FSL secures release of Verona 1

Singapore: First Ship Lease Trust has secured the release of one of its two vessels under arrest. The product tanker Verona 1 was released yesterday in Shimotsu, Japan after a security deposit of $1.6m was posted with a Japanese court. The Verona 1 along with sistership Nika 1 were arrested for unpaid bunker bills by lessee Groda Shipping and Transportation, which reneged on its long term charters on the vessels in May. FSL Trust is putting the Verona 1 under commercial management of United Product Tankers to trade on the spot market. Technical management of the vessel will be undertaken by Prisco Singapore. The trust is also seeking the release of Nika 1 from the Chinese courts and plans to deploy the vessel in a similar fashion as the Verona 1. It also in the process of renaming the vessels, FSL Hamburg and FSL Singapore, and reflagging them to the Singapore Registry. [18/06/10]