A bunker supplier has arrested a ship in the fleet of Greece's Cosmoship Management in India over allegations of an unpaid claim.
Justice Sangeeta Vishen, of the High Court of Gujarat in Ahmedabad, issued an order on Monday for the arrest of Cosmoship's 32,600-dwt bulker Liberty C (built 2012) in a case filed by supplier GP Petroleum. Peaceful Water Ltd is named as registered owner of the ship, which is in Bhavnagar.
Cosmoship Management could not immediately be contacted for comment and a representative of the owner declined to discuss the specifics of the case.
Shashank Agrawal of SSA Legal, representing Peaceful Water, said the owners "are investigating the claims and will respond appropriately when needed".
The underlying claim concerns a different Cosmoship handysize bulker, the 30,000-dwt Niki C (built 2012).
GP Petroleum, as bunker supplier GP Global had been known, told the court that it paid physical supplier Hindustan Petroleum Corp to fuel the Niki C on 5 July at the Indian port of Cochin but that its bill to the owner remains unpaid.
Judge Vishen set a sum of $106,000 plus interest on the principal for the release the Liberty C.
Nikos Savvas-controlled Cosmoship has a fleet of some 18 handysize bulkers and seven small containerships, plus two more boxships on order for imminent delivery. All its ships were built between 2009 and 2013, except a containership quartet now being delivered from Guangzhou Wenchong.
Cosmoship was an active secondhand buyer last year, and TradeWinds reported in July 2019 that it was the year's top Greek buyer of handysizes at that point. Historically a newbuilding-oriented shipowner, Cosmoship turned to the secondhand market last year and bought a total of five bulkers, including a three-ship package from Bocimar.
Cosmoship Management is not related to similarly-named Cosmoship Maritime.
