A Brazilian customs seizure of clean petroleum products led to the cancellation of a series of product tanker voyages and a legal fight between trader Vitol and Brazilian customer Copape Productos de Petroleo.
Trader and tanker owner Vitol has claimed it is out “tens of millions of dollars” on its would-be customer’s alleged failure to pay for most of the cargo of one chartered-in MR2 tanker, and its refusal to follow up on further contracts.
Vitol is asking the US Southern District of New York (SDNY) federal court to order Copape to come to the arbitration table.
