Tag: lawsuit

Lawsuit against the Australian owners of the the Mermaid Vigilance Mermaid VigilanceFREMANTLE-based Mermaid Marine is one of three companies accused of actions ''tantamount to murder at sea'' in a US lawsuit filed by the family of one of four oil workers who died last month during a violent storm in the Gulf of Mexico.Two of the six men who survived the catastrophe also have filed lawsuits alleging ASX-listed Mermaid Marine and US-based companies Geokinetics Inc and Trinity Liftboat Services were grossly negligent.They claim the crew of Mermaid Vigilance, one of Mermaid Marine's fleet that was contracted to provide services to Houston-based Geokinetics, turned for shore instead of helping the oil workers as they abandoned the disabled Trinity II mobile platform on September 8.They contend the Vigilance's action in deserting the workers was both cowardly and intentional, and they allege Geokinetics was the ''ringleader''.One of the oil workers who died was Aaron Houweling, a 33-year-old from Narangba in south-east Queensland.Mr Houweling drowned in huge seas after shedding his life vest and pushing himself away from the tiny cork life raft that represented the last hope for survival for the oil workers.His body was not found until September 16 after an extensive ...

Global supplier says 'withdrawal of both suits speaks for itself' Global bunker supplier Aegean Marine Petroleum Network Inc says the law suits filed against the company and certain of its officers have been dropped. In a statement Aegean says that the "securities class action lawsuit previously filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the company, its chairman and certain of its executives as well as the shareholder derivative action lawsuit previously filed in the same court against the company and its board of directors have both been voluntarily withdrawn by the respective plaintiffs".Aegean's president, Nikolas Tavlarios, said, "When these lawsuits were filed, we told our shareholders, customers, and suppliers that they were without merit. We believe the withdrawal of both suits speaks for itself."At least two claimants were believed to be making allegations centred on statements regarding the intrinsic value of the company's securities. From the start Aegean strongly rejected the claims, calling them "without merit" and complaining that they unfairly impugned the integrity both of the company and individual defendants.Source: World Bunkering

Claiming that BP provided false information about the location of pockets of oil BP PLC has engaged in a "cover up scheme" to hide its culpability for the deadly rig explosion that spawned last year's massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, one of the oil giant's partners in the drilling project claims in a newly filed lawsuit.Halliburton Energy Services Inc.'s suit, the latest of several that the project's partners have filed against each other, accuses BP of concealing critical information about the deepwater well that blew out on April 20, 2010.Halliburton, which did cement work on BP's Macondo well, claims in Thursday's suit that BP provided false information about the location of pockets of oil and gas around the well before the blowout. Halliburton says knowing the location of those zones is critical for a cementing job."Profit and greed" were BP's motives for concealing the information, the lawsuit alleges. Halliburton says it likely would have insisted on redesigning the well's production casing if it had known about an additional hydrocarbon zone that BP allegedly failed to disclose."Such changes would have cost BP millions of dollars on a well that was already painfully over budget and behind schedule," says ...

Government asserts Louisiana company misrepresented hull strength of converted vessels The United States has filed suit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., against Bollinger Shipyards Inc., Bollinger Shipyards Lockport LLC and Halter Bollinger Joint Venture LLC, the Justice Department announced. The suit alleges that Bollinger, which is headquartered in Lockport, La., made material false statements to the Coast Guard under the Deepwater Program.The government's complaint alleges that Bollinger proposed to convert existing 110-Ft Patrol Boats (WPBs) into 123-Ft WPBs by extending the hulls 13 feet and making additional improvements. As a result of Bollinger's misrepresentations about the hull strength of the converted vessels, the Coast Guard awarded a contract to convert eight Coast Guard 110 foot cutters to 123 foot cutters. The first converted cutter, the Matagorda, suffered hull failure when put into service.An investigation by the Coast Guard and the prime contractor, Integrated Coast Guard Systems, concluded that the calculation of hull strength reported by Bollinger to the Coast Guard prior to the conversion was false. Efforts to repair the Matagorda and the other converted vessels were unsuccessful. The cutters are unseaworthy and have been taken out of service."Companies which make false statements to win Coast Guard contracts ...

