The 'Badr' which has been detained at Burgas since November 2017 over an alleged unpaid mortgage has seen its owner face losses of US$20,000 per day with no end in sight to the legal process
The 'Badr' which has been detained at Burgas since November 2017 over an alleged unpaid mortgage has seen its owner face losses of US$20,000 per day with no end in sight to the legal process. The Libya-based state-owned General National Maritime Transport Company (GNMTC) denied it owes a US$9.23m mortgage on the 'Badr' to the Bulgarian-based oil and gas contractor Bulgargeomin but despite providing evidence the mortgage is falsified the vessel has yet to be released. The ongoing battle has caused a serious problem with a Russian charter company which had a tie-in charter with Solal Shipping and hired the vessel for one year but was not able to use it. The commercial losses for the revenue itself were over US$20,000 dollars per day without counter claims which we will receive from the charter at any time because we are in breach of the charter party. It can't take its other vessels to Bulgaria which will make it lose a lot of money on business in the Black Sea between Russia and Bulgaria. According to a letter sent in May to The Joint War Committee, Lloyd’s Market Association from the Libyan Ports & Maritime Transport Authority, asking it to address what it says is a lack of adherence to the law by the Bulgarian Government, a fraudulent mortgage document was filed for Badr in September 2017. The Greek notary with whom the mortgage was allegedly executed with wrote to the Port Authorities of Tripoli-Libya on Jan 4, 2018, in a letter seen by Port Strategy, confirming the mortgage documents were “false” and forged”, after filing a criminal lawsuit in Athens. In the same month, court proceedings against former state-owned Bulgargeomin resulted in GNMTC winning an unappelable Supreme Court ruling. This was followed by an enforcement order by the Bulgarian Maritime Administration and the declaration that the vessel could be rearrested. An auction of the vessel was attempted in April and stopped when GNMTC successfully appealed the enforcement order but Mr Elahresh said the company was forced to file a criminal complaint when the auction officer carried on with proceedings due to what GNMTC was told was a lack of response from Bulgargeomin. An investigation has launched by the Bulgarian Public Prosecutor.
