The battle over a Middle Eastern-controlled offshore vessel whose crew were stranded off Mozambique has shifted to Durban, where the ship has been arrested.
The crew of 2,990-bhp anchor handling tug supply vessel PSD 2 (built 1983) now hope its auction will help raise cash to cover unpaid wages stretching back over 15 months.
Their plight came to light last October when the ship was languishing in Beira port, Mozambique. The seafarers, from Iran, Syria, India and Bangladesh, had been forced to turn to the local police to obtain food and water.
At the time, some shipping databases indicated that the vessel’s name had been recently changed to Amsol, with the owner listed as being undisclosed. However, when the ship arrived at Durban last December, paperwork on board still listed it as being PSD 2.
The vessel was acquired by Petro Sun Darya in August 2015 from Smit Servicos Maritimos Mozambique, a subsidiary of Smit Amandla Marine, which South African offshore services company African Maritime Solutions acquired in December 2016.
The owners, according to documents issued by the Tanzania ship register, are three Iranian nationals with a Dubai address.
The PSD 2 had been working for Mozambique’s National Institute of Hydrography repairing port buoys until July when it became stranded in Beira with engine problems.
Beira’s provincial maritime administrator Antonio Vilanculos subsequently said that the crew had better be paid or he would take legal action.
TradeWinds understands that steps are now being taken to auction the ship, which VesselsValue says is worth about $350,000 for trading or scrap.
