A handymax abandoned by its former Greek owner has finally been auctioned in China, putting an end to a lengthy row to satisfy creditors and stranded crew.
The 42,600-dwt Avlemon (built 1997) fetched $3.2m in an auction at Zhoushan, several brokers said this week. According to the reports, the Brodosplit-built vessel was picked up by local Chinese buyers.
The Avlemon's 10 Ukrainian crew members told the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) in December that Greece’s Aroania Maritime abandoned the vessel at the PaxOcean shipyard in Zhoushan. A local court arrested the ship in November 2015 at the request of the yard and creditors.
On 24 January, the Liberian-flag state got through to Aroania executives, only to be told that FIMBank, a Malta lender, had taken possession of the ship. FIMBank did not respond to a request for comment at the time.
Efforts by ITF officials, Ukrainian diplomats, the American Club and Chinese authorities then led to a draft agreement, with a view to make wage payments and repatriate the crew, pending a full settlement of their claims by a Chinese court.
Following the March agreement, the American Club paid about $128,000 in outstanding wages to the crew, who were then repatriated.
"Fair, prompt and appropriate strategies and solutions were implemented and achieved, which ultimately resulted in the repatriation of all crew and the protection and preservation of the crew’s rights of recourse available to them under applicable law," said Dimitris Seirinakis, correspondent for the American Club in Shanghai.
