Two Greek-managed product tankers with previous links to Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) have been arrested in Rotterdam over financial disputes.
Piraeus-based shipmanager Marvin Shipping confirmed to TradeWinds that the 49,988-dwt Marvin Faith and Marvin Confidence (both built 2018) were seized by local authorities in early October.
“The owners are working on their release soon,” Marvin Shipping said in an emailed statement. No further details on the disputes are immediately available.
The Marvin Faith’s registered owner is Garnet Maritime and the Marvin Confidence’s is Lozenge Chemical Carriers, Equasis data shows.
The Port of Rotterdam confirmed the ships were arrested but declined to commenting further. A spokesman of the District Court of Rotterdam said details of civil suits are generally not disclosed to the public.
Iranian ties
Speculation had emerged over whether the seizures were related to US sanctions, as some industry databases suggested the vessels are tied to IRISL.
Equasis lists IRISL as their manager alongside Marvin. Kpler data shows the Iranian state carrier is the charterer of Marvin Confidence.
Marvin Shipping said the information is incorrect but confirmed the pair were acquired from IRISL’s Hong Kong subsidiaries in 2018 before Washington re-imposed sanctions on Iran.
“The mentioned ships were purchased…with the US Treasury consent,” said Marvin Shipping.
“The vessels, since acquired, have never been involved in Iranian shipments directly, indirectly or otherwise.”
The Marvin Faith has been fixed to Lukoil subsidiary Litasco and the Marvin Confidence to MENA Energy on long-term charters, mostly trading in the Americas, the company added.
The pair were part of IRISL’s $650m newbuilding order for 10 vessels at Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2016 after an earlier round of US sanctions was lifted.
When Washington decided to reimpose sanctions on Iran in 2018, the ownership of three of those newbuilds were transferred to Marvin Shipping, TradeWinds reported.
Aside from the Marvin Confidence and the Marvin Faith, the 50,000-dwt Marvin Independence (built 2018) has remained in Marvin Shipping’s fleet, according to the company website.
Clarksons Research data suggests the trio are some of the few so-called "LNG-ready" MR ships, designed to be powered by LNG with limited retrofits.
