Idan Ofer will get to retain a $4.26m deposit from a cash buyer after a VLOC scrap sale went wrong in India due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The tycoon’s Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) had agreed to offload the 306,900-dwt Shagang Giant (built 1993) for demolition to NKD Maritime at $366 per ldt, or $14m.

But the cash buyer terminated the deal after it alleged the ship was unable to dock in Alang in March and April 2020 after the Indian government imposed a Covid-19 lockdown.