Pan Ocean is pursuing Clearlake Shipping's customers as part of its $7.25m lawsuit against the trader for allegedly not paying security for one of the shipowner's vessels.
The South Korean company filed an attachment to its recent suit alleging Clearlake's breach of a 2016 charter contract requiring indemnity for added Clearlake-related costs.
Pan Ocean seeks to garnish undisclosed earnings from Clearlake's four-day fixes of the Hafnia Lupus and the Atlantic Journey this month to Texas-based Valero Energy.
So far, Pan Ocean has received only $1.19m of its $7.25m claim against Clearlake, according to court documents.
The two ships received cargo in Louisiana and headed out into the Gulf of Mexico toward undisclosed foreign discharge ports.
Lawyers for both sides declined to comment on the suit filed in US District court for the Southern District of California.
Clearlake asked Pan Ocean to release clean petroleum cargo aboard the 46,200-dwt Grand Ace 12 (built 2008) without receiving original bills of lading, according to court papers filed by Pan Ocean lawyers.
Clearlake asked for this after Chinese customs authorities in 2016 seized the ship and 38,000 tonnes of cargo for allegedly smuggling 36 cargoes and evading taxes and tariffs.
Pan Ocean paid $5.6m to the cargoes' alleged rightful receivers China-Base Ningho Group and Beihai Xinan Petrochemical to gain repossession of the vessel.
Pan Ocean is also seeking another $1.65m in court fees, according to Pan Ocean's lawyers led by David Russo of San Francisco firm Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith.
