Top Ships has asked a New York federal court to throw out a shareholder lawsuit claiming securities fraud in its dealings with Kalani Investments, calling the charges “a hodgepodge of theories” that fail to show wrongdoing.

In a motion to dismiss the action, the Evangelos Pistiolis-led company is closely tracking defences raised by two other shipowners sued in similar complaints for raising millions of dollars through Kalani — DryShips and Diana Containerships.