The board of specialised reefer vessel operator and owner Star Reefers has announced that it has achieved a 'satisfactory solution' to its dispute with Russian fresh produce importer Joint Fruit Company (JFC) Group.
The dispute began last year when the high court in London awarded Star Reefers US$16.5m (€12.6m), plus legal costs and interest,against JFC, following the unlawfulearly redelivery of three ships and wrongful termination of charters by JFC's chartering arm Kalistad Ltd ofCyprus.
A worldwide freezing order was imposed against the assets of the Russian group by the high court after it failed to pay the judgement sum on time, an order that JFC was then adjudged to have broken at a further hearing in March this year. The Admiralty and Commercial Court in London found there was a 'good arguable case' that there had been serious breaches of the freezing order by JFC and that seven named directors/officers had wilfully disobeyed the court's previous order, issuing contempt of court proceedings as a result.
However, as part of a statement revealing the sale of six vessels for scrapping to raise US$6m (€4.6m), Star Reefers' CEO Simon Stevens confirmed that action had been brought to a close.
'We have achieved a resolution to our dispute in respect of the JFC Group,' Stevens said. 'All parties have worked hard to achieve this and I am pleased we have found a constructive and amicable solution.'
It has been a turbulent start to the year for JFC, which filed for bankruptcy inFebruary in order to protect its creditors and keep its sizeable business operations afloat following ongoing global economic unrest and,in particular, the impact of the so-called 'Arab Spring' on its Mediterranean operations.
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