EMEA News
Shipowner Goes to Police over Engine Bunker Consumption Claims
Norwegian shipowner Morits Skaugen Jr. has asked Norwegian police to investigate MAN Diesel & Turbo SE (MAN Diesel), claiming the company manipulated bunker consumption records, industry news site TradeWinds reports.
Skaugen accuses the company and its Norwegian subsidiary, MAN Diesel & Turbo Norge AS, of falsifying records concerning vessel engine's fuel use over 10 years, resulting in losses of NOK 250 million ($41.7 million) to IM Skaugen.
MAN Diesel spokesman Jan-Dietrich Muller declined to comment on Skaugen's claims but said the company has sought to reach a resolution of the conflict.
"Our company has tried to reach an amicable solution and has had negotiations with the customer for several months," he said.
"But the customer has chosen to terminate the negotiations."
MAN Diesel informed Skaugen in June 2012 that it had found irregularities in the testing of delivered engines.
Ten of 12 engines ordered by the shipping company had been delivered at that point, and Skaugen cancelled the other two.
Skaugen says the company has spent "tens of million Norwegian kroner" on professional investigators who are continuing to look into the irregularities.
In its 2013 annual report, IM Skaugen said it had reached an "overall agreement" with MAN Diesel over the problems with the engines, "but MAN suddenly and unexpectedly decided to contest the validity of the agreements reached and agreed upon after more than a year of negotiations."
The company added that it would put forward "well founded claims for performance deficiencies" on delivered engines, which it said consumed more fuel than promised, based on MAN Diesel's admission of testing problems.
