“Luni”, a Turkish-owned vessel sailing under the St Kitts & Nevis flag, has been partially sunk in the Strait of Hormuz near the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. It was heading for Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates (UAE), with a cargo of steel billets loaded at Kandla port in India’s western state of Gujarat, SteelOrbis has learned.
Port officials said that the total cargo of the vessel was 43,000 mt and that it carried billet, as well as some copper and industrial parts.
The manifest of the vessel which lies partially submerged in the Strait of Hormuz, after structural failure, has not been publicly disclosed as per the rules of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), pending investigations and protection of confidentiality of consignees and consignors.
While no details of the tonnage of billet in the vessel are available, the freight forwarder said it was around 20,000 mt, while a few other market sources said they heard 30,000 mt will be missed by the customer, which is a UAE re-roller.
Port officials and shipping circles in India heard information that the ill-fated vessel has settled in shallow water, with both the bow and stern section partially above water. But recovery of the cargo would offer challenges as salvage operations at the location, in the Strait of Hormuz, would be almost impossible in view of the renewed conflict in the region.
An official in the office of the Directorate General of Shipping, India, the apex body governing shipping and maritime safety in India, said on condition of anonymity that, even though the bow and stern of the vessel are above water, the goods could have settled at the bottom of the sea.
Any claims of damages by the consignor, however, are likely to be protracted because reports of assessors representing insurance companies would be difficult in a conflict zone, shipping officials said.
Another official pointed out that claims of damages by the consignor would also depend on the terms of the insurance. This is significant, as reports received in India suggested explosions around Bandar Abbas port around the time of the damage to the ship and, even though no confirmation is available on whether its sinking is related to this, it would trigger closer scrutiny of terms of the insurance.
“There will be an urgent need in the UAE to cover this loss, and I guess for short lead times only Iran can be the option,” a GCC source said. Some market sources assessed the tradable price level for Iranian billet from ports at $440-450/mt CFR for shipment to the UAE.