Detained cargo ship sold for €4.8m to pay crew’s wages

A huge cargo ship detained in Dublin Port for non-payment of its crew was sold by court-ordered auction yesterday for €4.8m.

The Belize-registered 600-ft long bulk carrier, MV Clipper Faith, was bought by a Greek shipping firm after bids soared from €2.1m to €4.8m in under five minutes.

The 15-year-old 20,000-tonne vessel was arrested in Dublin Port last March on foot of a claim made against it by Amsterdam Trade Bank, which holds a mortgage over the vessel.

The ship’s 17-strong crew, mostly from Russia and Ukraine, had not been paid since late last year.

They were represented by the International Transport Workers Federation, which brought proceedings against the ship’s owners, the Liberian-registered Afternoon Maritime, for unpaid wages of approximately $320,000 (€240k).

The owners said they lacked funds to pay the crew.

In the High Court last month, Mr Justice Paul Butler expressed serious concern for the crew’s welfare, and made various orders including one allowing the vessel be sold to cover the wage debts.

Donnachadh Woulfe, for the crew, said the owners had consented to the court granting judgment in favour of the crew for $320,000, plus $1,844 for every additional day they spent in Ireland, plus their repatriation expenses.

As there was no prospect of his clients being paid by the owners, the crew also wanted orders aimed at securing sale of the vessel, he said.

Lawyers for the bank told the court that it intended to apply to the court to have the crew’s interest in the ship assigned to it, and that it would pay the crew’s outstanding wages and their repatriation costs.

Lawyers for the owners, who consented to the judgment being made in favour of the crew, opposed moves to sell the vessel, arguing that the ship was worth more than $9.5 million. But the judge granted the order allowing the vessel be sold.

The vessel, which was dry-docked in Oman late last year, and which was in very good condition, finally went under the hammer in a public auction overseen by Cork auctioneer Dominic Daly in Dublin’s Clarion Hotel yesterday.

Prospective buyers had to pre-register with Mr Daly 24-hours earlier before being allowed to bid — 10 bidders met the requirements.