A Gourdomichalis brothers ship currently detained in Washington state was full of wheat destined for war-torn Yemen, according to court papers.
Garrett Garfield, attorney for Al-Saeed Shipping Company, said the 52,500-dwt Vigorous (built 2005) was set to begin a 30 to 45 day voyage to the famine-hit country when it was seized on the Columbia River last week.
"Flat bread made from wheat flour is a staple diet for Yemenis. Yemen is dependent on imports because it has no domestic grain production," Garfield wrote in a declaration.
"Al-Saeed has several continuous contracts and dealings with many organizations in Yemen such as the World Food Programme, International Committee of the Red Cross, International Federation of the Red Cross and Islamic Relief, which distribute food for the starving Yemeni people," he added.
The Vigorous is the subject of an ongoing legal battle between Pacific Gulf Shipping Company and several companies controlled by Gourdomichalis brothers George and Stathis.
Pacific Gulf is seeking to collect on an arbitration award won in London stemming from the 2014 grounding, detention and abandonment of the now-scrapped 73,500-dwt Adamastos (built 1995). The ship was owned and operated by the Gourdomichalis brothers.
In order to do so, it got a federal judge to attach the Vigorous, owned by a registration company tied to the Gourdomichalis' Blue Wall Shipping, on 3 December.
Pacific Gulf argues that the registration company, Vigorous Shipping & Trading, Blue Wall and management company Phoenix Shipping & Trading are entirely owned and controlled by the Gourdomichalis brothers.
Attorneys for Vigorous say the companies are properly separate and not legal alter egos of one another, so the attachment must be vacated.
The two sides had a hearing in Portland federal court Wednesday, but the judge has not issued a decision in the matter.
As the more than three-year-old civil war rages, 18 million Yemenis do not know where their next meal is coming from, according to World Food Programme USA.
And, per the World Health Organization and Doctors Without Borders, a breakdown of the country's health system has lead to widespread cholera outbreaks.
"Once the attachment order is lifted and the vessel departs, Al-Saeed will effectuate its distribution and sales program according to the estimated arrival time of the vessel," Garfield said. "Time is of the essence for this perishable cargo."
