Bouchard Transportation is pursuing millions of dollars in insurance claims connected to the 2017 explosion aboard an articulated tug barge (ATB) that resulted in the deaths of two crew members.
The Morton Bouchard III-led company has brought a $21.5m lawsuit against Travelers Property Casualty Company of America for allegedly not paying for repairs to and total loss of 9,800-gt B No 255 (built 1999).
Bouchard is also suing Atlantic Marine Associates (AMA), a maritime surveyor that served as Travelers' expert witness, as part of the case.
The 468-foot ATB was part of an articulated tug-barge unit with the 127-foot, 6,140-bhp Buster Bouchard (built 1979).
In June 2017, Bouchard entered into a marine contract with Travelers for hull and machinery insurance on both the tug and barge, according to the suit filed in US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The hull policy provides Bouchard with marine insurance coverage for the losses alleged in the suit, court documents state.
Calls to Bouchard's attorney Blank Rome and representatives from Travelers and AMA were not immediately returned.
On 20 October 2017, the tug and barge were in transit from Saint James, Louisiana, to Corpus Christi, Texas, carrying 133,000 barrels of crude oil.
At 4:30 am while about three miles off Port Aransas, Texas, an explosion and fire erupted in the barge's peak fore tank, resulting in heavy damage to the barge and the deaths of two crew members.
Court documents state that Signet Marine provided salvage operations at sea and at port and moved it five days later to Gulf Copper & Manufacturing Corp repair yard in Port Aransas.
The barge underwent temporary repairs at the yard and was then moved to Mississippi's VT Halter Marine Yard in early March before being sent to Universal Environmental Solutions (UES) in Tampa, Florida, for permanent repairs.
In the fall of 2017, Travelers appointed AMA to represent the insurer attending various shipyards, negotiating repair contracts and approving and withholding payment from Travelers, court documents state.
Travelers paid for some of the $3.4m in repair invoices from Signet, Gulf Copper, UES and other service providers but Travelers declined to reimburse Bouchard for about $3.5m in expenses, plus interest.
Bouchard also claims Travelers has failed to pay Bouchard another $18m for the agreed value of the destroyed barge as set forth in the hull policy.
"The non-payment of the plaintiff's claim constitutes a breach of the terms and conditions of the hull policy between plaintiff and Travelers for which Travelers is liable," the suit says.
Bouchard also alleges that Travelers committed breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing by interfering with contracts between Bouchard and hired repair services by refusing to pay Bouchard for "excessive or substandard" repairs.
Bouchard also alleges that Travelers also tried to change the barge's agreed value by asking its broker to submit a new valuation, according to court documents.
Because of delays in reimbursements for the hull damages, Bouchard scrapped the barge to "cut its losses."
