Financial Dispute Takes Rose Cay Maritime Jones Act ATB Fleet Out of Action

By Daniel Katzive (gCaptain) – A financial dispute among owners and managers has taken Rose Cay Maritime’s fleet of Jones Act articulated tug/barge combinations and tank barges out of service. One ATB unit has been arrested by Panama authorities and is currently being held at anchor there. Other units have been docked at various locations and are being decrewed.

Dove Cay, the fleet’s operating company, filed Coast Guard liens on the vessels in July in an effort to secure payment from the vessel owner Pennantia LLC for services the operator claims to have performed. Efforts at mediation have so far been unsuccessful and a request by the vessel owners for a preliminary injunction against the operators has been denied by a federal district court judge in New York, according to court filings.

Rose Cay Maritime was formed in 2021 to manage 18 vessels (8 ATB units plus two additional barges) purchased by Pennantia LLC at auction from the bankrupt Bouchard Transportation Company. Pennantia is 86.25% owned by Contrarian Capital Management LLC, a credit investment firm, and 13.75% owned by Rose Cay, according to court records. A separate company, Dove Cay, was formed in 2022 to act as technical and crewing sub-manager of the fleet, taking that role over from Foss Maritime Company.

Dove Cay claims Pennantia owes the company $29 million, comprising $16 million in technical and crewing management fees and $13 million stemming from credit receivables previously lent to Pennantia. Dove Cay filed maritime liens against all 18 vessels in early July and Rose Cay and Dove Cay later terminated their operating agreement with the owner, demobilizing the fleet and reducing crews to “safe manning” levels. In a letter to the court last week, Dove Cay claims it has not been paid for subsequent July and August expenses and is now undertaking to de-crew the fleet in coordination with the Coast Guard.

For its part, Pennantia has claimed in court filings that the invoices presented by Dove Cay and Rose Cay were inflated and that Rose Cay manipulated the fleet’s vessel operating account to create an appearance of underfunding. Pennantia also claims the liens filed by Dove Cay and inability to access the vessels has hindered the company’s ability to sell the fleet and that payments have been made to Dove Cay for operations in July.

The Jordan Rose, Anna Rose, and Susan Rose ATBB tugs all dropped off AIS last week at various locations around New York Harbor, while Rebekah Rose last pinged eight days ago in Sabine Pass. In addition, court filings show the RCM 260 barge was brought to Brooklyn by McAllister Towing and Transportation and the RCM 262 barge was brought to Providence at the request of Pennantia.

The Lynn Rose/RCM 270 ATB was arrested by Panama authorities after transiting the Panama Canal on August 2 at the request of Dove Cay, according to a Pennantia court filing. The unit was enroute to California with a cargo of 240,000 barrels of renewable diesel loaded on the Gulf Coast. The Lynn Rose is currently at anchor on the Pacific side of the canal. 

gCaptain has reached out to management and attorneys for the parties involved and will update this article with any comments or additional information they provide.

Subscribe for Daily Maritime Insights

Sign up for gCaptain’s newsletter and never miss an update

— trusted by our 107,297 members