Cancellation of a military contract to supply lobster to troops in Afghanistan caused havoc in the lobster industry in Maine and New Hampshire, claims a Portsmouth subcontractor that has filed a breach of contract suit in federal court.
“The military blatantly disregarded how this would affect people,” said Charles Anastasia, CEO of Orion Seafood International Inc. “It was like they just laughed at us. If they didn’t want the lobsters, they shouldn’t have ordered them.”
For Orion Seafood, a supplier with USD 300 million in revenue, the sudden cancellation of a USD 15 million order for 750,000 pounds of lobster meant at least a USD 1.5 million loss, resulting in a substantial cut in the end-of-year bonuses for its 30 employees.
It also means temporary layoffs of about 100 workers in a processing plant in Maine and the loss of a major customer for local lobstermen, contributing to the fall in fresh lobster prices, Anastasia said.
Orion isn’t suing the military, but it did file suit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Concord against the military’s prime contractor, Supreme Group B.V, a Dutch food supply company that supplies the Defense Logistic Agency with all sorts of meals. (The suit also names subsidiaries Supreme Logistics, based in Dubai, and Supreme Foodservice GmbH, based in Switzerland.)
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