The Gourdomichalis brothers company whose ship has been detained on the Columbia River wants the Danish plaintiffs to post a bond with the court as the lawsuit continues.
Vigorous Shipping & Trading, the registration company of the 52,500-dwt Vigorous (built 2005), filed a motion in Western Oregon federal court Monday asking that Pacific Gulf Shipping Company post a bond covering the value of both the ship and its cargo.
“The (Vigorous) remains detained at its berth and is unable to meet commercial sailing obligations due to continued attachment, all at considerable cost to Vigorous Shipping,” the motion read. “Of equal or greater concern, the vessel is laden with a very valuable and perishable cargo of wheat bound for war-torn Yemen to deliver humanitarian relief.”
Pacific Gulf won the attachment of the ship after filing a $22.6m suit against Vigorous Shipping & Trading and a slew of other companies connected to the Gourdomichalis brothers two weeks ago.
They allege the registration company, its parent Blue Wall Shipping, plus manager Phoenix Shipping & Trading are all dominated entirely by the Gourdomichalises, just as Adamastos Shipping & Trading was when the now-scrapped 73,500-dwt Adamastos (built 1995) was abandoned off the coast of Brazil in 2015.
Vigorous Shipping & Trading had asked the court to vacate the attachment, arguing Pacific Gulf failed to describe anything more than the structure of a typical shipping company. But the court granted Pacific Gulf limited discovery to establish the companies as legal alter-egos before deciding.
Vigorous Shipping & Trading said allowing limited discovery “deprives (it) of its constitutional right to a prompt resolution” of its motion to vacate.
It says the value of the cargo on board, owned by Al-Saeed Trading Company, is $13m. Vigorous Shipping & Trading has lost roughly $4.3m and the ongoing attachment runs $19,205 per day.
“The harm to the intended recipients of the cargo aboard the Vigorous is immeasurable,” the motion states.
