The 300,000-dwt tanker was sold to Malta-based Natalia Shipping Co, after its listing on Taobao attracted 33,000 viewers online and received 19 offers from six bidders, according to reports from Xinhua.
The ship, previously owned by Singapore-based Varada One, has been berthed in China’s Pearl River estuary following an admiralty dispute, the report said.
The Guangzhou Maritime Court of Guangdong province ordered the ship to be put up on Taobao for auction.
Chinese courts are increasingly auctioning seized assets online, according to the Xinhua. In Guangdong province alone, more than 120 courts have registered on Taobao’s judicial sales platform, with online auction sales by the judicial sector surging from RMB100m in 2014 to RMB10bn in 2016.
This week, China’s bankrupt Wenzhou Shipping also sold five ships, including three bulk carriers, via Taobao at a total price of RMB156.93m.
In January, bankrupt Nantong Mingde Heavy Industry was bought over by conglomerate Xiamen Xiangyu Group Corporation in a RMB576m deal carried out over Taobao.
Another distressed Chinese yard Sainty Marine also auctioned its assets online but failed to buyers.
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