Second Singapore Arrest in 12 Months for Essar Bulker

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Tuesday October 7, 2014

A Capesize bulker owned by Indian conglomerate Essar Group last week was arrested in Singapore for the second time in 12 months, Tradewinds reports.

The Indian flagged vessel, Kiran, was detained on the instruction of law firm Incisive Law LLC but the exact grounds are not yet known.

According to the report, Kiran was last arrested in Singapore in October 2013 by Cara Shipping in order to secure arbitration in London over an allegedly unpaid charter hire bill for $250,000 worth of unpaid freight and demurrage fees.

Another Essar-owned ship, Kishore, was also arrested in November 2013 after bunker supplier Bunker House Petroleum claimed it was owed $640,000 by Essar as a result of unpaid bunker bills.

Essar recently said it was looking to divest of its Ellesmere Port refinery in the UK as it refocussed on core activities.