An oil tanker placed under arrest in Durban in June 2016 will be sold on auction on December 5.
The auctioneers said in a statement on Monday the Korean vessel‚ built in 2006 and named “Pretty Scene”‚ currently belongs to the Parakou Group in Asia. Its home port is registered as Hong Kong.
The auction‚ set to take place in Durban‚ comes following a court order.
The tanker is valued at approximately $15-million (R210-million)‚ according to the auctioneers.
While the autioneers provided no details of the court order‚ the report says that the tanker was linked to a long-running contract dispute between a company called Galsworthy Limited and Parakou Shipping. Galsworthy was awarded damages by a London arbitration process while in Singapore‚ the liquidator of Parakou Shipping has instituted action against Parakou Shipping’s former directors and related corporate entities‚ seeking to claw back assets into the firm for distribution amongst the creditors.
In South Africa‚ “enforcement action in respect of the two awards has been taken against the vessel ‘Pretty Scene’ in Durban‚” the shipping news report stated.
Measuring 183m in length‚ 32.2m in breadth and with a gross tonnage of 30‚068‚ the oil tanker is the fourth vessel of similar scale and nature to make its way to a South African auction floor in the last 18 months.
Last year‚ the Sadan K and Zeynep K were successfully disposed for a combined $20 million in Durban‚ on behalf of UniCredit in Germany. In November 2016 the Mv Maverick Guardian‚ anchored in Namibia‚ was successfully auctioned for $14.94-million on behalf of Credit Suisse.
The auction will be conducted by online auctioneering company Clear Asset.
Managing Director and Auctioneer Ariella Kuper of Clear Asset said: “A decision was taken by the applicants not to conduct any dry dock repairs prior to sale‚ which in turn means her special survey is overdue and she will require a re-classification before the successful purchaser is able to trade with her. Despite this‚ her overall condition is strong.’’
The auctioneers added: “A dispensation from the USA has granted the Ballast Water Treatment System (WBTS) extension to the vessel further to 30 July 2020. This is an additional value add on a commercial level”.
Auction details available here
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Source: Times LIVE
