IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 16-30194

VALERO MARKETING & SUPPLY COMPANY, 

 Plaintiff - Appellant

v.

M/V ALMI SUN, IMO NO. 9579535, her engines, apparel, furniture, 

equipment, appurtenances, tackle, etc., in rem; VERNA MARINE 

COMPANY, LIMITED, appearing solely and restrictively as claimant of the 

M/V Almi Sun, 

 Defendants – Appellees

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Eastern District of Louisiana

Before HIGGINBOTHAM, JONES, and HAYNES, Circuit Judges.

PATRICK E. HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judge:

This case asks whether a bunker supplier, having entered into a contract 

with a bunker trader that later went bankrupt, is entitled to assert a maritime 

lien against the vessel that physically received its fuel. Because that supplier

cannot show that it provided necessaries “on the order of the owner or a person 

authorized by the owner,” we affirm the district court’s denial of a maritime 

lien. 

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

June 19, 2018

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

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I.

While in Corpus Christi, Texas, the Almi Sun (the “Vessel”) needed

refueling. Almi Tankers S.A., an agent for the Vessel’s owner Verna Marine 

Co. Ltd., contracted with O.W. Bunker Malta, Ltd., a fuel trader, to procure 

bunkers. During negotiations, Almi Tankers requested the name of the 

physical supplier, and O.W. Malta named Valero Marketing & Supply 

Company. O.W. Malta issued a final sales order confirming Valero as the 

supplier and listing itself as the seller. Another O.W. Bunker entity, O.W. 

Bunker USA, Inc., then contracted with Valero to purchase the fuel. O.W.’s

involvement ended there. Valero coordinated delivery directly with the Vessel, 

and Vessel agents tested and verified the bunkers’ quality. After delivery was 

completed, an authorized officer of the Vessel signed the bunkering certificate, 

and Valero submitted an invoice to O.W. USA. 

In early November 2014, Almi Tankers learned that the O.W. Bunker

group of companies faced significant financial problems and might be unable

to pay Valero. Almi Tankers requested “written confirmation and evidence of 

payment,” and “reserve[d] the right to make remittance directly to the physical 

supplier and . . . hold any balance due . . . for payment.” O.W. Bunker and other 

related entities filed for bankruptcy shortly thereafter. 

Valero then brought this in rem action seeking a maritime lien for the 

amount owed for the bunkering plus interest and fees. Verna appears as the in 

rem claimant of the Vessel defending the action on the Vessel’s behalf. Both 

Valero and Verna moved for summary judgment, and the district court granted 

summary judgment in favor of Verna. Valero timely appeals.

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II.

We review the “‘district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo, 

applying the same standards as the district court.’”1 Summary judgment is 

appropriate where “there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the 

movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”2 On summary judgment, 

we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmovant, and draw 

all reasonable inferences in the nonmovant’s favor.3

III.

The Commercial Instruments and Maritime Liens Act (“CIMLA”) 

governs the circumstances under which a party is entitled to a maritime lien. 

In relevant part, CIMLA states that a person providing necessaries to a vessel 

“on the order of the owner or a person authorized by the owner” is entitled to a 

maritime lien on the vessel.4 Section 31341(a) lists “persons . . . presumed to 

have authority to procure necessaries for a vessel:”

(1) the owner; (2) the master; (3) a person entrusted with the 

management of the vessel at the port of supply; or (4) an officer or 

agent appointed by—(a) the owner; (b) a charterer; (c) an owner 

pro hac vice; or (d) an agreed buyer in possession of the vessel.5

We apply the provisions of CIMLA stricti juris to ensure that maritime liens 

are not “lightly extended by construction, analogy, or inference.”6

It is not unusual for an entity supplying necessaries to a vessel to lack 

privity of contract with the owner of that vessel, and to instead contract with 

 

1 Green v. Life Ins. Co. of N. Am., 754 F.3d 324, 329 (5th Cir. 2014) (quoting Cooper v. 

Hewlett-Packard Co., 592 F.3d 645, 651 (5th Cir. 2009)).

