Chinese bulker operator Perfect Bulk has arrested a bulk carrier belonging to Panama-registered Amaar Marine, seeking unearned hire and reimbursement for the value of bunkers it supplied to the ship during a charter.
The 91,800-dwt Dara (built 2002) was seized in Singapore when Perfect Bulk filed a $199,000 claim against it.
The vessel’s recent past under a previous owner was a troubled one that ended with Australian authorities issuing an 18-month ban in May 2021.
Perfect Bulk told Singapore’s High Court that it chartered the Dara in May 2022 and paid $4.5m in advance hire.
The company claims that the vessel underperformed during the charter, leading to off-hire periods. It also claims that there was still a quantity of unconsumed bunkers it supplied remaining on board.
TradeWinds was unable to contact Amaar Marine as the company has no listed telephone or email contacts.
The S&P Global International Ships Register indicates that the company was formed in 2021, with the Dara its first and only ship.
Amaar Marine acquired the vessel as Movers 3 from Movers Shipping of Turkey, a company affiliated with Aswan Shipping of Qatar.
Under Movers/Aswan ownership, the ship incurred the wrath of the International Transport Workers’ Federation and Australian authorities who lambasted Aswan for showing a “complete disregard” for its obligations to provide wages and decent working and living conditions for its seafarers.
The ship, detained for two months in 2021 while anchored off Weipa in Queensland waiting to load coal, was subsequently banned from calling at any Australian port for 18 months.
An even longer three-year ban was issued against the Aswan-controlled, 97,000-dwt bulker Maryam (built 2004) for a litany of troubles ranging from faulty engines and generators, to a lack of fuel and food and outstanding wage issues.
Ownership of the Maryam passed to a new Panamanian-registered entity, Leya Marine, in April 2022. It was renamed Leya. S&P Global data indicates that Leya Marine shares the same registered address as Amaar Marine in Panama City.
