A UK admiralty court auction has shown there is sometimes a use for an elderly general cargoship — especially if the price is right.
A new company called Greta Marine, controlled by UK and Greek interests, has acquired the 1,300-dwt Liva Greta (ex-Elstar, built 1988) for a rock-bottom price of £55,000 ($78,000).
VesselsValue assesses the ship as worth $1.08m if sold for further trading, and $370,000 for scrap.
The sale was conducted by exclusive admiralty marshal broker Eggar Forrester after a High Court order.
Mersey Docks and Harbour Co had taken action against the vessel to recover a debt. The sales money has now been paid into court to settle claims.
Extended life
The buyer's broker, Thames Shipbroking, told TradeWinds the veteran vessel is now being fixed up for further trading.
The owning interests mainly operate in Greece, but have some UK business.
The Liva Greta will mainly trade between the UK and northern Europe.
The ship's former manager was Torbulk of the UK, and it was owned by Liepaja Trading & Shipping of Latvia.
AIS data shows the cargoship moored in Birkenhead, England.
The Liva Greta has a clean port state control record going back to 2017, when it was detained in Sweden for two days due to a wage issue.
Covid-19 driving change
In an opinion column for TradeWinds in December, Eggar Forrester director Alexandra Willcox said Covid-19 had been the catalyst for some positive industry change.
With creditors taking decisive action on accounts where they see no prospect of resolution, there have been increased levels of vessel arrests and judicial sales, she added.
The brokerage was appointed to handle a large proportion of these in the second half of 2020. The 12 judicial sales involved a range of jurisdictions, including India, Singapore, several courts in the US, and England and Wales.
"Creditors have been understandably anxious to ensure that, when enforcing a judicial sale during the pandemic, the process can still be conducted effectively and efficiently," Willcox said.
