SINGAPORE: The number of ship arrests in Singapore fell last year, according to the country’s Supreme Court figures here the other day.
A total of 60 ships were arrested and 67 warrants of arrest filed in 2014, compared with the 2013 figures of 85 and 110, respectively. Last year’s figures were also the lowest in two years, nearly half that of the 114 ship arrests and 133 warrants of arrest filed in 2012.
The lower arrest figures in 2014 were recorded despite the collapse in November 2014 of OW Bunker, which prompted a surge of bunker tanker arrests that month. For instance, oil company Phillips 66 International Trading seized six ships following OW Bunker’s bankruptcy. In addition, Singapore-based oil trading firm Hin Leong Trading arrested a bunker tanker to claim for the fuel oil cargo.
Despite the ship arrests taking place in quick succession, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and Singapore Shipping Association assured the industry that the country’s bunker supply suffered no disruptions. According to the Supreme Court, most of the seizures were related to claims from the cargo owners.
