A Port Alberni company is suing a U.S. rival, alleging it engaged in a scheme to exclude it from an international contract to supply aerial firefighting equipment to South Korea. …Under the terms of the South Korean agreement, the vendor who won the first contract would be given preference for the remaining six helicopter deals, according to a notice of civil claim filed late last week in B.C. Supreme Court. Coulson, Erickson Inc. and Oregon-based Columbia Helicopters Inc. were among those qualified to bid on the contract. …The suit says Columbia agreed to use Coulson’s proprietary large-capacity, high-flow firefighting tank in any helicopters bought by the Korean Fire Service. In exchange, Coulson would stand down its bid for the helicopter contracts, effectively clearing a path for its rival. …In court documents, Coulson claimed its U.S. rival breached their contract by installing a competitor’s water tank in the first helicopter.