Law Firm Calls for "Clear Strategic Response" to the OW Bunker Collapse

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Monday November 24, 2014

Law firm Ince & Co. says the situation following OW Bunker's recent collapse "remains highly fluid" and that there is a "need for a clear strategic response."

"At the moment there is no central industry response and everyone is scrambling to protect themselves," Ince & Co. said in a written statement.

"Tracing of assets is ongoing but there must be a very real danger that other companies will struggle and like dominoes, will also fall."

But claims relating to amounts owed to and by OW Bunker are not straightforward.

"The claims give rise to complex contractual issues made more complicated by the fact that many of the stems of bunkers involve more than one jurisdiction," said Ince & Co.

OW Bunker filed for bankruptcy on November 7 following revelations of a $150 million hedging loss and an alleged $125 million fraud within the group.

Since then, some OW Bunker creditors have arrested vessels asserting cargo owners' claims for amounts owed, and reports that one of the company's lenders is seeking payment for bunker supplies directly.

Ship & Bunker recently published an Inside Opinion piece describing how the interconnected nature of the Singapore bunker market could mean that the effect of OW Bunker's collapse has not yet fully hit.

Another law firm, Hafnia Law, said this week that debtors could end up paying three times if they were not careful.

Meanwhile, Thailand's Precious Shipping PCL has filed court papers in Singapore seeking direction as to who it owes for bunkers supplied by OW Bunker just prior to its collapse.

Ship & Bunker News Team
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