Sevmash rebuffs allegations
The Norwegian shipping major Odfjell last week cancelled a major construction contract with Russian Sevmash, arguing that the Russian shipyard had acted with disrespect and had a lack of will to meet contract conditions. Now, Sevmash hits back.
In a press release, Sevmash today maintains that it has no understanding of Odfjell’s accusation about the alleged deliberate delays in the project. “Sevmash categorically rebuffs this accusation and confirms that it has met all obligations with regard to the construction of the vessels”.
The shipyard also claims that it has been entitled to increase the price for the 12 chemical tankers. Odfjell on the other hand maintains that Sevmash is committed by the 2004 contract sum. Sevmash also confirms that it will continue the construction of the tankers and sell them for market prices, which in the next turn will help the company avoid losses.
–They have shown no will to try to understand that this is a commercial project. They have deliberately sabotaged and delayed the project, head of Odfjell Terje Storeng said to Norwegian media last week. The company informed that the cancelling of the contract came after “serious delays in the construction process, combined with demands for further price increases from the Yard”, as well as “continuous cooperation problems”.
The Norwegian company intends to take the case to court should Sevmash refuse to agree on compensation costs.
The agreement, which included up to 12 tankers, was signed in 2004 and promoted as a historic deal in Norwegian-Russian industrial relations. The contract was worth 500 million USD. Now, the reputation of the Russian shipyard might have got a serious blow among both Russian and foreign investors.
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Photo: Odfjell’s chemical tankers (Sevmash.ru)
