The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a petition from Sikousis Legacy Inc., which sought to overturn a Ninth Circuit ruling barring the seizure of the 800-foot tanker M/T Berica to enforce $10 million in arbitral awards against defunct gas shipping company B-Gas Ltd., now known as Bepalo LPG Shipping Ltd.
The decision leaves intact the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that the Berica, owned by a separate entity within the Bergshav Group, could not be targeted because Sikousis Legacy failed to prove the tanker’s owner was involved in hiding assets to avoid paying Bepalo’s debts.
Legal Challenge and Admiralty Law Principles
Sikousis Legacy argued that the Ninth Circuit improperly applied nonadmiralty rules derived from state law in a case that involved fundamental principles of admiralty law, such as maritime attachment and garnishment. The company warned that this approach could allow maritime debtors to shield assets through corporate restructuring, undermining quasi in rem remedies that are central to enforcing maritime debts.
