Americas News
Ship Owner: Bunker Dispute Vessel Arrest is Unlawful
A Greek bulker operator says the arrest of one of its vessels in Panama following allegations of unpaid bunkers stemmed from claims against an unrelated company that chartered the ship last year, industry news site TradeWinds reports.
"We think the arrest is unlawful and we intend to fight this in court," said Ion Varouxakis, chief executive of FreeSeas.
The 30,800 deadweight tonne (dtw) Free Neptune was used about a year ago by TME, which failed to pay for fuel it purchased.
"The charterer went bankrupt and didn't pay for the bunkers," Varouxakis said.
"Now the suppliers are doing whatever they can to try and recover the money.
"We are caught in the middle, we have no contractual relationship [with the claimants]."
A source told Tradewinds that OW Bunker and a second, unknown, claimant are behind the arrest of the Free Neptune, which has been anchored off western Panama since May 27.
Varouxakis said FreeSeas will post security to free the vessel and hopes to have it released by the end of the week.
He said the ships lost "a few days" of charter hire through the arrest and said the company will seek $700,000 in claims in court, though he did not say whether it will ask for compensation for lost earnings.
Panama's Supreme Court recently issued a ruling broadening the circumstances in which the nation can take action to support legal claims against a company.
