Plaza Marine alleges Ankora used company secrets
New Jersey-based marine fuel supplier Plaza Marine is suing another supplier, Ankora Fuels, alleging that two former Plaza Marine employees used company trade secrets to benefit a rival company and to compete in the same market.
Plaza Marine alleges that the two ex-employees, John and Zachary Barbarise, used its trade secrets, confidential information, customer, and supplier relationships to conduct business that is virtually identical to Plaza Marine, according to the suit filed last month in US District Court for the District of New Jersey.
John Barbarise was vice president of sales and trading at Plaza Marine until May 2023 and Zachary Barbarise was an operations manager until July 2024. Both individuals are listed as defendants in the suit in addition to Ankora Fuels.
According to the lawsuit, John and Zachary's positions at Plaza Marine gave them access to proprietary information about Plaza Marine's business including contracts with its customers, supplier lists and long-term planning like price strategies for its customers.
Plaza Marine alleges that John and Zachary used this information to attempt to "clone" Plaza Marine including chartering a vessel that is a long-term vendor of the company and creating a pricing methodology that is like Plaza Marine. This has created confusion in the marine fuel market, according to Plaza Marine.
"By creating a competing company engaged in virtually the same activities as Plaza Marine, it is inevitable that John and Zachary will necessarily use and disclose Plaza Marine's trade secrets for their own personal gain and to create an unfair competitive advantage for Ankora," the company said in the suit.
According to the lawsuit, prior to resigning from Plaza Marine, Zachary allegedly contacted John on multiple occasions and accessed files related to Plaza Marine's customers, including once after an internal meeting that discussed confidential information related to its customers and suppliers.
Zachary also allegedly created Google document files on a personal device and copied and pasted Plaza Marine's trade secrets into that file prior to departing from the company. Plaza Marine alleges that Zachary was passing along this confidential information to John for use at Ankora.
Ankora said the allegations are "completely baseless" and that John and Zachary have never taken any information from Plaza Marine. The company said that Zachary has never worked for Ankora and the Google sheets Plaza Marine allegedly found in Zachary's computer were files "for a fantasy football draft and an ultimate fighting championship contest."
"The simple truth is Plaza Marine does not want to face competition from a new player in its space. Plaza Marine wants to continue to mistreat customers and other business partners by blocking Ankora Fuels' entry into the market. That's why Plaza Marine has filed this baseless lawsuit. Plain and simple. We are confident that our customers will see the same, and that they will realize – if they haven't already – that Plaza Marine is not a good partner for their businesses," Ankora said.
Related news posts
Pemex unbilled debts to suppliers climb
Pemex unbilled debts to suppliers climb
Mexico City, 5 September (Argus) — Service providers for Mexico's Pemex are unable to submit new invoices for services performed nearly a year ago even as the state-owned company also struggles to pay down past bills, sources say. These unsubmitted invoices do not appear in Pemex's financial records or in its monthly supplier debt reports, three Pemex suppliers who work mostly in the northern region of the Gulf of Mexico told Argus . Pemex provides vendors a system to submit bills for review and processing, leading to an invoice codifying payments and discounts (Copades). At this stage, Pemex certifies the pending invoice, making it part of the company's monthly supplier report —a transparency measure implemented in 2021. Pemex reduced its overdue debts to service providers by 6pc from May-July, with Ps126.4bn ($6.78bn) in unpaid invoices as of 31 July, down from Ps133.9bn in May. But a significant amount of unbilled work remains because Pemex has not issued the necessary Copades for vendors to begin the payment process, and some of the bills date back to work performed in September, according to two of the vendors. Without the Copades, companies must classify these debts as uncollectible, one vendor said. The issue is concentrated in Mexico's northeast maritime region, where Pemex produces about half of its crude and gas output, according to the vendors. This region includes the Cantarell and Ku-Maloob-Zap fields. Pemex has requested vendors to perform tasks in the area, but the company then claims there is no budget allocated for those bills, the vendors said. This unbilled work adds to Pemex's recognized debt to suppliers, but the size of this unrecognized debt is impossible to estimate, the vendors added. Pemex's unpaid invoices and short-term vendor debts stand at record-high levels, despite receiving over $70bn in government support since 2019. By Edgar Sigler Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Roadblocks across Colombia cut LPG supply
Roadblocks across Colombia cut LPG supply
