Senior Reporter
The Port Authority is no longer pursuing its case over the controversial procurement of the MV Superfast Galicia (MVSG).
In January, the authority discontinued its appeal against a High Court decision that dismissed its case against maritime attorney Nyree Alfonso, vessel agent Intercontinental Shipping Limited (ICSL), and ICSL managing director John Powell.
Alfonso also withdrew her cross-appeal challenging aspects of the judge’s ruling.
Late last month, the Court of Appeal ordered the Port Authority and the Office of the Attorney General to pay Alfonso, ICSL, and Powell their legal costs in relation to the appeal.
Alfonso was, however, ordered to pay 70 per cent of the legal costs incurred by the Port Authority and the AG’s Office in responding to her cross-appeal.
The lawsuit centred on Alfonso’s alleged role in the procurement process after she was retained by the authority to assist in acquiring a vessel for the inter-island ferry service.
It was alleged that between December 2013 and July 2014, Alfonso breached her fiduciary duty as the authority’s attorney by being associated with ICSL and assisting in its successful bid in exchange for financial gain.
The State had sought to recover profits it alleged were made by Alfonso, Powell, and ICSL from a three-year lease valued at $143 million.
During cross-examination at trial, Alfonso—now chairman of State-owned Paria Fuel Trading Company Limited—maintained that the authority had mistakenly sent a tender package to her office and that she alerted officials to the error.
She said she attempted to transfer the package to ICSL, which represented the interests of the vessel owners deemed suitable for the lease.
When confronted with correspondence in which she allegedly appointed ICSL as her agent to effect the transfer, Alfonso conceded that she had made an error in her approach.
“It was an error. All I intended to do was assign the tender documents to ICSL. It was not the right way to approach it, but what I intended and what I wrote were not the same thing,” she told the court.
She said the situation arose because she was preoccupied with her duties at First Citizens Bank, where she was then non-executive chairman.
In its September 2023 ruling, High Court judge Justice Joan Charles dismissed the Port Authority’s claims against Alfonso, ICSL, and Powell.
The judge found that the procurement process had been approved with full knowledge of the relevant facts and that the authority failed to prove any breach of fiduciary duty.
She further found that neither ICSL nor Powell acted as Alfonso’s agents or collaborated with her to derive a financial benefit, as alleged.
“The claimants had full knowledge of all information relating to the charter of the MVSG… that the first defendant (Alfonso) was not involved in the tender and that the second defendant (ICSL) was acting independently,” Justice Charles said.
“There is no evidence before me of the first defendant diverting a commercial opportunity to herself by excluding the broker of the vessel who had been identified even before this tendering process had proceeded,” she added.
The judge also found no evidence that Alfonso personally benefited from the transaction.
“I also note that there is no evidence of financial benefit to the first defendant; while the second defendant was paid under the charter party, the evidence shows that good value for service was provided and that the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the public, was satisfied with the ferry service during the three years that the MVSG operated on the seabridge,” she said.
Alfonso was represented by Anand Beharrylal, KC, Shiv Sharma, Asif Hosein-Shah, and Ananda Rampersad. Powell and ICSL were represented by Jonathan Walker and Sherry Gopie.
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