Four Bunker Barges Seized in Singapore over Unpaid Debt

Posted by Joseph Keefe
Thursday, April 5, 2018
Singapore law firm asks for vessels to be arrested; bunker barges owned by Vermont UM Shipping.
Four marine refuelling barges owned and operated by Vermont UM Shipping Pte Ltd were seized in Singapore on Monday night, according to the website of Singapore's Supreme Court.
Singaporean law firm Rajah & Tann seized the vessels over unpaid claims on behalf of its client, Malayan Banking Berhad, or Maybank, said a source with direct knowledge of the matter who declined to be identified as the person is not authorised to speak to the media.
The source declined to specify the amount of the claims against Vermont UM Shipping.
Rajah & Tann did not respond to an emailed request for comment. Maybank also did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The vessels - the Angel Sun, Angel Moon, Angel Star and Ansheng - were seized on Monday night, according to the Supreme Court website.
The barges for marine refuelling, also known as bunkering, range between 4,999 and 6,964 deadweight tonnes, according to shipping data in Thomson Reuters Eikon. The vessels are qualified to deliver marine fuel oil and are equipped with mass flow meters, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).
Vermont UM Shipping did not respond when contacted for a comment on the seizure.
Vermont UM Bunkering Pte Ltd, a now defunct Singapore-based marine fuels supplier, is a shareholder of Vermont UM Shipping, according to documents from Singapore's Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority.
In April 2016, the MPA stripped Vermont UM Bunkering of its operating licenses after finding discrepancies and wrongful declarations in records kept on board its bunkering vessels.
In November of the following year, Vermont UM Bunkering and three of its executives were charged with cheating as part of a government crackdown on short deliveries of fuel to vessels.
In 2015, Vermont UM was ranked by the MPA as the 18th-largest marine fuel supplier in Singapore by volume.

In 2017, Singapore, the world's largest bunkering hub, became the first port to mandate the use of mass flow meters for marine fuel oil deliveries to boost transparency. (Reporting by Roslan Khasawneh 

Categories: Barges Contracts Finance Fuels & Lubes Legal Marine Propulsion Ports

Related Stories

EnQuest Acquires Harbour Energy’s Vietnamese Assets

Valeura Makes Progress with Multi-Well Drilling Campaign in Gulf of Thailand

One Shelf Drilling Rig Up for New Job in India, Other for Disposal

Four Jack-Up Drilling Rig Deals Set to Bring In $129M for Borr Drilling

CNOOC Signs Hydrocarbons Exploration and Production Deal with Kazakhstan

Woodside and Jera Agree LNG Cargoes Supply for Japan’s Winter Period

MODEC and Terra Drone Renew FPSO Drone Inspection Partnership

Petronas-Eni Upstream Joint Venture to Take Up to Two Years to Set Up

French Oil Major Acquires Interests in Multiple Blocks in Southeast Asia

Fugro Expands Geotechnical Testing Capabilities in Indonesia

Current News

Baker Hughes, Petronas Team Up for Asia-Pacific Energy Resilience

EnQuest Acquires Harbour Energy’s Vietnamese Assets

Woodside Finds South Korean Partners to Advance LNG Value Chain

Valeura Makes Progress with Multi-Well Drilling Campaign in Gulf of Thailand

Santos and QatarEnergy Agree Mid-Term LNG Supply

PTTEP Hires Energy Drilling’s Rig for Southeast Asia Offshore Job

One Shelf Drilling Rig Up for New Job in India, Other for Disposal

Four Jack-Up Drilling Rig Deals Set to Bring In $129M for Borr Drilling

PTTEP Hires Velesto’s Jack-Up Rig for Drilling Campaign off Malaysia

Yinson Production Secures $1.17B Refinancing for FPSO Maria Quitéria

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com