Greater China

Xiamen Maritime Court arrests Sierra Leone-flagged ship

Shanghai: A Sierra Leone-flagged ship has been detained by order of Xiamen Maritime Court because the crew refuses to bring the ship to Fujian province's Putian Port and unload its iron ore, which belongs to a Chinese company, the court told China Daily on Tuesday.

The vessel, Ledor, with an Albanian captain and 16 Syrian crew, has been 10 nautical miles (18.5 km) off the port for more than nine months.

Carrying 22,000 tons of iron ore, the freighter was en route from India to Yangzijiang Port in Jiangsu province when it anchored off the port while seeking shelter in bad weather.

The ship owner, an Albanian, abandoned the vessel in October because he was unable to pay for the vessel's repairs.

The abandoned, unpaid crew then refused the offloading request by the cargo owner, a subsidiary of the Wuhan Iron and Steel Corp, and said they won't dock the ship unless they get their money.

The court found that as of June 30, the crew is owed $435,000.  [18/07/12]

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