The owner of the ship that spilled oil into the Mississippi River this spring, shuttering the waterway, is suing the board in charge of the Port of New Orleans for more than $10m.
In the lawsuit, Singaporean company Antares Maritime alleges the port failed to maintain the Nashville Avenue Wharf, causing the hull of the 27,700-dwt Pac Antares (built 2003) to be torn open 12 April.
The 12 April mishap caused the dumping of 2,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil into the river and necessitated a month-long emergency response, according to papers filed in state district court for Louisiana's eastern district.
At the time, the Pac Antares was being operated by Pacific Carriers' PACC Ship Managers.
"The claim is under investigation and we have not yet been officially served with the lawsuit," port spokesman Donnell Jackson told TradeWinds.
Antares Maritime said the ship was pierced by a steel plate along the wharf, there to accommodate outdated ro-ro vessels that no longer call on the port. Further, the suit says, wooden fender piles that could have protected the ship were "broken, missing, worn and substantially deteriorated" and invisible to the unnotified crew.
Antares says the damage to the ship plus clean-up, third party claims, fines and other costs exceed $10m.
At the time, the US Coast Guard had to close a 10-mile stretch of the river, halting 12 vessels.