Bogota, 5 September (Argus) — Colombia's LPG shortages are worsening as a fourth day of protests and roadblocks over higher diesel prices are limiting production and distribution. Protesters have completely blocked roads to processing plants in the key Cusiana and Cupiagua fields, preventing trucks from moving supply. Those two fields along with the Ty Gas processing plant handle 41pc of the country's LPG supply, LPG association (Agremgas) director Sara Velez told Argus . Colombia uses about 60,000 metric tonnes (t)/month of LPG. The Cusiana plant that produces about 15,000t/month of LPG is flaring 100t/d of LPG that cannot be transported, Velez said. "If Cusiana is unable to move out the LPG, it may force it to shut in, affecting natural gas as well," Velez said. Blockades are also preventing LPG produced at the 250,000 b/d Barrancabermeja and the 200,000 b/d Cartagena refineries from reaching distributors. The refineries produce 24pc of the country's LPG supply, equivalent to 14,400t/month. Adding to troubles, multiple rebel attacks have put sections of the country's 220,000 b/d Cano Limon-Covenas and the 120,000 b/d Bicentenario crude pipelines out of service for repairs, restricting crude supply to the refineries. The smaller LPG field of Capacho controlled by Canadian oil company Parex shut in 5,000 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d), or about 10pc of its Colombian output. That reduced LPG supplies to the Arauca department, the LPG association added. The departments of Caqueta, Cundinamarca and Valle del Cauca have inventories for four days. Another 28 departments have LPG inventory for one or two days. Velez has called on the government to create a safe corridor to help LPG reach consumers. The LPG shortage is also affecting industries. Fenavi, the country's poultry association, consumes 42mn kg/yr of LPG, which is equivalent to state-controlled Ecopetrol's monthly LPG production. The LPG is used to warm the poultry, but the association also said that blockades have also cut supplies of feed and could put the chickens at risk of starvation. The country produces 1.8mn tonnes/yr of chickens and 1.6bn eggs/yr. In Colombia 1.2mn families already still cook with wood, and the current shortage will likely increase that number. By Diana Delgado Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Idemitsu completes biofuel trial for bunkering vessels
Idemitsu completes biofuel trial for bunkering vessels
Tokyo, 5 September (Argus) — Japanese refiner Idemitsu has completed a test of mixed biofuel using fatty acid methyl ester (Fame) for bunkering vessels in the Hokkaido area ahead of commercial use. Idemitsu carried out a trial for 10 months starting in September 2023, using a 24pc Fame mixture of used cooking oil collected from convenience stores in Hokkaido with existing marine fuel oil. The mixed biofuel can be used in the same applications as existing marine fuel oil without any changes to equipment specifications or operating conditions in cold climates, Idemitsu said. Mixed biofuel is able to cut 20pc of carbon dioxide compared with existing marine fuel oil. But there has been difficulty in using it in sub-zero temperatures, which results in solidification and oxidation. Idemitsu will increase use of the bio-mixed marine fuel to areas other than Hokkaido, in its effort to achieve the country's 2050 decarbonisation goal. By Reina Maeda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Gold Standard releases two new shipping methodologies
Gold Standard releases two new shipping methodologies
London, 4 September (Argus) — Carbon registry Gold Standard has launched its Methodology for Reducing Methane Emissions from Combustion Engine Exhaust and its Methodology for Marine Fuels and Bio Bunkers, aimed at reducing the environmental impact of shipping operations. The two new methodologies will add to Gold Standard's existing Retrofit Energy Efficiency Measures in Shipping methodology and Methodology for Emission Reduction by Shore-side or Offshore Electricity Supply System. The Methodology for Marine Fuels and Bio Bunkers was developed by biofuels trading firm Alcom, and will serve as a guideline for obtaining carbon credits from the use of marine biodiesel blends. The methodology currently only applies to marine biodiesel blends comprising used cooking oil methyl ester (Ucome), with a scope covering biofuel production to be used within the maritime industry across all sea vessel types and covering the entire chain of emissions on a well-to-wake basis. Only the biofuel component that has been loaded on to the vessel and blended with fossil fuels can be eligible for carbon credits under this methodology. Gold Standard's Methodology for Reducing Methane Emissions from Combustion Engine Exhaust was developed in partnership with consulting group Fremco and technology company Daphne Technology. The methodology aims to reduce methane emissions stemming from maritime and stationary land-based internal combustion engines that utilise natural gas or other methane-rich fuels. It will also mandate real-time measurements before and after the abatement system to ensure "robust monitoring of emission reductions". By Hussein Al-Khalisy Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Business intelligence reports
Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.
Learn more