The 1989-built barge carrier Harrier is still under arrest in Norway after its owners failed to illegally set sail for the scrapping yards in Gadani, Pakistan, in February.
The Norwegian environmental authorities arrested the ship, previously named Tide Carrier, on April 5 after it had been sold for scrapping.
According to the NGO Shipbreaking Platform, the owners are now forced to find a safe and environmentally sound recycling destination. In parallel, investigations are still ongoing following the charges pressed by the Norwegian environmental authorities against the owners of the vessel for having attempted to breach existing waste trade laws.
At the edge of bankruptcy, Eide Group sold the previously named Eide Carrier, which had been laid up for 10 years, to cash buyer Wirana, a scrap dealer in South Asia.
Wirana registered the vessel under an anonymous Saint Kitts and Nevis post box company called Julia Shipping Inc. Based on fraudulent information that the vessel was heading for repair works in Oman, Norwegian authorities allowed the ship to leave the west coast of Norway on February 22, 2017.
However, the ship ran into difficulties as its engine stopped working outside the Norwegian coast of Jaeren. The coastguard was forced to trigger a salvage operation, complicated by way of the weather conditions, to avoid the risk of oil spill and grounding.
The Norwegian Environment Ministry rejected the complaint of Julia Shipping Inc, represented by law firm Wikborg Rein, for the arrest order.