Vessels blocked in the ports of Ukraine change shipowners
20.03.2024 - 14:38
Some ships, which have been stuck in the ports of Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war, have changed ship owners during this time. The value of the ships varies from 20 to 200 million dollars.
At least nine ships stuck in Ukrainian ports have been sold since February 2023, Reuters reports.
The sold vessels are stuck in Mykolaiv, Kherson and Mariupol ports – all of them remain blocked.
“At least five others were sold in Ukrainian ports, but have since been able to leave the country,” the article says.
“Who wants to buy a ship in a war zone? The first category is people who think they can take the ship out, and some have. The second category is people who realize it’s for the long haul, and ideally they factor in that risk,” said Richard Neylon, a partner at the law firm HFW, who has worked on several of these deals.
According to him, most of the vessels were worth about 25% of their original cost. Meanwhile, three industry sources said some were sold for 80% of their value.
The shipping company Taylor Maritime Investments (TMI), whose shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange, had a vessel that was in Ukraine at an unspecified port. TMI applied for insurance at the end of February 2023, after which the company said that the vessel had left their ownership.
In turn, the Hamburg shipping company Blumenthal JMK purchased at least four vessels in Ukraine, including Primus under the flag of Liberia, which left Odesa in August 2023.
Other buyers are companies incorporated in Liberia or unknown parties. The value of the blocked vessels varies from 20 to 200 million dollars. Also, ship owners have to pay for the maintenance of the ship and other expenses, including the main crew.
In particular, maintenance costs include paying 1.5% of the vessel’s value every week. We are talking about additional insurance against military risks.
As a reminder, in March 2023, more than 50 vessels with crew members and various cargoes remained blocked in Ukraine. More than half of them are in the ports of the Mykolaiv region.
As previously reported by USM, at the end of February, the Russians hit the Turkish ship “Kuruoglu-3”, which was stuck in the port of Kherson.