2 FED. R. CIV. P. 56(a).

3 Cox v. Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P., 755 F.3d 231, 233 (5th Cir. 2014).

4 46 U.S.C. § 31342(a).

5 46 U.S.C. § 31341(a). 

6 Atlantic & Gulf Stevedores, Inc. v. M/V GRAND LOYALTY, 608 F.2d 197, 200–01 

(5th Cir. 1979). In Atlantic & Gulf Stevedores, we ruled that a vessel’s chief officer is a “person 

to whom management of the vessel at the port of supply is intrusted” for purposes of section 

972 of the Federal Maritime Lien Act—the predecessor to CIMLA. Id. at 200–03. In so 

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an intermediary. In Lake Charles, we recognized two lines of cases that deal 

with such circumstances: the general/subcontractor line of cases and the 

principal/agent, or “middle-man,” line of cases.7 To determine which line of 

cases applies, Lake Charles instructs that “it is not whether an intermediary 

can be expected to supply the necessaries itself that distinguishes instances in 

which the actual suppliers have liens, but it is rather the nature of the 

relationship between each pair of entities that are involved in the transaction 

at issue.”8

As it happened in Lake Charles, ED&F Man Sugar, Inc. entered into an 

agreement to purchase rice from Broussard Rice Mill, Inc. In that agreement, 

the parties assigned the responsibility of providing stevedoring services to 

Broussard. Broussard, working through an agent, awarded Lake Charles 

Stevedores (“LCS”) the bid to load the rice onto the vessel. LCS loaded the rice,

and the vessel’s agents signed activity sheets and receipts. When Broussard

failed to pay, LCS asserted a maritime lien for its services.9

 

holding, we acknowledged the doctrine of stricti juris but opined that the Federal Maritime 

Lien Act “is not to be viewed through the constricting glass of [s]tricti juris” as its “legislative 

history” required “a more liberal application than that which existed prior to the 1971 

amendments to the Maritime Lien Act.” Id. at 201. We further explained that Congress 

intended to “make it easier and more certain for stevedores and others to protect their 

interests by making maritime liens available where traditional services are routinely 

rendered.” Id.

In subsequent decisions, however, we have clarified our “respect for the principle of 

stricti juris,” counseling against application of the sweeping language set forth in Atlantic & 

Gulf Stevedores to the present case. See Lake Charles Stevedores, Inc. v. PROFESSOR 

VLADIMIR POPOV MV, 199 F.3d 220, 231 (5th Cir. 1999). As we discuss infra, Lake Charles 

stands for the rule in our circuit that a subcontractor is generally not entitled to assert a 

maritime lien “unless it can be shown that an entity authorized to bind the ship controlled 

the selection of the subcontractor and/or its performance.” Id. at 229. Because Lake Charles 

is on point, we are guided by its application of stricti juris here. 

7 Id. at 228–29. 8 Id. at 230.

9 Id. at 222–23.

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We found those facts to be “more akin to those in which general 

contractors have been engaged to supply a service and have called upon other 

firms to assist them in meeting their contractual obligations.”10 Typically, “the 

general contractor supplying necessaries on the order of an entity with 

authority to bind the vessel has a maritime lien”; however, “subcontractors 

hired by those general contractors are generally not entitled to assert a lien on 

their own behalf, unless it can be shown that an entity authorized to bind the 

ship controlled the selection of the subcontractor and/or its performance.”11

Because Man Sugar “retained no control over the selection of a stevedoring 

concern, and Broussard accepted all the risk associated,” we held that LCS was 

not entitled to a maritime lien.12

Ken Lucky typifies the middle-man line of cases.13 In that case, the 

following sequence of events occurred: Bulkferts, Inc., the vessel’s 

subcharterer, placed an order for fuel with its managing agent, Eurostem

Maritime Limited; Eurostem contacted Brook Oil Ltd., a fuel trader; Brook Oil

then instructed Gray Bunkering Services to place an order for fuel with Marine 

Fuel, the physical supplier; Marine Fuel, in turn, asked Gray for assurances 

about payment before delivery of the bunkers; Gray notified Marine Fuel that 

it had been “nominated by the owner” of the vessel to supply the fuel; Marine 

Fuel delivered the fuel; and the vessel’s chief engineer accepted the fuel with 

the approval of the vessel’s master.14 After having unsuccessfully sought 

payment, Marine Fuel asserted a maritime lien on the vessel.15

 

