A Greek company’s inability to find Integr8 Fuels in New York has scuttled its attempt to recoup damages from alleged wrongful arrests.
Amelia Maritime, the registered owner of the 53,700-dwt supramax bulker Auzonia (built 2012), had its lawsuit in the US federal court for the Southern District of New York against the Navig8-linked bunker outfit dismissed last week after having initially requested more time to serve Integr8.
The company had been granted the ability to garnish Integr8 property held by various Navig8 pools.
In a letter to US District Judge Jessica Clark on 20 July, Blank Rome attorney William Bennett said Amelia had tried to serve Navig8 in their Park Avenue offices in May. They were rebuffed in a June letter from Navig8 claiming that it holds none of Integr8’s property.
Also in May, Amelia and Bennett sent a letter to an attorney they believed to be Integr8’s legal counsel requesting a waiver of service, but they had not heard back by late July.
In that same letter, the plaintiffs requested more time to find Integr8, but on 28 July moved to dismiss the case.
Amelia alleges the two wrongful arrests — one in the Netherlands and one in the United Arab Emirates — that robbed it of more than $800,000, primarily from administrative fees, maintenance and loss of income.
Those arrests were prompted by an unpaid $209,410 fuel bill from 2018 delivered to the Auzonia, formerly known as the Golden Destiny, in Thailand.
Integr8 is seeking to compel arbitration in New York, Amelia’s lawsuit said.
The company argues it was not the owner of the ship when the fuel was delivered and that it cannot be forced to arbitrate a contract it did not sign.
