Trogir Maritime, the owner of an MR2 product tanker arrested by Arne Blystad's Songa group, has told TradeWinds it is demanding alleged unpaid hire and maintenance damages from the charterer.
In an exclusive statement to TradeWinds, the Croatian financial owner affiliated with shipbuilder Brodotrogir implied that Blystad wishes to terminate the charter for merely commercial reasons.
But Blystad's shipowning lieutenant Fredrik Platou stood by his original claim that Trogir refused to take delivery of the ship after its charter expired.
The statement from Trogir Maritime came after TradeWinds reported that the Norwegian shipowner sailed the 49,700-dwt Songa Pride (built 2016) to Gibraltar and arrested it on Monday.
The ship has been under Blystad's technical ship management since its initial delivery from the Brodotrogir shipyard, but Blystad officials have told TradeWinds that their Songa Product & Chemical III ceased to be involved with the ship when a bareboat charter expired in May.
In a rebuttal to TradeWinds, Trogir Maritime, the shipowning affiliate of troubled Croatian shipbuilder Brodotrogir, took the position that the Songa Pride remains on charter to Blystad interests.
The charter will expire at the end of December, plus or minus two months, according to Trogir Maritime.
"Blystad has no right to unilaterally terminate the bareboat charter just because the market is bad and they are unable to pay the charter hire agreed under the bareboat charter agreement," said the Mateo Tramontana-led company.
Songa Product & Chemical III, one of several Blystad-controlled product tanker owning and operating vehicles, took the Songa Pride on bareboat charter upon delivery from the yard, along with a sistership, the 49,700-dwt Trogir Kairos I (ex-Songa Fortune, built 2015).
The sistership was redelivered late last year.
TradeWinds has previously reported that Blystad officials claimed the shipbuilder-related interests have failed to take redelivery of the Songa Pride, leaving the ship in limbo off Mexico since May.
But Trogir Maritime said in its statement that it is advancing claims against Blystad-controlled entities over both ships. It took the position that the Songa group companies had no right to redeliver the ships when they did.
"From this aspect, as well as from the aspect of the maintenance of the ship during the bareboat charter, just as was the case with the sistership delivered last year, the owner has claims against the company of Arne Blystad," the company said.
Blystad, however, is not backing down.
"We standby the statement we shared with you and have nothing further to add," said Fredrik Platou, managing director of Arne Blystad's eponymous private shipowning company.
