MARITIME ATTORNEY Gavin Fitzmaurice of the Cape law firm Findlay and Tait Fitzmaurice recently defeated six other interested parties by bidding US$4,6 million - more than double the sworn appraised value - plus US$68 000 for on-board bunkers for the arrested 16 354dwt oil/chemical tanker Kubuleti.
Listed as being previously owned by Keda Shipping/Georgian Shipping Company, the latter concern is said to have found itself in financial difficulties resulting in 15 arrests - just about par for the course in Cape Town, according to deputy sheriff Bateman.
A spokesman for the new owners, Diamond Enterprises Co of the Marshall Islands, said the 15-year-old Kubuleti, since renamed Alioth, would require some mechanical attention but Cape Town's congested drydock facilities again precluded the vessel from being repaired here.
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