10 Id. at 230.

11 Id. at 229.

12 Id. at 230.

13 Marine Fuel Supply & Towing, Inc. v. M/V KEN LUCKY, 869 F.2d 473 (9th Cir. 

1988).

14 Id. at 475.

15 Id.

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The Ninth Circuit found that Marine Fuel was entitled to a lien because 

the parties agreed that the order originated from Bulkferts, the subcharterer, 

an entity with authority to bind the ship.16 Due to that concession, the Ninth 

Circuit did not “reach . . . the district court’s conclusion that Brook was not

Bulkfert’s agent,” concluding that Marine Fuel did not need to “establish 

agency between Brook and Bulkferts to fall within the scope of one entitled to 

a maritime lien under [CIMLA].”17

IV.

In this case, there is no dispute that bunkers qualify as necessaries and 

that Valero provided those necessaries to the Vessel. The sole inquiry before 

us is whether Valero furnished the necessaries to the Vessel “on the order of 

the owner or a person authorized by the owner.” We conclude that it did not. 

The record shows that Verna, through its agent Almi Tankers, contacted 

OW Malta because it was a “reputable bunker trader[]”;that during 

negotiations, Almi Tankers asked who would be the bunker fuel supplier, and 

it did not object to Valero’s selection; that the sales order confirmation listed 

Valero as the supplier; that Valero provided the entire bunkering service that 

Almi Tankers contracted for, with no assistance from O.W. or its affiliates; that 

the Vessel’s agents monitored and tested Valero’s performance; and that Almi 

Tankers expressed concern about O.W.’s ability to pay Valero.

These facts do not demonstrate that Valero provided the bunkers to the 

Vessel “on the order of the owner or a person authorized by the owner.” Valero 

provided the bunkers at O.W.’s request, and O.W. is not a “person [] presumed 

 

16 Id. at 477.

17 Id. The Ninth Circuit separately examined the master’s implied authority to incur 

a lien against the vessel upon accepting the supplies that Marine Fuel delivered, and 

determined that the master had such authority because a ship’s master has presumed 

authority to incur a lien under CIMLA. Id. at 477–78.

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to have authority to procure necessaries[.]”18 These facts are “more akin to 

those in which general contractors have been engaged to supply a service and 

have called upon other firms to assist them in meeting their contractual 

obligations.”19 Thus, Valero must show that an entity authorized to bind the 

ship “controlled [its] selection . . . and/or its performance.”20 The record, 

however, proves no more than the Vessel’s awareness of Valero, not that the 

Vessel “controlled” the selection or performance of Valero. Mere awareness 

does not constitute authorization under CIMLA.21

Despite Valero’s urging, we decline to apply Ken Lucky. As mentioned 

supra, the Ninth Circuit’s holding—that the physical supplier could assert a 

lien—turns on the parties’ concession that the physical supplier sold the 

bunkers to an entity with authority to bind the vessel.22 Here, Valero dealt 

with O.W., not with Verna or Almi Tankers, and the record does not establish 

that O.W. served as Verna’s or Almi Tankers’ agent.23 Thus, Ken Lucky is 

inapplicable. 

