‘Commercial dispute’ led to ElectroGas garnishee order
ElectroGas Malta has refrained from paying Ocean Installer, the company that supplied the storm mooring system for the new LNG tanker attached to the new Delimara power station, because of a commercial dispute.
The Malta Independent is informed that the ElectroGas consortium had withheld payments due to Ocean Installer, not because the company was in financial difficulty but, rather, because the two companies are still to “settle existing disputes of a commercial nature,” a company spokesperson told The Malta Independent.
“The garnishee order filed by Ocean Installer refers to amounts which are subject to disputes and which are therefore not due until these disputes are resolved. ElectroGas maintains its availability, as with any supplier where there is a difference of opinion, to resolve these issues amicably,” a spokesperson said.
The dispute will not have an impact on the day-to-day operations of the ElectroGas Malta plant or the LNG tanker, known as a Floating Storage Unit (FSU), the company insists.
Sources within ElectroGas have confirmed that the lifting of the garnishee order the company had been slapped with, is currently being processed by the courts. Earlier this week, this newsroom revealed how the garnishee order had been lifted after ElectroGas deposited a €1.5 million guarantee.
It appears that the case between Ocean Installer, the company which was awarded the contract for the procurement of the storm mooring system, and the ElectroGas consortium will now continue before a local tribunal.
The required permits for the tanker and the power station were approved by the Environmental and Resources Authority in a heated session last December. The Prime Minister had promised to have the new LNG power station ready by March of 2015. Later, Minister Konrad Mizzi announced the new deadline, of June 2016.
The controversial LNG tanker sailed into Marsaxlokk last October and the power station is expected to be up and running in the coming weeks.