Legal Fight Over GP Global Fujairah Terminal Sale to Return to Court

The Fujairah terminal has 412,000 m3 of storage capacity, with 17 product tanks and two utility tanks. Image Credit: GP Global

The legal fight over the disputed sale of GP Global's Fujairah terminal is set to return to court in the UAE.

As Ship & Bunker has reported previously, FTI Consulting -- running GP Global during its restructuring process -- sold the Fujairah terminal to Mount Row Partners for $124 million in May 2022. Funds for the purchase of the terminal are understood to have been owned by Delaware Life Insurance in the US.

In July 2024 Gulf Petrochem FZC filed a lawsuit in Dubai against Mount Row and FTI's Rod Sutton seeking an annulment of the asset purchase agreement and AED 100 million ($27.2 million) in damages.

A Dubai court had previously dismissed this suit on the grounds of an arbitration clause meaning the issue should be settled via arbitration. 

The Courts of Appeal in Dubai have now reversed that decision as of an April 30 ruling, a source familiar with the situation told Ship & Bunker this week. The ruling means the suit will return to its original court to be ruled on there.

"The agreement on the arbitration clause contained in the agreement subject to the dispute is invalid, which establishes jurisdiction to hear the case before the court," the Courts of Appeal said in the ruling last month.

"Since the appealed judgement ruled in a manner contrary to this view, the court rules on the matter and returns the case to the first-instance court to hear it on the merits."

The original lawsuit alleged that a higher bid of $135 million for the terminal could have been accepted, and that the facility's land lease was sold alongside the terminal without authority and for no additional value.

In addition, shipping firm V8 Pool Inc had allegedly been awarded an attachment against the terminal by a court in Sharjah as part of its legal fight to reclaim money owed to it by GP Global, but was not informed in advance about the sale.

There are also now market rumours suggesting that the terminal may be up for sale again, the source told Ship & Bunker.

Given the ongoing legal proceedings and questions around the validity of the previous transaction, the outcome of the case could have a significant bearing on any future sale and the terminal's operational continuity.

GP Global went into restructuring in July 2020 following financial difficulties, and subsequently announced it had uncovered fraud by some of its employees in the UAE. The firm had been a significant presence in global bunker markets, as well as in other commodity markets.

The Fujairah terminal has 412,000 m3 of storage capacity, with 17 product tanks and two utility tanks, and can handle fuel oil, gasoil and cutter stock. The terminal was historically handling as much as 7.4 million mt/year of refined product deliveries, of which a large share was marine fuels.