Hogan & Mahar lawyers Peter Gutowski and Yaakov Adler. The contract had a total cost of $2.28m.
While the contract may have allowed for 14 days of delay, the work took 77 extra days, the lawyers wrote. The work was completed on 15 August, and tracking data from VesselsValue shows the En May remains at anchor in Argentina’s Parana River.
En May Maritime’s lawyers said the company has demanded $570,000 in damages, an amount set out in the shipbuilding contract.
The delay had another consequence: the Piapsa terminal, where the work was conducted, has sought berthing charges totalling over $502,000, the lawsuit shows.
And En May Maritime’s lawyers alleged that Proios has not paid for other charges associated with the work.
“Despite due demand, Proios has failed, refused, or neglected to pay,” Gutowski and Adler wrote.
Proios president Jorge Proios denied the allegations against his company, telling TradeWinds that the repair was successful and that the shipowner did not want to pay for additional work that was needed.
“It is a lie,” he said of the allegations in the lawsuit, before sending TradeWinds a photo that he claimed demonstrated the successful completion of the work.
Foremost rejected that claim.
“The claims made by Proios SA repair yard are totally false, misleading, and without cause. Our company has already paid the full contract amount. We believe justice will prevail, “ the company told TradeWinds.
The shipowner said it plans to take Proios to London arbitration if it refuses to pay.
Proios said arbitration is expected to begin shortly, and he said that the En May remains detained in Argentina.
En May Maritime said the breach of contract has cost it $1.15m, and it is also seeking legal fees and interest.
The Liberian-flagged bulker En May is classed by Bureau Veritas and has insurance from the UK P&I Club.
The lawsuit comes just weeks after Argentina’s Federal Court of Campana ordered the prosecution of the En May’s captain and the local pilot at the helm of the ship at the time, according to La Nacion newspaper.
That followed a report by the country’s coastguard that the bridge strike was caused by human error.
“It is estimated that Jorge Eugenio Falcon, in his capacity as pilot, did not correctly advise on the navigation of the vessel En May, which was sailing on the left bank of the Parana de las Palmas River and outside the navigation channel,” wrote federal judge Adrian Gonzalez Charvay, according to La Nacion.
He said in the August order that Falcon did attempt to correct the course, but it was too late.
“In turn, Deng Wei, as captain of the vessel En May, did not correct the observed error in the course that led to the incident under investigation,” the judge said.
TradeWinds has requested comment from Foremost on the decision.
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