A low-profile offshore vessel owner is challenging a US judge’s decision to throw out a lawsuit seizing assets of German rail giant Deutsche Bahn (DB) in an appeal that may turn on a struggle over courtroom procedure.

Energy Marine Services, the former owner of an anchor-handling tug-supply vessel (AHTS) at the heart of the dispute, is asking the US Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia to overturn an order by a federal judge in Delaware in favour of DB Mobility Logistics.

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