DOVER, Del. - The company that privatized operations at the port of Wilmington several years ago owes more than $21 million in damages for breaching an agreement to buy the port’s former stevedoring firm, a Delaware judge ruled Monday.Vice Chancellor Lori Will also found GT USA Wilmington in contempt for violating a court confidentiality order by using materials it obtained in defending itself in a 2018 lawsuit filed by Murphy Marine Services to negotiate a deal with one of Murphy Marine’s largest customers.Monday’s ruling came more than a year after a different Chancery Court judge ruled that GT was bound by the terms of a 2018 letter agreement regarding the purchase and sale of 100% of the equity interest of Murphy Marine.Will ruled Monday that GT violated the binding letter agreement by refusing to negotiate a definitive purchase agreement with Murphy Marine.
She also said GT improperly used information obtained from Murphy Marine during the lawsuit to negotiate its own stevedoring contract with Dole Fresh Fruit Company.Officials with GT USA Wilmington did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.GT USA Wilmington is a subsidiary of port management company Gulftainer, which is based in the United Arab Emirates.