2023-10-23 03:39:15
The 78-meter ship, built in 2012, has been moored for months in the small harbor. The sucker boat, seized by the courts, must be towed towards Asia in the next 24 hours. Security work was carried out before departure.
It is now certain, the DL Scorpio will leave Nouméa in the coming hours. A specially chartered ocean-going tugboat, the ASL Amber, was positioned and the slings were installed. The tug must assist the DL Scorpio on its return to Singapore via Indonesia where the ship will be refitted.
Since 2019, the rents for the ship “DL Scorpio” have no longer been paid by the charterer, the company Transweb, which ensured the transport of goods and fuel between Nouméa and the Loyalty Islands.
The Singapore shipowner, ASL Maritime Services, intends to recover its property as quickly as possible. Especially since the ship is clearly deteriorating.
Since 2022, the DL Scorpio is no longer authorized to sail in New Caledonian waters. It was therefore necessary to bring the ship into compliance, before considering any movement in New Caledonian waters. The mandatory security work was never carried out by the company Transweb, which was drowning in debt.
With an estimated value of 600 to 700 million francs in 2014, the DL Scorpio was supposed to be rented, then purchased, by the company Transweb. This has obviously never been the case. As soon as the ship was put into service, there were voices of concern: the Caledonian market was too restricted to ensure the profitability of the coaster. Today, there is a debt of 500 million in unpaid rent which has not been settled.
For local residents and visitors, it is in any case a relief. After the dismantling of the Grete Theresa, the departure of the DL Scorpio will offer a new face to the coaster quay. Environmental defenders can only welcome this.
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