HighRich Logistics’ foray into the dry bulk sector has come to an end as Singapore’s admiralty sheriff prepares to auction its only bulker. —
Qingdao-headquartered HighRich’s 37,300-dwt handymax Long Bright (built 2012) will be sold via a sealed tender process with bids due in on 20 August.
The Shandong Huahai Shipbuilding-constructed vessel was arrested on 28 March by Singapore’s DP Shipbuilding & Engineering for an unpaid repair bill totalling SGD 267,000 ($195,000), with an entity called Hangzhou Chuantao Investment Management (HCIM) later joining the case as an intervenor.
A senior HighRich official told TradeWinds that he was unaware of what was happening with the Long Bright, as an unspecified Chinese bank had taken control of the ship about a year ago together with a sister vessel, the 37,300-dwt Long Glory (built 2012).
The official, who declined to identify himself, admitted that HighRich lost control of its ships due to debt problems.
“Since then, we have no idea what has been going on with them,” he said.
He claimed to have no knowledge of who HCIM was, and why that outfit would intervene in the case. Singapore-based lawyers representing HCIM also declined to provide any details about the company and why they were involved.
Ship-tracking website MarineTraffic indicates that the Long Glory has been anchored in the South China Sea, close to the coast of Malaysia, since at least December last year.
HighRich, then a newcomer to shipping, acquired the two ships in 2011 as part of a deal to buy four newbuildings at Shandong Huahai that had originally been ordered in 2006 by Sider Navi. Construction began in 2008 but the contracts were later abandoned because of delays caused by problems at the yard.
Two abandoned, 36,000-dwt bulker newbuildings originally ordered by Pacific Carriers at the same yard were later acquired by HighRich but were never delivered after its own financial problems emerged. One of the two was auctioned off to Oldendorff Carriers in 2016, while the second, tentatively named Long Success, remains uncompleted at the shipyard.
Two of the 37,300-dwt bulkers, the Long Luck (built 2012) and Long Cheer (built 2013), were sold to Pola Shipping of Russia at well below market levels in a bank-driven deal last December.
VesselsValue shows an upwards trajectory on the price of modern bulkers and pegs a $11.9m market value on the Long Bright, which is $600,000 higher than its estimated value at the time of its arrest.
A court-ordered survey of the ship indicates it is in sound, satisfactory condition, although most of its certificates, including class, have expired.
