This arbitration centred on a dispute between the Dubai-based shipping company and a group of Chinese shipbuilders comprising Zhoushan Jinhaiwan Shipbuilding, Grand China Logistics Holding and HNA Group, over a 2011 contract between the parties for the building of two products tankers.
The arbitrators found in the shipbuilders’ favour and ruled that GulfNav must pay the second part of the building contract, together with interest, a report from Dubai said.
“The company has the right to appeal, which the counsel of this company will study and advise,” The company said in a statement posted on the Dubai Financial Market.
GulfNav said that a provision will be taken on its balance sheet in the wake of the award, which will be reflected in its annual report for 2013, to be published shortly.
This decision comes less than two months after a seperate London-based arbitration panel found that GulfNav was liable to pay $10.2 mill plus direct costs and calculated interest to Nordic American Tankers (NAT).
The panel found that the company was liable for repair costs for a vessel it chartered from NAT between 2004-2010.