Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2023

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

9. Commitments and Contingencies

In December 2021, judgments were entered against one of our subsidiaries in the Singapore High Court in companion actions filed by a financing bank of two of our subsidiary’s suppliers. Each of the claims arose out of a financing arrangement between our subsidiary's supplier and the bank. The resulting judgments, including principal and interest, aggregated to approximately $33 million, which we paid to the bank pending the appeals of the Singapore court judgments. In January 2023, we entered into a settlement agreement with the bank pursuant to which the parties settled for approximately $13 million. As a result, we recognized a loss of $6.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2022. Pursuant to the settlement, in the first quarter of 2023 we recovered approximately $20 million in funds we had previously paid to the bank. In connection with the settlement, we have withdrawn our appeals and the parties have exchanged full and final releases in respect of the matters.

We are also 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.

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 in controversy may be material. During 2016 and 2017, the South Korean

branch of one of our subsidiaries received assessments totaling approximately $26.3 million (KRW 34.3 billion) from the regional tax authorities of Seoul, South Korea. The assessments 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. These assessments do not involve failure to pay or collect VAT. 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 contesting an assessment of approximately $12.5 million (BRL 64.1 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 March 31, 2023, 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.