JadeWeserPort container deepwater port project successfully concluded
Dr. Armin Freiherr von Grießenbeck, Partner at Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek’s Munich office, successfully advised JadeWeserPort Realisierungsges. mbH & Co. KG on its legal dispute with the JadeWeserPort joint venture. The lawsuit before Oldenburg Regional Court, which has been going on for nine years, dealt with complex technical and legal issues. The bank consortium consisting of the companies JV Bunte/Hecker/Joseph Möbius/Voss is claiming a delay in awarding the contract of some EUR 13.0 million. The legal dispute has a volume of about EUR 100.0 million with a settlement amount of around EUR 0.5 billion. The total project amounted to about EUR 1.0 billion.
In July 2019, the parties settled the legal dispute before Oldenburg Regional Court and agreed on a settlement amount.
The main issues concerned the costs for a 13-month delay in awarding the contract, the conversion of the construction process, and the costs for the use of different profiles for quay sheet piling. The conversion had become necessary after the realization company had increased crane loads. Part of the dispute also related to the “lock blasting” of the sheet pile wall, which led to the necessity of erecting large sections of a new quay wall. The building consortium continues to assert the resulting claims against the construction performance insurance company.
JadeWeserPort has been in operation since 2012 and comprises a container terminal of 130 hectares with a 1,725 m long quay. The handling capacity is 2.7 million TEUs (20-foot standard container equivalent units) per year.
JadeWeserPort Realisierungs GmbH & Co. KG was founded in 2003 by the State of Lower Saxony and the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Following the construction of the JadeWeserPort container deepwater port in Wilhelmshaven, the company’s tasks include the administration, operation, and technical support of the port facilities. The state of Lower Saxony holds 50.1% in JadeWeserPort Realisierungs GmbH & Co. KG, while the state of Bremen holds 49.9%.
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek has been advising JadeWeserPort Realisierungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG since 2011, including in defending claims of the building consortium due to delays in awarding contracts.
Counsel to JadeWeserPort Realisierungsges. mbH & Co. KG
Heuking Kühn Lüer Wojtek:
Dr. Armin Frhr. von Grießenbeck (Lead), Munich
Counsel to Building Consortium:
Leinemann und Partner
Prof. Dr. Ralf Leinemann, Berlin
Andreas Jacobs, Berlin
Armin Preussler, Berlin
