An empty cargo ship, M/V Delphinus, anchored directly east of Fort Lauderdale Beach Park is formally “under arrest” by the U.S. Marshal Service over the last three months. It remains trapped there until it can be sold at auction Aug. 11. The 11-member crew will also remain on board.
The ship, flagged in Antigua and Barbuda, is clearly visible from the heart of Fort Lauderdale’s beachside resort area. However, this ship has no containers to pick up and no destination on its manifest. Note that there are around 1,700 container ships that travel in and out of Port Everglades each year.
According to Alan Swimmer, president of National Maritime Services Inc., the ship was seized due to a financial dispute between its owner and the company that chartered it, Afco Shipping Line LLC,. This company has custody of the ship under an agreement with the federal government. The ship was seized April 23. The ship’s last cargo was offloaded just before the arrest.
After the arrest, the ship’s owner surrendered the vessel to the custodian, who is keeping the ship operational while its sale is pursued in a process similar to a bankruptcy.
The non-profit Seafarers House, which provides aid and comfort to mariners in distress, sent a boat on Thursday and Friday. To pick up crew members who had not stepped foot on dry land since the April arrest.
Executive Director Lesley Warrick said that the The ship’s Ukrainian captain emailed the Seafarers’ House, mentioning that they really want to be ashore. He wanted help to make something happen.
The crew was brought back to the Seafarers’ House’s Casa Del Marino, next door to Florida Power & Light’s Port Everglades plant, and allowed to relax in the recreation room, buy snacks, drinks, and personal-care items in the commissary, talk with the chaplain or play some pool. While three men were ashore on Friday, volunteer chaplain Paul Schweinler stayed on the ship, counseling crew members who remained behind.
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Source: Sun Sentinel
