Sold to Breakers 435 USD/TO
News
ASTORIA
The 'Astoria' will probably be picked up in Rotterdam next week with the own tug of the Belgian scrapyard Galloo. That depends on when all the fittings are off the ship and when the tug is available. It is currently still active on another offshore project of the company. The towing job is also weather-dependent. The opening bid of 200,000 Euros immediately turned out to be a hit at the public sale in the Rotterdam court on June 17. There is still an outstanding invoice of almost 450,000 Euros in unpaid port fees. Galloo will also pay that, plus an additional, unspecified amount,. ‘All outstanding debts must be paid in connection with the right of retention before we can bring the ship to Ghent.’Because the ship sailed under the Portuguese flag, it has to be broken up at a European-approved recycling yard. Normally, these types of larger ships go to Turkey or Asia, countries where environmental standards are much lower, and the wages too.’ The dismantling of the 'Astoria' will be work -intensive, The 350 cabins, the public areas, such as playrooms and restaurants will have to be manually demolished. The dismantling of the rest of the ship will follow. That will certainly take a few months. Galloo expects that 12,000 tons of material, including metals, wood, glass and plastics, will be collected. The company expects to recycle ‘more than 97% of that into renewable raw materials.
USKO MFU
Ukraine is planning to sell the 'Ussko MFUÄ, which has been confiscated in 2024 on charges of looting grain from the temporary occupied Crimea, in an attempt to sell seized ships and raise funds to boost its war efforts with Russia. Ukraine’s National Agency for Tracing and Asset Management (ARMA) is trying to find someone to organise the sale of the vessel, which has significant investment potential and is attractive for future commercial use, and for companies which specialise in ship repairs or recycling. The agency will accept proposals until July 4, 2025. It will then choose an auction organiser who will obtain an independent valuation and organise the ship’s sale.