Lawsuit over alleged manipulation of crude-oil prices in 2008 re Fredriksen's Farahead Holdings U.S. regulators' lawsuit over alleged manipulation of crude-oil prices in 2008 has shone a spotlight on a shipping tycoon whose risky bets, shrewd investments and buccaneering style have made him Norway's richest man.John Fredriksen owns the trading companies at the center of a civil action brought this past week by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The case brings fresh scrutiny to a businessman with the reputation of a maverick, business interests ranging from oil rigs to fish farms, and an estimated net worth of 6.2 billion, or $10.2 billion, that put him at No. 7 in a recent Sunday Times' list of richest U.K. residents.The CFTC sued two traders and the companies they worked for, Arcadia Energy (Suisse) SA and its Parnon Energy Inc. affiliate, alleging that in 2008 they amassed and sold off a substantial position in physical crude oil to "manipulate future prices." The companies are controlled by Mr. Fredriksen's Farahead Holdings, of Cyprus.Mr. Fredriksen declined a request for comment. In an interview with the Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv he dismissed the charges, saying "It's what happens in an oil marketbuying and selling oil. We ...

He was thrown overboard while participating in a man overboard training drill A seaman has filed a lawsuit against BP after he was thrown overboard while participating in a man overboard training drill.James G. Young, II filed suit against BP Exploration & Production Inc. and Danos & Curole Marine Contractors on March 25 in Lafourche Parish District Court. The defendants removed the case to federal court in New Orleans on April 28.Young was employed as a marine operation technician aboard the Thunder Horse PDQ and was assigned to a fleet of vessels including 60 to 80 passenger lifeboats and a fast response craft. On April 3, 2010, Young was participating in a man overboard training drill while aboard the fast response craft.According to the lawsuit, the craft was only designed to hold three people but on the day of the accident, four members of the marine department were aboard. Young states he was required to stand in the vessel and hold onto a railing attached to the center console. During the drill, the vessel was turned into a wave and the vessel was struck by a wave, throwing Young overboard. Young states he injured his right shoulder during the accident.The ...

Lawsuit against BP Cruise operator Carnival Corp has filed a lawsuit against BP Plc and other companies seeking damages that resulted from the biggest oil spill in U.S. history.The lawsuit, filed on April 20 in U.S. District Court in New Orleans, also named Cameron International Corp, Transocean Ltd, and Halliburton Co, along with several others.Carnival said it lost bookings and revenues for cruises in the Gulf of Mexico from ports in Florida, Alabama, Texas and Louisiana. It is seeking unspecified economic and compensatory damages with interest, the costs of litigation, and punitive damages.Carnival is suing all defendants for negligence and Cameron specifically for allegedly designing and manufacturing a defective blowout preventer.It is also suing BP, Transocean, and Halliburton for fraudulent concealment of material facts about the spill. BP "did not provide complete and timely announcements and warnings about the severity, forecast and trajectory of the oil spill," the complaint said. Transocean owned the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and Halliburton manufactured the cement used to seal the well.The cruise operator filed the 26-page lawsuit in the same court where hundreds of other lawsuits against BP and its partners have been consolidated. A federal judge has set a trial date of February ...

Lower salaries to non-Danish European nationals Two Polish seafarers are taking the Danish government to court over the legality of paying lower salaries to non-Danish European nationals on Danish national and second register ships, in a move that unions hope will put a stop to the practice.Success could open the way for a class action on behalf of an estimated 1,200 Poles and several hundred men and women from the Baltic states who are currently in a similar situation, said Henrik Berlau of the Fagligt Fælles Forbund union centre.Source: Safety4Sea