Bugs in a cargo hold cost a Ukrainian bulker company nearly $1m and now it is looking to Chinese state-run agricultural giant Cofco International to make it up.

Averton Bulk, which operates more than 50 bulkers, filed a suit in the US federal court for the Southern District of New York last week, looking to garnish $1.2m held in Cofco's accounts at JP Morgan Chase as security for arbitration in London.