NEW ORLEANS – A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District Louisiana recently awarded more than $10 million in damages to the owner of a crude oil shipping terminal and dock that was damaged by two two ships that had collided.
In his Aug. 13 ruling, U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey awarded Ergon-St. James Inc. $10,579,704.60 for damage to its crude oil storage facility and terminal.
The ruling came in regards to a lawsuit Ergon filed in April 2015 against Privocean Shipping Ltd. and Bariba Corp. The judgment also includes annual interest rate of 2.2 percent from the date the lawsuit was filed.
Privocean has 15 days to file a motion to limit Ergon's recovery. Ergon had sought to recover $14,607,429 in damages.
The suit stems from a April 2015 incident occurred after the bulk carrier Privocean broke away from its moorings at the Convent Marine Terminal dock. According to court documents, "the Privocean broke away from its moorings at the dock, drifted, traveled across the river, and allided with the another crude oil tanker called Bravo. The tanker Bravo was moored at the Ergon-St. James terminal facility and dock."
Privocean had stipulated that it is 100 percent liable for the breakaway of the bulk carrier Privocean, according to court document.
"It is undisputed that Ergon had nothing to do with the mooring of the Privocean or its cargo operations at the (Convent Marine Terminal) CMT dock," Zainey said in the ruling. "The court will not reduce Ergon’s recovery due to betterment beyond what the court has already credited for depreciation, which in this case is sufficient to encompass any betterment."
Attorneys for Privocean had argued that Ergon's initial claims of $14 million for repairs to its facility be reduced due to depreciation and "some of the damages and corresponding repairs were necessitated by Ergon’s own fault."