Stolt-Nielsen and US-based Ingram Barge are locked in a legal fight in Houston over allegations that a bad cleaning job is to blame for an off-specification cargo.
Lawyers for Ingram have told the court that the barge owner agreed to pay $1.45m to customer Matrix Chemical after tests of the acetone cargo showed it was tainted by caustic soda and then an inspection of the barge found a solid block of the substance inside.
