A Vafias-linked shipowner is understood to be appealing a US court ruling that calls on London arbitrators to decide a $20m dispute over a tanker that deteriorated beyond repair under Venezuelan detention and was sold for scrap.

If the Eastern District of Texas federal court ruling stands, it represents a defeat for Psara Energy — the ex-owner of the 104,500-dwt aframax CV Stealth (built 2005) — and a win for the ship's former charterer Space Shipping, affiliated to Turkey's Karamehmet family.