Two shipowning entities identified in reporting as being linked to Dubai-based, US-sanctioned Teodor Shipping have filed a lawsuit against Samsung Heavy Industries over the cancellation of a two-vessel Suezmax tanker order.
The case centers on claims by Gaea Lines and Tethys Lines that Samsung Heavy Industries unfairly terminated the contract for two 158,000-dwt crude oil carriers. The disputed order is valued at $172 million.
The lawsuit follows an earlier regulatory filing in which Samsung Heavy Industries said it had canceled delivery of one of the two tankers after the buyer failed to pay the final installment. In that filing, the shipbuilder said the owner, identified only as being from Oceania, did not make the last payment for one of the vessels.
The same filing also raised doubt over the delivery of the sister ship. Shipping database information cited at the time indicated that the two 158,000-dwt Suezmax newbuildings had been contracted by shipowning entities linked to Teodor Shipping.
The dispute now places the canceled order in court, with Gaea Lines and Tethys Lines alleging unfair contract termination, while Samsung Heavy Industries has said one buyer did not make the required final payment.
