Sainty Marine, Precious Shipping Go to Arbitration over Bulker Cancellation

Sainty Marine Cash-strapped Chinese shipbuilder Sainty Marine has entered into an arbitration proceedings with Precious Shipping before the arbitration court in London over the cancellation of a 64,000 dwt bulk carrier. The arbitration proceedings should decide upon whether the owner had the right to cancel the contract and whether the shipyard should return the advance payment it had received under the contract, a stock exchange filing shows. Precious Shipping cancelled the contract on March 30, Sainty Marine said, which had been hired by the shipping company to build fourteen 64,000 DWT bulkers. The two parties have been entangled in a number of disputes over the newbuilding series. In May 2015, Precious Shipping declined to take delivery of a 64,000 DWT bulker duo from the yard claiming that the vessels did not meet the fuel consumption standards set by the company. Later in September, the company cancelled  two more 64,000 DWT Ultramax bulk carrier newbuilds amid delivery delays. The financially-troubled shipyard has received an approval for restructuring by the Nanjing Intermediate People’s Court earlier this year and was given until April 17 to compose a restructuring plan. World Maritime News Staff