- Bunker company Monjasa will not have to pay compensation of DKK 40 million in an unusual dispute with Stena Oil, rules Denmark’s Supreme Court.
- Stena Oil filed a court case for Monjasa to relinquish profits it made from the fuel in question as it sees itself to be the owner of the confiscated cargo.
In an unusual court case concerning the purchase of an oil cargo, bunker company Monjasa has been acquitted and will not have to pay compensation totaling around DKK 40 million (USD 6.5 million), reports the Ship & Bunker.
No need of compensation!
Denmark’s Supreme Court has upheld an earlier high court decision that Monjasa is not required to pay around $6.5 million in compensation to Stena Oil in a case which centred on ownership of a fuel oil cargo after its attempted theft by smugglers in the territorial waters of State of São Tomé and Príncipe in 2013.
- Two ships had attempted to remove a bunker fuel cargo destined for Stena Oil without authorization from the Saotomese authorities.
- The shipping companies that owned the vessels were subsequently find and the ships’ captains were convicted and received prison sentences.
- The Saotomese authorities also decided to confiscate the bunker fuel cargo belonging to Stena Oil. The cargo was subsequently sold to Monjasa.
The subsequent court case centred on whether Stena Oil could raise a claim against the defendants (Monjasa) on the grounds that they bought the confiscated oil cargo from São Tomé and Príncipe.
Verdict favoring Monjasa
In a judgment issued on 16 February, Denmark’s Supreme Court ruled that the ownership of the oil passed to São Tomé and Príncipe at the time of the confiscation and that São Tomé and Príncipe was subsequently entitled to sell the oil to Monjasa.
The Supreme Court also stated that in such a situation, ‘absolutely extraordinary circumstances had to exist in order for the buyer, who supported the right to the confiscation decision, to be held liable to the original owner of the confiscated item.’
The Court found that Stena Oil had not proved that such completely extraordinary circumstances existed.
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Source: Ship & Bunker