 

18 46 U.S.C. § 31341(a); see also ING Bank N.V. v. M/V TEMARA, No. 16-4019, 2018

WL 2944306, -- F.3d -- , at *6 (2d Cir. June 13, 2018) (finding that physical supplier was not 

entitled to a maritime lien when it provided necessaries at the direction of an O.W. Bunker 

entity acting as an intermediary “rather than at the direction of the owner or the charterer 

of the Vessel, or any other statutorily-authorized person”); Barcliff, LLC v. M/V DEEP 

BLUE, 876 F.3d 1063, 1071 (11th Cir. 2017) (same); Galehead, Inc. v. M/V ANGLIA, 183 

F.3d 1242, 1245 (11th Cir. 1999) (finding that supplier provided the bunkers at the trader’s 

request, and that the trader is not a “person [] . . . presumed to have authority to procure 

necessaries”); Port of Portland v. M/V PARALLA, 892 F.2d 825, 828 (9th Cir. 1989) (denying 

maritime lien when supplier dealt with general contractor, not vessel owner or vessel owner’s 

agent).

19 Lake Charles, 199 F.3d at 230. 

20 Id. at 229.

21 Id. at 232 (explaining that CIMLA’s authority requirement would be rendered 

meaningless if “awareness that necessaries are being supplied was sufficient, even though 

those necessaries were procured by an entity without authority to bind the vessel”).

22 Ken Lucky, 869 F.2d at 477.

23 Id. 

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V.

The dissent says that we fail to follow Lake Charles because in that case, 

“we made clear that the ‘subcontractor’ line of cases is itself divided into two 

lines of cases: (1) cases requiring ‘an entity with authority to bind the vessel’ 

to ‘direct that the general contractor hire a particular subcontractor in order 

for that subcontractor to be entitled to a lien’; and (2) cases requiring the 

subcontractor to be ‘identified and accepted by the vessel’s owner or charterer

prior to performance.’” The dissent’s view likely emerges from the following 

passage in Lake Charles: 

In keeping with the notion that subcontractors may acquire liens 

where the vessel’s owners retain control over their selection and/or 

performance, the Ninth and Second Circuits require that an entity 

with authority to bind the vessel direct that the general contractor 

hire a particular subcontractor in order for that subcontractor to 

be entitled to a lien. See Port of Portland, 892 F.2d at 828; Farwest, 

828 F.2d at 526; Integral Control Sys., 990 F. Supp. at 301. In other 

cases in which subcontractors have been found to be entitled to a 

lien, those subcontractors were identified and accepted by the 

vessel’s owner or charterer prior to performance. See Stevens, 913 

F.2d at 1525, 1534; Turecamo of Savannah, Inc. v. United States, 

824 F. Supp. 1069, 1072 (S.D. Ga. 1993). Owner involvement in 

directing, testing, and/or inspecting subcontractor performance 

has also been cited in support of finding a lien in favor of a 

subcontractor. See Stevens, 913 F.2d at 1535; cf. Marine Coatings, 

932 F.2d at 1375 n.9 (listing operator’s inspecting subcontractor 

work and giving provisional and final acceptance to work 

performed by the subcontractor among evidence that supported 

court’s conclusion that a genuine issue of fact existed regarding 

general contractor’s authority to bind the vessel). Based on these 

cases, we agree with the district court that LCS has not shown it 

was entitled to a lien under the circumstances presented here.24

We do not read Lake Charles as the dissent does. To these eyes, the above

specifies three factual scenarios that color the general proposition that a 

 

24 Lake Charles, 199 F.3d at 231 (footnote omitted).

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subcontractor is not entitled to a lien, “unless it can be shown that an entity 

authorized to bind the ship controlled the selection of the subcontractor and/or 

its performance.”25 We see no adoption, let alone a clear one, of “two lines of 

cases” branching from the subcontractor line of cases. 

Even assuming that Lake Charles divided the subcontractor line of cases 

into “two lines of cases” sub silentio, Valero cannot establish that it falls in 

either one. Verna, through Almi Tankers, neither “direct[ed] that the general 

contractor hire a particular subcontractor” nor “identified and accepted” Valero 

“prior to performance.” The record merely shows that Verna, through Almi 

Tankers, was aware that Valero would physically supply the bunkers. 

