A consortium of Norwegian banks is claiming some USD 567 million from Bergen Bunkers AS, Norwegian subsidiary of bankrupt Danish marine fuel supplier OW Bunker, Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv reports.
The consortium is comprised of 13 banks, which include Danish Bank, Nordea, Swiss UBS and French Societe Generale.
According to trustee Arne Laastad, quoted by DN, the firm, which also went bankrupt after its parent declared bankruptcy i n November last year, dismissed the claim.
“The bank consortium’s claim is based on an alleged surety for OW Bunker Group borrowing, but there is no trace of this alleged responsibility in Bergen Bunkers’s financial statements for 2013, ” he explained.
However, as explained by the company’s lawyers from Wiersholm firm, this does not necessarily prove liability.
OW Bunker’s bankruptcy has had a ripple effect across the company’s subsidiaries.
Reuters reported that shipping firms have paid millions of dollars into U.S. accounts to prevent their vessels from being detained due to non-payment of bills for fuel supplied by the bankrupt OW Bunker.
Last week, US-based arms of OW Bunker, filed suit before a South District court in New Jersey against China’s Cosco Piraeus boxship, operated by China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO).
The number of filings with US Courts include up to 13 companies like Germany’s Hapag Lloyd and European gas carrier Exmar, according to a report from Reuters.
World Maritime News Staff