A World Bank ruling on Wednesday means New Orleans-based offshore supply vessel operator Tidewater could soon be seeing more than half of a multimillion dollar payout it is due from the Venezuelan government, according to Reuters.
The World Bank tribunal partially lifted a stay of enforcement on an award which was made to Tidewater last year to compensate the firm for having 11 of its vessels seized and nationalized by Venezuela in 2009 during the heyday of late president Hugo Chavez.
Originally Tidewater was awarded a total of $46.4m but the payout was held up as Venezuela sought revisions or annulments of the amount.
The bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) said that an undisputed amount of $27.4m plus interest should no longer be under stay of enforcement. The interest, dating back to the 2009 seizure, brings the amount to $37.2m.
Actual collection of the money may be easier said than done, however, regardless of the tribunal’s decision.
As for the remainder of the original award, now swelled to $28.2m because of interest, that will remain under stay of enforcement until the conclusion of an annulment proceeding, expected later this year.
