Fugitive ship finds home at Chattogram scrapping yard

A clinker-laden fugitive ship which has been escaping arrest warrant from Mozambique authorities for nearly two years, recently anchored at Chattogram port to get scrapped.

A Chattogram-based powerful syndicate has brokered its sale for $3.55 million (Tk 30 crore) and the ship having IMO NO 984270 may end as scrap, soon.

Ship breakers and port officials and users believe if the authority allows scrapping the vessel, it will tarnish the country’s image internationally.

“No one should buy the ship as it can hurt the country’s image,” said Abu Taher, president of Bangladesh Ship Breakers’ Association.

He said he is unaware about the fugitive ship that came to Chattogram port recently.

“If anyone complains, we will take up the issue to the ministry concerned. We will also issue a circular about not purchasing the ship,” said Taher.

The story of the ship is no less than a thriller movie. It failed to deliver clinker to an importer in Mozambique, changed names several times to escape arrest and finally, landed in Bangladesh as scrap. The following is the brief story of the ship’s movement:

King Abdullah Port in Saudi Arab

On August 5, 2019 the ship started its journey from the King Abdullah Port in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with 25,500 tonnes of clinker for supplying it to the CIMENTOS DE MOCAMBIQUE, S.A., which is a cement and concrete manufacturing industry located in Maputo, Mozambique. The ship was destined to reach Nacala Port in northern Mozambique.

Houthi attack in Yemen

When the ship took a stopover at Aden port in Yemen, it faced a missile attack from the Houthi insurgents and that attack caused some damage to the ship. After repairing the vessel, the crews started their journey for the Nacala port in August 2019.

The ship reaches the Nacala port

On November 9, 2019 the ship anchored at the Nacala Port in Mozambique. But the importer - CIMENTOS DE MOCAMBIQUE – refused to accept the consignment as its quality severely fell by the missile attack at the Aden port. The importer of the clinker demanded compensation from the shipping line. But the owner of the ship, a Greek national, took another way to escape the compensation.

Left Nacala port overnight

The shipping line then ordered the captain to leave the Nacala port in the middle of the night to avert compensation to the clinker importer. And, he complied. Then the importer of Mozambique filed a case against the ship and its owner and since then the ship has been escaping arrest.

Changed names and flags to avoid arrest

When the ship loaded clinker from the King Abdullah port in 2019, it was named Elisseos and operated under Liberia’s flag. Later in June 2020 it changed name and became Leopold and began operation with the flag of Comoros.

Finally, it became DONA V in June 2020 and registered under the St. Kitts and Nevis flag. There are hints that the ship could change the name again to dock it safely at breaking yards in Bangladesh.

The ship’s voyaging to Bangladesh

Demitrios, an experienced Greek shipping businessman knows where to dumb the ship that has been avoiding international arrest. After the ship came to the outside port limit or OPL in Colombo in Sri Lanka in June last year, it started communications with some ship breakers in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Finally, the owner got a broker who has been a ‘very influential person’ in this field for years. That Bangladeshi citizen brokered the sale deal for $3.55 million.

Cash buyer Wirana Shipping of Dubai came to the scene

There are allegations that the owner has made serious violations of power of attorney issued on Jan 20, 2021 for disposal of the ship as a demolition candidate to the Japanese Alfa Universal, an S & P 500 company.

Despite a power of attorney to Alfa Universal, the owner sold the ship to Wirana Shipping Corporation, a Singapore-based firm that has an office in Dubai. According to Wirana, it is one of the largest cash buyers of vessels around the globe. Later, Wirana sold it to a Bangladeshi buyer.

The Business Insider Bangladesh emailed Wirana Shipping Corporation on May 24 to get their comments on the violations of power of attorney for disposal of the ship. WSC did not respond till the report was being filed on June 13.

Mystery about local agent of the ship

According to the sale documents, AHZ Shipping Ltd, located in AK Center (L- 3), 1385 CDA Avenue, East Nasirabad at GEC Chattogram, is shown as the local agent of the ship. There is a mobile phone number in the documents and when the Business Insider Bangladesh rang the number, one Ruhul Amin said it is not AHZ Shipping’s office.

“We are AHZ Associates and we do education consultancy business,” Amin said. “We have no relation with AHZ Shipping,” he said.

What do the government authorities say?

Coast Guard

Commodore Habibur Rahman, zonal commander (operations) of the Bangladesh Coast Guard, which is the maritime law enforcement agency in Bangladesh, said he has heard about the Dona V ship.

“If the port authority ask us to take action against the ship, we can do it,” Rahman told Business Insider Bangladesh.

Chittagong Port Authority

Ataul Hakim, assistant harbormaster of Chittagong Port, said he is quite aware of Dona V, which came to the port last month.

“The ship was sold one month prior to the court directives that we got,” Hakim told the Business Insider Bangladesh. He said there is no mechanism, by which they can understand that a ship had been a fugitive or had breached laws in any country.

Mercantile Marine Office, Chittagong

The Mercantile Marine Office under the Department of Shipping is responsible for controlling the shipping activities in accordance with the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1983 for oceangoing and coastal ships.

Captain Md. Giashuddin Ahmed, master mariner and head of the Mercantile Marine Office in Chittagong, was not surprised to hear the news of the fugitive ship.

“We are the authority that verifies registration, flag and other particulars of ships that come for scrap. But nobody comes to us,” Ahmed told the Business Insider Bangladesh.

“We are in total darkness about ships that are coming for scraps in Bangladesh,” he said.

Biggest concern, however, remains with the abandoned-clinker:

The fugitive ship has 25,500 tonnes of clinker in it, which has been damaged badly and turned unusable.

Where to dispose of the clinker has become a big question, said Habibul Momen, an independent trader and expert on ship scrapping.

“If it is thrown away, it can damage the biodiversity of the Bay and if it is used by scrupulous cement maker, it can be very risky for consumers,” he said.