Stolt Tankers has taken Intercontinental Terminals Co to court over the 2019 fire that shut down the Houston Ship Channel.
The Dutch owner is seeking $6.15m in the US federal court for the Southern District of Texas, alleging Intercontinental Terminals’ negligence led to a blaze in Deer Park, Texas that led to a string of lost voyages and delays.
As a result of the alleged negligence, six Stolt tankers lost cargo opportunities or suffered delays and another two had their voyages cancelled among other economic losses on voyages underway in the Gulf of Mexico.
The fire broke out on 17 March, 2021, burned for three days and forced nearby residents to stay inside and local schools to close.
It also kept more than 30 tankers from entering the key waterway, was reignited later in the month and caused weeks of clean up.
Stolt said Intercontinental Terminals is the responsible party under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and that in the run-up to the fire it brought in third-party contractors that carried out shoddy work.
It also said Intercontinental Terminals failed to have a fixed gas detection system at the facility, which would have alerted staff to the spill.
The fire destroyed at least part 11 of the 15 tanks at the facility and spilt oil into the ship channel, which links one of the busiest US ports with the Gulf of Mexico.
Stolt is at least the fourth shipowner to file a lawsuit over the fire.
In March 2021, Sovcomflot-affiliated Waterways Tankers, MISC Berhad subsidiary AET and US barge player Kirby filed lawsuits making similar allegations.
Waterways Tankers was seeking $90,000 and AET more than $450,000, while Kirby's claim crept into the millions.
Those three lawsuits were consolidated into a single case with well over 100 plaintiffs, both individuals and companies allegedly harmed by the fire and spill.
A status report was filed on 14 January and shows Intercontinental Terminals reviewing documents provided by the plaintiffs and ongoing discovery.
