Dubai operator Nan Lian Ship Management has made a switch into tankers following the auction of an Indian medium-range product tanker in Mumbai.
India's Mercator, the former owner of the 47,000-dwt Prem Mala (built 2000) said the sale was ordered by the Bombay High Court in an admiralty suit.
Axis Trustee Services on behalf of UTI Structured Debt Opportunities Fund I (UTI) had arrested the vessel four months ago.
The court has now confirmed the highest bidder for the MR tanker was Nan Lian at INR 364m ($4.5m).
The Dubai company is listed with a 1,900-teu boxship called Onyx 1 (built 2004).
Proceeds will repay plaintiff UTI for services provided to the vessel.
TradeWinds reported last month that the crew of the tanker had sent out a plea for supplies while it was anchored off Mumbai.
Prem Mala is estimated to be worth $6.87m by VesselsValue.
Second tanker to be auctioned
Mercator's 36,000-dwt tanker Hansa Prem (built 2001) was auctioned off to India's Machtrans for $3.6m in March.
The latest deal leaves Mercator with a bulker, an FSO, a general cargoship and four dredgers. It has said it is in the process of offloading the dredgers too.
Mercator is currently undergoing a financial restructuring after banks filed insolvency claims against the Mumbai Stock Exchange-listed company.
The company said earlier this year that proceedings had been filed at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) by "a few operational creditors" and two financial creditors, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India, under the insolvency and bankruptcy code.
ICICI is said to be owed INR 500m. It had also filed an application to stop a Mercator subsidiary selling its interest in Indian oil block CB-9. This was granted in January.
The subsidiary has raised more than INR 2bn through loans from Bank of Baroda and debentures which were under the trusteeship of Axis Trustee Services.
The Mercator unit had pledged vessels and oil and gas assets to the lenders as collateral against the loan.