The dissent also says that the majority opinion “creates an unnecessary 

circuit split with the Eleventh Circuit,” citing Galehead and likening this case 

to Marine Coatings and Stevens.26 Specifically, the dissent states that Marine 

Coatings and Stevens reflect the Eleventh Circuit’s embrace of the “second line 

of cases” of the subcontractor line of cases—i.e., cases requiring the 

subcontractor to be identified and accepted by the vessel’s owner or charterer

prior to performance. The dissent, however, overlooks Barcliff, in which the 

Eleventh Circuit held that a subcontractor in the same contractual scenario as 

here was not entitled to a maritime lien.27 In so holding, the Eleventh Circuit 

reviewed Galehead, Marine Coatings, and Stevens.28 In determining the law of 

the Eleventh Circuit, we prefer its own statement of its law. 

To begin, a review of the facts and holding in Barcliff dispel any notion 

that we create a circuit split.29 Technip UK Limited, the vessel owner, sent a 

 

25 Id. at 229.

26 See Marine Coatings of Ala., Inc. v. United States, 932 F.2d 1370 (11th Cir. 1991); 

Stevens Tech. Servs., Inc. v. United States, 913 F.2d 1521 (11th Cir. 1990).

27 Barcliff, 876 F.3d at 1071–73.

28 Id.

29 Id. at 1065–67; 1071–73.

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request to O.W. Bunkers (UK) Limited and two other suppliers seeking bunker 

fuel. Technip awarded the contract to O.W. UK. Thereafter, O.W. UK entered 

into a contract with O.W. Bunker USA, Inc., who then contracted with Radcliff, 

the physical supplier of the bunkers. Like the present case, Radcliff 

coordinated delivery with the vessel, and upon delivery, the vessel’s chief 

engineer signed a delivery certificate. After O.W. filed for bankruptcy, Radcliff, 

having gone unpaid and thus finding itself in the same situation as Valero, 

asserted a maritime lien against the vessel. The Eleventh Circuit ruled that 

Radcliff was not entitled to a lien because “Radcliff acted on the order of O.W. 

USA, not Technip.”30

 To reach that holding, the Barcliff court reviewed its jurisprudence on 

maritime liens. It began with the circuit’s general rule, as set forth in 

Galehead, which provides: “Where the owner directs a general contractor to 

provide necessaries to its vessel, a subcontractor retained by the general 

contractor to perform the work or provide the supplies is generally not entitled 

to a maritime lien.”31 The Barcliff court then noted that Galehead recognizes

an exception to the general rule. That is, “where the general contractor is not 

an agent of the owner, and the owner does not initially order the subcontractor 

to perform the work, it might still be said that the owner ‘somehow authorized’

 

30 Id. at 1071.

31 Id. In Galehead, Genesis Container Line, a charterer, contacted Polygon Energy 

Services, Inc. to obtain fuel bunkers for its vessel, and Polygon contacted Establissment 

Asamar, Ltd. to supply the fuel. Asamar then engaged the physical supplier. This 

arrangement occurred twice, and Genesis failed to pay Asamar both times. Asamar thereafter 

assigned its rights to a collection agency, Galehead, who brought suit. 183 F.3d at 1244. The 

Eleventh Circuit ruled that Galehead was not entitled to a lien, reasoning that “Asamar did 

not provide the bunkers on order of the owner or an authorized agent.” Id. at 1245. Rather, 

the Eleventh Circuit determined that “Asamar provided the bunkers at Polygon’s request, 

and Polygon is not a “‘person [] . . . presumed to have authority to procure necessaries[.]’” Id. 

(quoting 46 U.S.C. § 31341(a)). 

