Pilbara Ports has launched another legal action against Mineral Resources as part of a dispute over alleged unpaid fees of more than $5 million.
Pilbara Ports has launched another legal action against Mineral Resources as part of a dispute over alleged unpaid fees of more than $5 million.
In a writ lodged in the Supreme Court of Western Australia, Pilbara Ports Authority named MinRes Marine, a subsidiary of the Chris Ellison-founded business, as the defendant.
The writ, obtained by Business News, the state’s ports authority alleged it was owed $5.17 million for charges or levies over MinRes’ transshipping operations in the Port of Ashburton.
The recently lodged writ is the latest in the ongoing dispute between Pilbara Ports and MinRes, which started with a lawsuit in the state’s highest court in April.
At the time, Pilbara Ports claimed the initial debt to be recovered was about $4 million in unpaid port charges.
But Pilbara Ports’ counsel Kanaga Dharmananda SC previously told the court the debt has increased to about $14 million.
A three-day trial for the matter has been scheduled to start in October.
Business News understands the recently lodged writ identified the correct MinRes subsidiary responsible for the shipping operations.
In the writ, Pilbara Ports claimed it issued an invoice to MinRes for $5.17 million in channel charges over the latter’s operations in Ashburton from mid-2024 to January 2025.
MinRes operated 10 vessels to transport iron ore from land-based infrastructure at Ashburton Port to offshore sites, according to the writ.
“Due to the draught of the transhipment vessels and the shallow depth of water surrounding the Port of Ashburton LNG channel, the transhipment vessels are not able to conduct transhipment transits (or return transits) without use of the dredged depth of the Port of Ashburton LNG channel,” Pilbara Ports said in the writ.
Pilbara Ports claimed, in the writ, that it reduced the channel charge from $1 per gross registered tonne to 90 cents, payable for each transshipment transit, in December.
The writ said MinRes has failed or refused to pay the channel charges despite Pilbara Ports’ issued invoice for $5.17 million in February and a payment demand in September.
MinRes declined to comment.
