THE Commonwealth Ports Authority has sued the owner of the Tinian ferries for allegedly refusing to pay $1.1 million in passenger fees pursuant to their port lease agreement.
CPA, through attorney S. Joshua Berger, sued Tinian Shipping Co., Inc., for alleged breach of contract.
In its complaint filed Monday, CPA asked the Superior Court to order Tinian Shipping to pay $1,158,300 in damages plus interest, attorney’s fees and costs of action.
Tinian Shipping is the owner of MV Saipan Express and MV Tinian Express, which carry passengers between Saipan and Tinian. The company is affiliated with Hong Kong Entertainment (Overseas) Investment Ltd., the owner of Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino.
When reached by Variety yesterday, G. Anthony Long, counsel for Tinian Shipping, said he had no comment but would respond to the lawsuit in court.
Berger said CPA filed the lawsuit to collect passenger fees, dockage fees and lease payments that are due and payable to his client, pursuant to the terms of the lease.
Berger said that on June 1, 1996, CPA and Tinian Shipping entered into a lease agreement.
“Pursuant to the lease agreement, defendant was initially required to pay plaintiff the sum of $3.75 per person for every passenger boarding a vessel of defendant at the Saipan ferry terminal,” he said.
Berger said that based on Tinian Shipping’s own documentation of boarding passengers, the company had failed to pay these fees and is indebted to plaintiff $1,158,300 as of April 30.
“Based on the computations made from defendant’s own passenger records, defendant presently owes plaintiff $1,137,633 solely in past passenger fees,” Berger said.
Despite numerous demands for payment, Tinian Shipping failed to and refused to pay the past due fees, he added.
“Accordingly, defendant has breached its lease contract with plaintiff, and plaintiff is entitled to recover the outstanding sum owing CPA,” he added.
At the CPA board meeting on Rota last April 24, the board decided that if Tinian Shipping did not accept CPA’s final offer regarding the passenger fee due within 15 days of the demand letter from Berger, CPA would file a lawsuit and immediately begin daily collection of the fee from all passengers boarding the ferries.
The ferry operations resumed on Saturday after the federal court released the two ferries from custody.
The federal court, however, ordered that the vessels should not leave the jurisdiction of CNMI without the written approval of the court.
The U.S. Marshals seized the ferries last May 23 following the court’s issuance of the warrants for the arrest of the vessels.
The court authorized the arrest based on a complaint filed by World Fame, a Hong Kong-based company which claims that Tinian Shipping failed to pay its debt.
