No Rouble at All

by Imogen Rumbold, partner, Lawrence Graham, London

When Piraeus-based Tsaviliris & Sons bought the 250 tonne bollard pull Fotiy Krilov from Ukrainian owners, they thought they had bought the biggest tug in the world for $45 million. In fact, they had bought a major and expensive headache, and some sizeable travel and legal bills as they became embroiled in a dispute over ownership and title to the vessel.

Happily, the dispute was resolved and the Tsaviliris Giant is now in service for its new owners. But this is only the most high profile of a number of cases where the buying and selling of vessels into and out of former Soviet republics theory, such deals should be no more complicated than any other transaction. Many transactions do go through without problems. What can go wrong, and how can you avoid being caught?

The biggest single problem facing would-be purchasers of ex-Eastern Bloc shipping is finding out who really owns the ship and who has the authority to sell it. This is a process which involves careful checking of company documentation, and accessing a fragmented system of registers. But it has to be done against the pressure of time. Not only can deals collapse in the normal way if delayed, but there is the added complication of rapid personnel changes in FSU companies. Deals done with one management must be completed before they get moved on.

This is only an excerpt of No Rouble at All

Content is restricted to subscribers. To continue reading please Log-In or view our subscription options.