Cotemar Files $59.4 Million Lawsuit Against ABSG in New York Over Unpaid Services

Cotemar, a Mexican offshore services company, filed suit in New York's Supreme Court to enforce a Mexican judgment against ABSG Consulting, Inc., a U.S. government contractor, for $59.4 million in unpaid work. Mexican courts ruled in March 2022 and June 2023 that ABSG owed $34.8 million plus interest for logistical support services completed in March 2018 for a Gulf of Mexico drilling rig installation. ABSG has refused payment for more than eight years despite acknowledging receipt of the work.

26 de agosto de 2026 • 2 min de lectura

Imagen de portada - Cotemar presenta demanda de 59,4 millones de dólares contra ABSG en Nueva York por servicios impagos

MEXICO CITY, Aug. 26, 2026 -- Cotemar S.A. de C.V. ("Cotemar"), a leading Mexican offshore services company, filed an action in the United States to recognize a Mexican judgment entered against ABSG Consulting, Inc. ("ABSG") ordering ABSG to pay $34.8 million, plus interest, for unpaid work. ABSG, a U.S. government contractor and a subsidiary of the American Bureau of Shipping, has refused to pay the debt for more than eight years, and has ignored Mexican court orders to pay the amounts due.

The legal action in the Supreme Court of the State of New York follows a March 2022 trial-court judgment and a June 2023 appellate ruling in Mexico affirming the judgment ordering ABSG to pay Cotemar for the work, which the trial court found had been completed in full and satisfactorily received by ABSG. The total amount now owed to Cotemar, including interest under Mexican and New York law, is $59.4 million.

In September 2017, ABSG retained Cotemar to provide logistical support, including personnel and equipment for the transportation and installation of a modular drilling rig on a platform in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Cotemar completed the work by March 2018, and the trial court found that ABSG had provided signed certificates that the work was performed satisfactorily and in accordance with the contract between the parties.

ABSG did not pay Cotemar for the work. Instead, ABSG claimed it was holding talks with the prime contractor, Tamaulipas Modular Rig, S.A. de C.V. ("TMR"), to obtain payment. In fact, as the Mexican courts found, TMR had already paid ABSG in full under the TMR-ABSG contract, which TMR proved by producing bank transfer records in the Mexican legal proceedings.

Cotemar sued ABSG in Mexico City in July 2018. On March 30, 2022, the trial court ruled in Cotemar's favor, finding that ABSG had satisfactorily received the work, that TMR had paid ABSG in full for the work covered by their agreement, and that ABSG had acknowledged the debt. On appeal, the Collegiate Appellate Court rejected ABSG's grounds for appeal as "unfounded and inoperative" and affirmed the judgment in full in June 2023.

Cotemar is represented by Thomas C. White at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.