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the work if it ‘was sufficiently aware of, and involved in, [the] work that it 

might be said that [the subcontractor] was working for [the owner].’”32

This “significant-and-ongoing-involvement exception” emerged from

Marine Coatings and Stevens. The Barcliff court proceeded to review these 

cases, explaining that Marine Coatings “involved extensive maintenance, such 

as painting, coating, and cleaning” and that Stevens involved “repair work.”33

In addition, those cases, the Barcliff court observed, involved an owner and a 

subcontractor that “developed a relationship over an extended period of time 

as the work progressed.”34 The Barcliff court then turned specifically to 

Stevens, noting that “the owner was in contact almost exclusively with the 

subcontractor because the general contractor did not have the capability to 

perform the work,” and “the owner dealt directly with the subcontractor and 

its employees directed, inspected, tested, and approved the subcontractor’s 

work on a continuing basis.”35 In short, “the owner’s participation with the 

subcontractor was so substantial that it could not seriously be argued the work 

was not done on the owner’s orders.”36 The Barcliff court concluded by

acknowledging that “[t]he Galehead panel juxtaposed Marine Coatings and 

Stevens with cases involving a one-off transaction, ‘where the degree of 

involvement with the owner is minimal or non-existent;’”37 and that “[o]ne of 

those cases involved fuel provision.”38

Against this background, Marine Coatings and Stevens are inapplicable 

in light of Barcliff and Galehead. Though Barcliff determined that the physical 

supplier had waived its argument concerning the Galehead exception, no 

 

32 876 F.3d at 1071 (quoting Galehead, 183 F.3d at 1245). 

33 Id. at 1072.

34 Id. 

35 Id. (citing Stevens, 913 F.2d at 1525–26, 1535).

36 Id. (citing Stevens, 913 F.2d at 1525–26, 1535).

37 Id. (quoting Galehead, 183 F.3d at 1246).

38 Id. 

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circuit split results by following the holding in Barcliff. We are unaware of a

case in the Eleventh Circuit, and the dissent proffers none, that applies Marine 

Coatings and Stevens to find that a subcontractor may acquire a lien for a oneoff transaction in which the vessel owner was merely aware of the

subcontractor’s identity.39 The circuits to have addressed the sequence of 

contracts before us agree that such physical suppliers are not entitled to a 

maritime lien.40

VI.

We affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment for Verna. 

 

39 See Galehead, 183 F.3d at 1246 (“That a charterer of a vessel becomes aware that 

some work performed was by a party somewhere down the chain of contracting and recontracting does not give rise to a maritime lien.”).

40 See ING Bank, 2018 WL 2944306, at *6–8; Barcliff, 876 F.3d at 1071–73. 

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HAYNES, Circuit Judge, dissenting:

The majority opinion fails to follow our prior precedent in Lake Charles 

Stevedores, Inc. v. Professor Vladimir Popov MV, 199 F.3d 220, 231 (5th Cir. 

1999) and creates an unnecessary circuit split with the Eleventh Circuit. See 

Galehead, Inc. v. M/V Anglia, 183 F.3d 1242, 1245–46 (11th Cir. 1999) (per 

curiam); see also Noramco Shipping Corp. v. Bunkers Int’l Corp., No. 

6:02CV515-ORL-22DAB, 2003 WL 22594419, at *7 (M.D. Fla. Apr. 30, 2003)

(“Under Eleventh Circuit jurisprudence, the right of a subcontractor to assert 

a maritime lien against a vessel for necessaries is not restricted by a rigid rule 

but instead depends on the degree of involvement between the owner and the 

subcontractor.”). Accordingly, I respectfully dissent. 

I agree that Valero is a subcontractor under the “general 

contractor/subcontractor” line of cases. Lake Charles explains the general 

proposition that “subcontractors hired by those general contractors are 

generally not entitled to assert a lien on their own behalf, unless it can be 

shown that an entity authorized to bind the ship controlled the selection of the 

subcontractor and/or its performance.” 199 F.3d at 229. However, this 

exception is not as narrow as the majority opinion makes it seem. 

