SINGAPOREAN authorities have impounded three Iranian-owned ships
for auction after their owners failed to repay a loan from a French
bank, court documents showed on Thursday.
The German-registered vessels are 'Tuchal,' 'Sahand' and
'Sabalan'.
A check by The Straits Times on the High Court website on
Thursday confirmed that the three vessels have been put up on a
Sheriff's Sale. The three container vessels, each weighing more
than 54tonnes, have been valued at more than S$5.5million. The
forced sale has been scheduled for Dec 14.
Sheriff's sales are public auctions carried out on goods and
property seized from owners who default on debts. The plaintiff was
identified as Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, but
the French lender's branch in Singapore and its lawyers had no
immediate comment when contacted by AFP.
The ships are currently anchored off Singapore's southern coast
in a holding anchorage pending the auction, the court documents
showed.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines' chairman Mohammad
Dajmar was quoted by Teheran's state-owned Press TV news network as
saying the ships' seizure 'was not because of debt'.
-- AFP, ST