Owner of oil tanker seized by Trump administration seeks to block sale
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The delay of the sale underscores the challenges faced by governments to maintain and dispose of seized assets such as vessels.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WASHINGTON – The sale of a crude oil tanker seized by the Trump administration in December has hit a snag after the owner of the vessel moved to block it.
Windward Shipmanagement Corp is seeking to stop the sale, sought by the US government before the Seychelles company could lay out its case, according to a motion filed in the US District Court in Washington last week.
The US was making arrangements to hold a private sale, in which the vessel would most likely be sold for scrap.
The delay underscores the challenges faced by governments when seizing assets such as vessels, which are costly to maintain and difficult to dispose of.
President Donald Trump’s administration has already spent US$47 million (S$60.7 million) on the upkeep of the vessel Skipper since mid-December, when it was seized by US forces for its alleged involvement in the illicit trade of Iranian oil.
That expense amounts to almost five times the value of the ship, an ageing supertanker that the US expects to sell for about US$10 million as scrap metal.
The true value is in the cargo of 1.8 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil it held.
The oil was initially appraised at between US$120 million and US$135 million, according to a court filing, but the value could be even higher after prices rallied with the conflict in the Middle East. BLOOMBERG