Unmentioned by the majority opinion, in Lake Charles we made clear that the 

“subcontractor” line of cases is itself divided into two lines of cases: (1) cases 

requiring “an entity with authority to bind the vessel” to “direct that the 

general contractor hire a particular subcontractor in order for that 

subcontractor to be entitled to a lien”; and (2) cases requiring the subcontractor 

to be “identified and accepted by the vessel’s owner or charterer prior to 

performance.” Id. at 231. In the second line of cases, “[o]wner involvement in 

directing, testing, and/or inspecting subcontractor performance has also been 

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cited in support of finding a lien in favor of a subcontractor.”1 Id. We clearly 

adopted both lines of cases but found that the subcontractor in Lake Charles

did not meet either one. See id.

The Eleventh Circuit has embraced the second line of cases. In Marine 

Coatings of Alabama v. United States, the Eleventh Circuit addressed the 

question of the availability of a subcontractor lien in a repair services contract.

932 F.2d 1370, 1375–76 (11th Cir. 1991). There, the United States Navy 

entered into Master Ship Repair Contracts with Braswell Shipyards, Inc., that 

permitted Braswell to hire subcontractors, although “the contracts did not 

purport to make Braswell an agent of the government.” Id. at 1732. Braswell 

subcontracted with Marine Coatings of Alabama, Inc. (“MCI”), for the painting, 

cleaning, and coating of three vessels, and the United States inspected and 

approved MCI’s work. Id. at 1373. The United States paid Braswell, but 

Braswell filed for Chapter 11 without paying MCI. Id. Despite being a 

subcontractor, MCI asserted a maritime lien against the three vessels, and the 

Eleventh Circuit found “a genuine issue as to whether the government 

procured MCI’s work, authorized the work, or ratified the procurement of 

MCI’s work. Alternatively, there is a genuine issue as to whether Braswell 

was authorized by the government to procure MCI’s work.” Id. at 1376.

Likewise, in Stevens Technical Services., Inc. v. United States, the Sealift 

Antarctic needed a “major overhaul.” 913 F.2d 1521, 1525 (11th Cir. 1990). 

 

1 Compare Galehead, 183 F.3d at 1245 (“Where the level of involvement between the 

owner and the third-party provider was significant and ongoing during the pertinent 

transaction, the courts have found a triable issue of fact about whether the third-party 

deserved a lien.”), with Cianbro Corp. v. George H. Dean, Inc., 596 F.3d 10, 17–18 (1st Cir. 

2010) (holding that subcontractor was not entitled to a lien where “the record establishes that 

[the vessel’s owners] did not have any participation in the subcontracting of this work or 

control over its performance”), and Bonanni Ship Supply, Inc. v. United States, 959 F.2d 

1558, 1565 (11th Cir. 1992) (“[T]he mere fact of acceptance and full compensation to the prime 

contractor, absent any allegation that the [vessel’s owner] had any knowledge of performance 

by the subcontractor plaintiff, is insufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact 

regarding whether the plaintiff was a maritime lienor under the MCILA.”).

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Marine Transport Lines, Inc. (“MTL”), on behalf of the United States 

government, solicited bids, and Atlantic submitted a bid that identified 

Stevens as a subcontractor. Id. Atlantic then entered into a memorandum of 

understanding with Stevens, dividing the work between the two of them. Id. 

Subsequently, Atlantic’s bid was accepted and MTL awarded it the contract. 

Id. During the course of the work, government representatives inspected, 

tested, and approved the work performed by both Atlantic and Stevens. Id. at 

1525–26. Once work was completed, MTL paid Atlantic, but Atlantic failed to 

pay Stevens. Id. at 1526. Stevens subsequently filed actions against Atlantic 

in personam and against the Sealift Antarctic in rem. Id. In vacating and 

remanding for further reconsideration, the Eleventh Circuit pointed to several 

factors that might have indicated Stevens was entitled to a maritime lien: 

(1) that the government’s representatives were aware of Steven’s performance 

and the principal contract showed Stevens as a subcontractor having more 

than 15 percent of the contract’s value; (2) that the government’s 

representatives knew that Atlantic was not capable of full performance on its 

own; (3) that the contract covering the work was fully authorized by the 

government’s representatives; (4) that the government’s representatives 

worked directly with Stephens in discussing, testing, and inspecting Stephen’s 

work; and (5) that all of the work was accepted and fully compensated to 

Atlantic. Id. at 1534–35.

