The case is over an alleged unpaid debt of $230,040.26. File Image / Pixabay

• Minerva Bunkering has secured default judgment in the English High Court against Norvic Maritime Holdings
• Judgment debt at least $288,133.58 including interest and costs as of June 25
• Enforcement proceedings filed in Ontario, where the Norvic parent is incorporated
• Separate New York suit seeks to hold founder Ashfaque J. Rahman and Mahween Rahman personally liable

Minerva Bunkering has stepped up its pursuit of the Norvic group over an unpaid bunker bill, securing judgment in London and opening new enforcement fronts in Canada and the US, court records show.

The marine fuel supplier sued Norvic Maritime Holdings and related companies in March over a $230,040.26 debt for the supply of 498.528 mt of VLSFO to the M/V Alexandris at Singapore.

The English High Court has since entered default judgment against Norvic Maritime Holdings Inc under the parent company's guarantee of Norvic Shipping Asia's obligations, with the judgment debt said to total at least $288,133.58 including interest and costs as of June 25.

The order awards Minerva the original $230,040.26 debt plus contractual interest at 4% above the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), accruing at $49.70 per day, and GBP 38,602.17 in costs, which together make up the larger running total.

Minerva has now applied to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto to have the judgment recognised and enforced in Canada, the jurisdiction where Norvic Maritime Holdings is incorporated, with court records showing the application was filed on August 7 and that Norvic is unrepresented.

In a separate complaint filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on August 9, Minerva is seeking to hold Norvic founder, chairman, and group CEO Ashfaque J. Rahman and his wife Mahween Rahman personally liable for the debt.

The complaint alleges the Rahmans treated Norvic's nominally separate companies as extensions of a family business rather than genuinely independent firms, and that the group continued to trade and take on new maritime debts through late 2025 and early 2026 while unable to pay creditors.

Central to the claim is the sale of Norvic's dry bulk platform to United Overseas Trading in February, a deal that included three operating entities, three modern bulkers, and rights to six Japanese newbuildings.

Minerva alleges the transaction transferred the enterprise's value while leaving the debtor and guarantor entities out of the deal, "inadequately capitalized and unable to pay creditors."

The complaint also points to a queue of other creditors, citing a winding-up petition against Norvic Shipping Asia from MUR Shipping in Singapore, a Bombay High Court order requiring the company to disclose its assets and post security, and admiralty actions in New Jersey.

The allegations against the Rahmans have not been tested in court, and no response had been filed at the time of writing.