Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. announced that on April 19, 2014, the MOL-operated iron ore carrier BAOSTEEL EMOTION was impounded by Chinese authorities in Zhejiang province, China.
The impounding is connected to the two freighters that were chartered from Chinese shipowner (Chung Wei Steamship Co.) by Daido Kaiun (predecessor of Navix Line, Ltd. which merged with MOL in 1999), commandeered by the Japanese government and subsequently lost at sea.
The Shanghai Maritime Court issued an order to MOL to pay some ¥2.9 billion to the plaintiff including the shipowner. MOL filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of the People’s Republic of China, but the appeal was not recognized. Therefore, MOL was looking to conduct negotiations with the plaintiff toward the possibility for out-of-court settlement.
The sequence of events in the case
[mappress] Press Release, April 21, 2014, Image: Wikimedia