A wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. signed a settlement agreement with Batumi Sea Port Ltd. to end a two-year lease agreement dispute in Georgia.
ICTSI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange unit Batumi International Container Terminal LLC executed a settlement agreement with BSP, concluding a dispute that first arose in 2013.
“The settlement agreement covers several mutually beneficial measures with focus on further growth of the port,” ICTSI said.
The arbitration proceedings at the London Court of International Arbitration was also officially terminated on Oct. 30, 2015.
BICT has been operating the multi-purpose container terminal and dry cargo and ferry terminal in the Black Sea Port of Batumi, Georgia under a lease agreement entered into with BSP on Sept. 20, 2007.
BSP sent a notice of alleged violation of the terms and conditions of the lease agreement by BICT in 2013. After receiving BSP’s notice and formally disputing in writing the allegations, BICT initiated arbitration proceedings with LCIA to settle the dispute with its lessor, BSP, in accordance with the dispute resolution mechanism under the lease agreement.
“After executing a standstill agreement, the parties settled their differences in an amicable manner which led to the execution of the settlement agreement,” ICTSI said.
The parties said pursuant to the settlement agreement, they subsequently withdrew their respective claims and counterclaims before the LCIA, which led to the termination of the arbitration proceedings.
BICT contributed 0.7 percent of ICTSI’s consolidated volume and revenues as of end-June 2015.
ICTSI posted a net income of $100.4 million in the first six months, down by 1 percent from $101.7 million in the same period last year.
ICTSI’s revenues increased 8 percent to $552.1 million from $510.3 million last year.
The port operator handled consolidated volume of 3.88 million twenty-foot equivalent units in the six-month period, up 9 percent from 3.57 million TEUs handled last year.