Connecticut-based Blue Fin Tankers has become the third shipowner to accuse refiner Valero of passing off bad fuel.
The Heidmar pool is suing the San Antonio-based company, accusing it of knowingly delivering the 150,000-dwt Astra (built 2002) with more than $500,000-worth of off-spec bunker fuel in March 2018.
Blue Fin claims the case involves bunkers that Valero would not even put in its own ships.
“The contamination issues were obvious to Valero,” said the complaint, which was filed last week. “Internally, Valero even refused to buy and consume its own product.”
Court action
Blue Fin's lawsuit is the third against Valero for providing tainted fuel between January and March 2018.
In March, Bahri, Saudi Arabia’s national shipping carrier, filed a $1.13m lawsuit alleging problems with the fuel.
The owner claimed issues with the fuel forced crew aboard the 26,000-dwt Bahri Yanbu (built 2014) to shut off its engines, letting the ro-ro drift at sea for two-and-a-half days.
In June, an LPG carrier controlled by Bernhard Schulte, the 15,136-dwt Zoe Schulte (built 2015), alleged it suffered engine damage due to bad fuel in a lawsuit filed by Indelpro.
The contamination issues were obvious to Valero. Internally, Valero even refused to buy and consume its own product
Court papers
The Mexican chemicals company argued 150 or more vessels could have received the fuel.
In court papers, Valero has acknowledged it provided bad fuel to two ships, but blamed Swiss commodities trader Trafigura.
Valero said Trafigura had given it "unsuitable, substandard, defective, contaminated, unfit, non-conforming and/or off-specification product".
All three lawsuits have been filed at Houston federal court.
Unspecified damages
In Blue Fin's lawsuit, the outfit said the Astra's fuel purifiers began clogging after two or three hours of use and required repeated cleaning. Further, engineers found "hard sediments" and "paraffin" that could damage the ship.
The suezmax tanker had to refuel in the United Arab Emirates and debunker the Valero fuel in Singapore.
Blue Fin is seeking unspecified damages.
Valero said in a statement to TradeWinds that "there was no basis" for the allegation that Valero knew the fuel was bad and sold it anyway, which was made in Bahri's lawsuit in March.
"In fact, we have repeatedly shared with the plaintiff’s lawyer who made that unfounded accusation that the fuel at issue came from another company, and Valero was unaware at the time of sale that there were any concerns with it," the company said.
Trafigura has argued in court that the fuel was not defective at the time of delivery and accused Valero of "bootstrapping" it into the lawsuit. It also claimed the Houston court had no jurisdiction over the case and has sought to move the matter to Manhattan federal court.
In all three lawsuits, the plaintiffs are represented by James Power of Holland & Knight.
