Aishwarya Rathore-
Published On: October 05, 2021 at 15:48 IST
A Surat Commercial Court ordered Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel (AMNS) to pay cargo handling charges to Essar Bulk Terminal (EBTL) in an ongoing dispute between Essar Group and ArcelorMittal over control of a bulk cargo terminal at Hazira.
The Court has also instructed Essar not to restrict the terminal draught to a ceiling of 10 metres.
A Surat Court observed, “AMNS is the only customer of EBTL. The only source of income for EBTL is the services provided by it to AMNS. The liability to pay is contractual. The Contract is in existence and has not been terminated. Services are available by AMNS from EBTL.”
The Conflict began in 2019 when Arcelor Mittal acquired Essar Steel (ESI) through the Insolvency process. Essar Steel has also established a captive jetty at EBTL to meet the cargo needs of its Steel Industry.
In 2011, ESI and EBTL signed a Cargo Handling Agreement (CHA) for the use of the Cargo Handling Facility of EBTL at the Jetty.
This Agreement is at the heart of the Essar-AMNS dispute. Essar Steel was placed in insolvency in 2018, following which many issues and disagreements arose with respect to Vessel Related Charges levied by EBTL.
EBTL, on the other hand, has claimed that since AMNS has not paid EBTL’s invoices, EBTL is not obligated under the CHA to supply draughts over 10 metres at the Terminal.
However, the Court ruled that EBTL is required to allow vessels with a draught of 10 metres or above to enter and dock at the terminal in accordance with the available draft.
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