A years-old dispute between an Italian shipowner and a floundering Houston heavy fuel company has landed in US federal courts.
Ravenna-based Mediterranea di Navigazione filed a suit on 8 September against SGR Energy seeking just over $2m, allegedly stemming from a 2014 settlement agreement over unpaid bunkers.
The balance due from the agreements amounts to $1.03m, while Mediterranea di Navigazione seeks $986,790 in interest and $75,000 in legal fees.
According to the complaint — filed in the US federal court for Delaware — the dispute involves the 16,116-dwt Sveva (built 1999) and agreements in November 2014 and July 2015 in which SGR agreed to pay certain amounts by certain deadlines.
In total, SGR is said to have owed Mediterranea di Navigazione $1.1m, but only paid $108,724 to date.
The agreement, the shipowner said, allows it to recover interest at 5% per year compounded at three-month intervals, plus interest for the next three years.
The lawsuit seeks to garnish SGR accounts at FCStone Merchant Services and GoDaddy.
SGR did not immediately return a request for comment.
On its website, the company pitches itself as a heavy fuel producer that has been working on a crude oil export facility in Texas since March 2020, with the possibility of constructing a pipeline.
The dispute with Mediterranea di Navigazione is SGR's third with a shipping company.
Earlier this month, SGR acknowledged it owed tug provider Genesis Marine $2.5m after SGR said in legal papers that it was declaring force majeure due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Another, for more than $3m involving Glencore-backed ST Shipping & Transport, saw SGR claim in November 2020 that it was in default.
The Sveva is one of Mediterranea di Navigazione's nine ships, according to Equasis and one of its seven product tankers.
All of the ships are flagged in Italy and the company is listed as their registered owner, commercial manager and technical manager.
The shipowner is being represented by Stephen Simms of Simms Showers in Maryland, who declined to comment.
