Chinese authorities have managed to sell a former Greek-controlled bulker that was moored at Weihai port for more than a year.
The 57,000-dwt bulker Blue Marlin I (built 2008) was auctioned and sold to a Chinese buyer for about $4.85m, according to broker reports in the US and the UK.
The price achieved sits just in the middle of the range between the ship's commercial market value of $6.45m and its scrap price of $3.1m, as estimated by VesselsValue.
The Blue Marlin I was arrested in China in early in 2019, likely by the National Bank of Greece.
The same lender also had another Remi Maritime vessel arrested and auctioned last year. The 57,000-dwt Blue Cat (built 2007), a younger sistership to the Blue Marlin I, fetched a far higher price of $9m in a judicial sale in Thessaloniki, Greece.
According to Clarksons, both ships were ordered in tandem at China’s Zhejiang Zhenghe Shipbuilding in December 2006. They were worth nearly $30m at the time, according to VesselsValue.
The Blue Marlin I and the Blue Cat were the last ships listed in the fleet of Remi Maritime. Company managers did not respond to a request for comment at the time of writing. The Blue Cat is currently trading as Pangeo under the management of Greece’s Amalthia Marine.
The auction of the Blue Marlin I comes at a time when China’s maritime court system is trying to build its credibility as a venue for settling disputes.
Legal sources told TradeWinds as early as October 2019 that they were expecting authorities in Shandong province, where Weihai lies, to soon issue an auction order for the Blue Marlin I.
However, an economic standstill over much of China due to the Covid-19 pandemic possibly played a role in the delay — unless there were other legal obstacles or previous auctions failed due to lack of buying interest.
