A US federal court has ordered the arrest of a Chinese-controlled bulker for a second time after an Archer Daniels Midland unit alleged it overstayed its welcome in a Mississippi River cargo berth.
The arrest warrant was issued last Friday following a $1.1m lawsuit in Houston federal court from the US agricultural giant's American River Transportation Co.
The lawsuit alleges the 61,392-dwt CL Alice (built 2014) owed 125 hours — just over five days’ worth — of late charges after mechanical issues kept the ship from leaving the berth earlier this month.
The lawsuit is looking to recover the late charges, plus services provided to the ship.
According to the lawsuit, a first arrest warrant was issued the same day in New Orleans federal court, but the CL Alice left the jurisdiction before a US marshal could serve it.
According to Equasis and Clarksons databases, the CL Alice is owned by a one-ship company of the same name and China Development Bank Leasing.
VesselsValue estimates that a ship of the Hong Kong-flagged CL Alice's characteristics is worth $20.4m. It is managed by Germany's Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement.
Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement did not immediately return a request for comment.
AIS data from the ship has it anchored in the Gulf of Mexico off Galveston, Texas, with its destination set for Houston.
