Commitments and Contingencies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2022

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

13. Commitments and Contingencies

We are a party to various claims, complaints and proceedings arising in the ordinary course of our business including, but not limited to, environmental claims, commercial and governmental contract claims, such as property damage, demurrage, personal injury, billing and fuel quality claims, as well as bankruptcy preference claims and tax and administrative claims. For example, in December 2021, a judgment was entered against one of our subsidiaries in the Singapore High Court in respect of an action filed by a financing bank of two of our subsidiary’s suppliers. The claims arose out of a financing arrangement between the suppliers and the bank and the resulting judgments, including principal and interest, are in the aggregate amount of approximately $33 million. We believe the claims are without merit, have appealed the judgments and are vigorously defending against the claims.

From time to time, we are also under review by various domestic and foreign tax authorities regarding indirect tax matters and are involved in various challenges and litigation in a number of countries, including, in particular, South Korea and Brazil, where the amounts under controversy may be material. During 2016 and 2017, the South Korean branch of one of our subsidiaries received assessments totaling approximately $26.6 million (KRW 34.3 billion) from the regional tax authorities of Seoul, South Korea. The assessment primarily consist of fines and penalties for allegedly failing to issue Value Added Tax ("VAT") invoices and report certain transactions during the period 2011-2014. We believe that these assessments are without merit and are currently appealing the actions.

We are also involved in several tax disputes with federal, state and municipal tax authorities in Brazil, relating primarily to a VAT tax known as ICMS. These disputes are at various stages of the legal process, including the administrative review phase and the collection action phase, and include assessments of fixed amounts of principal and penalties, plus interest. One of our Brazilian subsidiaries is currently appealing an assessment of approximately $11.6 million (BRL 60.8 million) from the Brazilian tax authorities relating to the ICMS rate used for certain transactions. The assessment primarily consists of interest and penalties. We believe that the assessment is without merit and are pursuing our remedies in the judicial court system.

We have established loss provisions for claims and other matters in which losses are probable and can be reasonably estimated. As of June 30, 2022, these reserves were not material. For those matters where a reserve has not been established and for which we believe a loss is reasonably possible, we believe that such losses will not have a material adverse effect on our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. However, any adverse resolution of one or more such claims, complaints or proceedings during a particular period could have a material adverse effect on our Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements or disclosures for that period.

Our estimates regarding potential losses and materiality are based on our judgment and assessment of the claims utilizing currently available information. Although we will continue to reassess our reserves and estimates based on future developments, our objective assessment of the legal merits of such claims may not always be predictive of the outcome and actual results may vary from our current estimates.