Owners Warned Of Cargo Claims Scam

Shipowners and their agents have been warned to be cautious in dealing with a company that has successfully detained a number of vessels for instant settlement due to alleged cargo damage.

The detention of Everise Glory, a Malaysian registered vessel, is said to be a case in point after it was allowed to sail last November.

The Filipino-crewed ship was detained for three months at the port of Mongla in Bangladesh after it was forced by Penguin Corporation, a consignee of the cargo, when the latter filed a claim against the vessel for alleged cargo damage.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Nasrul Islam of Penguin Corporation has previously been able to detain a number of foreign vessels at Mongla and has been successful in obtaining huge sums of money from shipowners through forced settlement.

Shipping sources indicated that it was not the first time a similar complaint was filed against the same firm in Bangladesh. The department said it is a common practice in Bangladesh for a consignee to detain a vessel with its cargo due to alleged cargo damage claim.

Meanwhile, a ship on the international `wanted' list with a $100,000 reward is under order of arrest by a High Court in India.

The Panamanian-registered ocean carrier Gloria Kopp was impounded by the Indian Coast Guard on December 23 after a sea chase. The application was filed for Inter-Cargo Insurance, the underwriters for the buyer of part of the 49,000 tons steel products cargo, which had been seeking the ship for four months.

The present and prior owners of the ship are said to have "dubious records". The vessels was intercepted in Indian waters, and found to carry documents in the name of Kobe Queen-I.

The cargo was reportedly sold by the 24 Ukranian crew. The receiver has as yet been unable to take possession of the vessel, now at anchorage off Chennai.

"Security agencies have asked us not to enter the ship as they have reason to believe that there could also be clandestine cargo," said a spokesman for the underwriters' lawyers, King & Partridge.