The Sheriff of Singapore will sell Diana Shipholding's 52,500-dwt bulker Patriot (built 2004) via a sealed bid auction, with offers due in at the High Court on 28 August.

The owner has no connection to the larger, better-known Diana Shipping.

As a trading vessel, the Tsuneishi-built Patriot has a market value of $10.73m, according to VesselsValue. It is likely to sell for less, as it has been out of service for a year.

A court-ordered surveyor’s report indicates the ship is in fair condition but lacking regular maintenance. Some equipment requires repair and there are several conditions of class that need to be addressed.

The Patriot was arrested last August when it called at Singapore for bunkers during a voyage from Iran to China with a cargo of iron-ore concentrate. The cargo was finally unloaded in June.

The arrest was made at the request of Piraeus Bank, which was seeking to recover $7.08m of the outstanding $9.67m it claimed was owing on a $27m joint loan extended to Diana Shipholding Co and Montana Shipping Co, two single-ship entities.

The loan was originally issued by Marfin Egnatia Bank, which was subsequently absorbed into Piraeus Bank.

The bank claimed that both entities had stopped making principle and interest payments.

As part of the package, each shipowner arranged first preferred naval mortgages on their respective vessels to provide security for the original financial arrangement. Diana took a mortgage out on the Patriot, while Montana took one out on the 52,500-dwt bulker Lord (built 2004). The ships had been purchased by the companies at the beginning of 2009 for about $24m each.

At the time of the arrest, the shipowners shared addresses and contact numbers with Piraeus-based Edem Marine, although Edem officials said they acted purely as managers of the Patriot and did not own it.

Court papers indicate that the management contract for the Patriot was terminated subsequent to the ship’s arrest.

The Lord, which the IHS Ships Register listed as being operated by another entity called Celeste Maritime, last put out an AIS transponder signal in March 2017 when it was in the Chinese port of Zhangjiagang. TradeWinds understands it is still there but is unable to ascertain whether this is due to any legal action by Piraeus Bank.