Remi Maritime’s last ship is awaiting auction after a long Chinese arrest.
The 57,000-dwt bulker Blue Marlin I (built 2008) has spent seven months at the port of Weihai in Shandong province after its arrest, which is believed to have been carried out by the National Bank of Greece. Legal sources said they expect an auction order from the court soon.
That would be the end of the Remi Maritime fleet following the auction of a sistership, the Blue Cat (built 2009) at Thessaloniki in July, also after a long arrest at the behest of National Bank of Greece.
TradeWinds has reported that the Blue Cat went to unknown buyers, which were believed to be Greek, for the court-set reserve price of $9m plus $5.
The Zhejiang Shipbuilding-built ship has since emerged in the two-ship fleet of Athens-based Amalthia Marine under its new name, Pangeo.
Unenthusiastic reports
The long auction process led to unenthusiastic reports on the Blue Cat’s technical condition.
The state of maintenance of the Blue Marlin I is unknown, but it appears to have been idle since late December, when it discharged at the northern Chinese port of Huanghua. After shifting anchorages several times, it arrived at Weihai on 5 March.
Brokers reported a sale of the Blue Marlin I earlier this year for $7.8m, but that deal apparently did not close. VesselsValue prices the ship at $8.2m.
Neither vessel was held in a jurisdiction usually associated with ship arrests and auctions.
The Blue Cat was reportedly one of the largest vessels ever auctioned in Greece, and the expected 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.
TradeWinds reported last week on Chinese publicity efforts in connection with the recent auction sale of an arrested VLCC, the 299,200-dwt Respect (built 2006), to Greece’s NGM Energy.
Another foreign-flag but Chinese-controlled VLCC, the 320,000-dwt Brightoil Gem (built 2013), is also under arrest in China with a multi-stage bidding process underway.
“Qingdao Maritime Court and other Chinese maritime courts are trying to get more foreign owners to see that they are capable of handling maritime cases,” said lawyer Wang Yongli of the Qingdao branch of Wang Jing & Co, which is not involved with the Blue Marlin I arrest.
Remi Maritime did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
