Midland, MI, Nov. 25--Dow Chemical Co. has sued four chemical shipping companies, accusing them of stifling competition by fixing prices and rigging bids, according to a court filing.
The lawsuit, filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court in New Haven, CT, names two Norwegian companies, Stolt-Nielsen SA and Odfjell ASA as defendants.
Dow Chemical claims the companies had discussions as early as 1998 and until at least November 2002 to fix prices of shipping services to and from the United States and elsewhere, according to the filing.
The lawsuit also names two other companies as defendants: Jo Tankers BV, of the Netherlands, and Mitsui O.S.K. Line Group's Tokyo Marine Co. of Japan.
The November 7 suit, reported earlier on Tuesday on the Wall Street Journal's Web site, seeks to recover legal costs as well as triple damages for all purchases of services that were affected by what Dow alleged was a conspiracy.
Dow Chemical said in the filing that it bought "many millions of dollars worth" of shipping services for its bulk liquid chemicals, "a substantial portion of which was purchased from the defendants."
