A New York arbitration tribunal has ruled in favor of Navios Logistics on a dispute with Vale regarding the termination date of a COA contract. Vale has been ordered to pay Navios Logistics $21.5m, compensating for all unpaid invoices, late payment of invoices, and legal fees incurred.
This is further to a London arbitration in December last year between the same two parties.
Angeliki Frangou, chairman and CEO of Navios Maritime Holdings revealed in the company’s latest quarterly results that the dry bulk outfit had won its court case with the Brazilian miner over a planed terminal development in Uruguay.
Last year Vale ditched plans to use a Navios Logistics iron ore terminal under construction in Nueva Palmira, Uruguay. The Frangou-led company decided to pursue legal action against the Brazilian miner. The pair had signed a 20-year agreement in 2013 for storing and transhipping up to 6m tonnes of iron ore and other commodities a year.
Frangou commented on the London arbitration decision: “We are pleased that we have removed the uncertainty regarding our iron ore port in South America. The London arbitration tribunal has ruled in favour of Navios Logistics – that the Vale 20-year port services contract remains in full force and effect. The Vale minimum guarantee, for 4m of the 10m tons of annual capacity, should generate about $35m in annual EBITDA. Over the 20-year term of the contract, this minimum guarantee should generate about $1bn in EBITDA.”
Frangou said her dry bulk company was now “positioned to capture any market recovery”. She claimed opex at Navios Maritime Holdings was about 37% below industry averages and G&A stands among the lowest of its publicly listed shipping peers.
