Capital Ship Management has secured the prompt release of a VLCC arrested in Singapore by Al-Iraqia Shipping Service & Oil Trading (AISSOT).
The Evangelos Marinakis-backed owner said the 320,800-dwt Andronikos (built 2019) was freed after the owners’ protection and indemnity club posted security.
The VLCC and five other vessels were redelivered after AISSOT gave notice of termination of their bareboat charters in late last month.
At the time AISSOT terminated the charter, Capital said the Andronikos had another six years remaining under its bareboat charter.
As previously reported by TradeWinds, AISSOT had sought to arrest one of the vessels after a lengthy and ongoing dispute arising from the cancellation.
“At the time of the termination, the charter rates … were below the rate under the relevant charter party, demonstrating that at the time of redelivery AISSOT had suffered no damages, and they were instead hoping to make a gain by redelivering the vessels,” Capital said.
“However, in its evidence before the Singapore court, AISSOT presented rates which it described as a ‘Fearnleys Bareboat Charter Assessment’, which were not only misleading, but also transpired to be just informal email correspondence between an AISSOT executive and a Fearnleys broker, and which were used in court proceedings without the broker’s prior knowledge or authority.”
Having secured the release of the Andronikos, Capital said will now “pursue appropriate sanctions” against AISSOT and its relevant executives.
TradeWinds first reported about Capital and AISSOT concluding five-year bareboat VLCC deals in September 2017, soon after AISSOT was formed. These agreements were reportedly concluded at about $23,000 per day.