Here, the majority opinion significantly understates Almi’s involvement 

in the bunkering transaction when it describes it as a “one-off transaction in 

which the vessel owner was merely aware of the subcontractor’s identity.” To 

the contrary, the parallels to Stevens, in light of the standards adopted in Lake 

Charles, are clear: (1) during negotiations with O.W., Almi made a point to 

discover who would perform the bunkering; it did not object to Valero’s 

selection and thus impliedly approved Valero prior to finalizing the bunkering 

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agreement; (2) Almi knew that O.W., as a “reputable bunker trader,” could not 

bunker the vessel itself but would purchase bunkers from a physical supplier; 

(3) the contract with O.W., which designated Valero as the supplier, was fully 

authorized by a party with authority to bind the vessel; (4) the vessel’s agents 

engaged directly with Valero and tested and approved of Valero’s bunkers; and 

(5) the vessel’s agents approved of the bunkers and signed a certificate 

confirming performance. 

The majority opinion’s reliance on Barcliff, LLC v. M/V DEEP BLUE, 

IMO No. 9215359 is misplaced. See 876 F.3d 1063, 1071–73 (11th Cir. 2017). 

As an initial matter, Barcliff determined that the central issue here was not 

properly before it, thus the commentary relied on by the majority opinion is 

mere dicta. See id. at 1073. Even if it were not dicta, Barcliff does not mandate 

the result reached by the majority opinion. As already shown, similar to 

Stevens, Almi “was sufficiently aware of, and involved in, [Valero’s services] 

that it might be said that [Valero] was working for [it].” See id. at 1071 

(quoting Galehead, 183 F.3d at 1245). Moreover, Barcliff does not exclude oneoff bunkering services that satisfy this rule. Barcliff indicated that the 

exception has not been applied where the owner’s involvement was “minimal 

or non-existent,” and then it observed that “[o]ne of those cases involved fuel 

provision.” Id. at 1072 (citing Tramp Oil & Marine, Ltd. v. M/V Mermaid I, 

805 F.2d 42, 45 (1st Cir. 1986)). In Tramp Oil, however, no relationship existed 

between the vessel’s owner and the fuel broker seeking the lien, and the 

vessel’s owner did not know about the fuel broker (who was retained by an 

intermediary) until after its work was completed. See Tramp Oil, 805 F.2d at 

45 (“In this case, however, no relationship existed between Tramp and the 

vessel, and neither the vessel owner nor the charterer even knew of Tramp 

until after Tramp had made the payment to Exxon.”). 

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Although a subcontractor, the interactions between the vessel and 

Valero are such that Valero is entitled to assert a maritime lien. That O.W. 

was expected to pay Valero is not the point; “[e]xpectations that payment for 

the services would be made by some party other than the vessel does not vitiate 

a lien by one who, as permitted under [the Act], is not required to prove reliance 

on the credit of the vessel.”2 Stevens, 913 F.2d at 1536.

For these reasons, I conclude Valero is entitled to relief. From the 

majority opinion’s decision to the contrary, I therefore respectfully dissent.

 

2 Verna argued in its brief and at oral argument that it has already paid OW Malta 

for the fuel in order to settle a contractual arbitration dispute in the United Kingdom; that 

this decision will result in Verna being forced to pay twice for the same fuel. That reality is 

one of Verna’s own making—an attempt to extinguish O.W.’s claims while this action was 

pending. I note that Almi Tankers expressed concern to O.W. regarding the conglomerate’s 

financial situation and reserved the right to pay Valero directly, ultimately deciding to pay 

O.W. Verna’s unilateral decision does not control the outcome here.

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