Sea Swift locked in multimillion battle with Far North council
Far North shipping firm Sea Swift is at loggerheads with a council over a multimillion dollar bill for use of council-maintained marine infrastructure in the Torres Strait.
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Far North shipping firm Sea Swift is at loggerheads with Torres Strait Island Regional Council over a multimillion dollar bill for use of council maintained marine infrastructure in the Torres Strait.
In a recent application to the Supreme Court in Brisbane, Sea Swift requested council reveal the contents of redacted documents that previously were claimed by the organisation to contain items of legal professional privilege and may reveal council’s likely legal strategies.
The wrangle over use of council-owned moorings and jetties is based on Sea Swift use of facilities between July 2014 and June 2018.
On December 21, 2022, council lawyers issued Sea Swift with 253 invoices totalling $66,543,146.
Council described the default maritime fees as being calculated where there had been no self-reporting by Sea Swift, it’s alleged.
In January this year proceedings kicked off in the Supreme Court that sought a review of the jetty use invoices on the grounds that the fees were “unreasonable” and “beyond (the) power” of the council.
Sea Swift has handed over 126,000 documents to the council in response to a 2021 application to the Federal Court.
Council’s solicitors, Clyde & Co, after receiving documents noted “under reporting” of marine infrastructure use by Sea Swift and issuing of the invoices was based on “the information contained in … logbook extracts.”
“In short, our analysis has evidenced that Sea Swift submitted 253 inaccurate/non-compliant self-reporting forms during that period, such under-reporting is in clear breach of Sea Swift’s self-reporting obligation,” the letter from Clyde & Co to Sea Swift read.
However Justice Declan Kelly in his decision last week stated there was “no evidence” that comparison or analysis of logbooks had been disclosed by council.
For historical context, Justice Kelly said there had been a longstanding dispute spanning several years between council and Sea Swift in relation to whether the shipping company had been fully and accurately reporting its use of facilities.
In April 2023 a judicial review by Peter Applegarth ordered council to disclose certain categories of documents.
Six documents are in dispute as to whether the documents attract legal professional privilege.
Also requiring resolution, is if council was entitled to redact a Litigation Funding Agreement.
In making orders on the case Justice Kelly found some documents were the subject of professional legal privilege and others were not.
Redacted parts of one document are the subject of valid claims of confidentiality and are not required to be disclosed, the court heard.
The court ordered Torres Strait Island Regional Council to electronically produce two documents to Sea Swift solicitors before July 19, 2023.
Whether the council had power to impose the fees will be a call for a trial judge at a later date.
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