SOCAR wins arbitration case filed by Palmali

The State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) has won arbitration claims filed by the Palmali group of companies in connection with Palmali’s sale of ten vessels to SOCAR in early 2017, Report informs, citing the Turkish publication Ekonomim.

The Palmali group, managed by Azerbaijani-Turkish businessman Mubariz Mansimov, initiated the arbitration proceedings by filing claims in June 2023. The process concluded with three weeks of hearings held in London, United Kingdom, in November 2025.

During the hearings, Mansimov and other Palmali witnesses testified in person. Palmali was represented by several British and American law firms, as well as a team of English barristers.

In a decision issued in February 2026 by a three-member arbitral tribunal, the tribunal determined that Palmali’s claims had neither legal nor factual grounds and dismissed them in full on several bases. In accordance with the arbitration rules of the London Maritime Arbitrators Association and English law, which the parties had agreed would govern the dispute, the decision is final and binding and is not subject to appeal.