Asia/Pacific News
Bunker Tankers Arrested in OW Bunker Fallout Sold at Auction in Singapore
Two bunker tankers arrested in Singapore following the collapse of OW Bunker late last year have been sold at auction, while a third tanker is also up on the auction block for a third time, Tradewinds reports.
The 4000 DWT Zmaga and the 5,700 DWT Nepamora, both formerly owned by Singapore-based New Maritime Pte. Ltd., were sold earlier this month, attracting SGD 5.4 million ($4 million) and SGD 9 million ($6.6 million) respectively.
The 5,200 DWT Arowana Milan, however, is an older ship and has so far reportedly failed to sell.
The vessel was owned by Malaysia's Kekuatan Perkasa Jaya Sdn Bhd and operated by Singapore-based Oceanlink.
The three ships were part of a larger group of six ships that were arrested last year on behalf of Phillips 66 International Trading, a Singaporean subsidiary of U.S.-based energy company Phillips 66.
At the time, Phillips 66 claimed that the ships, which also included two tankers owned by United Maritime Pte Ltd and one by HW Shipping Pty Ltd, had mis-delivered their fuel cargo.
While HW Shipping's 3,900-dwt Luna was later released, United Maritime's 4,000 DWT Petro Asia and 5,600 DWT Star Quest were not.
The Star Quest is reportedly expected to go up for auction in the near future.
Despite a reported spike in ship arrests following the collapse of OW Bunker, the Supreme Court of Singapore said earlier this year that ship arrests in the city state during 2014 had declined 50 percent compared to two years previous.
