Court Allows Ship Recycling of Contested Bulker Neptune Star 25
A legal dispute unfolded between former shipping partners over the alleged theft and resale of the vessel for scrap
A high-stakes legal battle over the allegedly unauthorised sale and demolition of a bulk carrier has taken a dramatic turn in Pakistan. The High Court of Balochistan in Quetta has granted a local ship recycling yard permission to continue cutting up the beached hull of the 25,400-deadweight-tonne Neptune Star 25, a 1996-built handysize bulker. However, the court stopped short of allowing the ship’s remains to be removed from the yard, amid an ongoing ownership dispute between two former business partners.
The case centres around Friends Shipping, which is Marshall Islands-registered, and its former joint venture partner, Elinkar Shipping & Ship Management. What began as a seemingly routine shipping acquisition spiralled into allegations of deceit, theft, and clandestine operations stretching from Iranian ports to the beaches of Pakistan’s Gadani shipbreaking yard.
A Partnership Gone Sour
The controversy began in November 2023, when Friends Shipping and Elinkar—then still operating under the name OK Shipping—jointly purchased the Neptune Star 25 from Vietnam Ocean Shipping Co for $2.8 million. The vessel was registered under Friends’ beneficial ownership, with Friends also responsible for all technical and commercial management. By all accounts, the partnership functioned smoothly for several months.
That changed in January 2024, when the vessel was fixed to carry a cargo of iron ore pellets from Bandar Abbas, Iran, to China. According to court filings by Friends, the Neptune Star 25 arrived at the Iranian port for loading but never completed the voyage. Instead, Friends alleges that Elinkar, in collaboration with an Iranian port agency partner, forcibly removed the ship’s crew.
Subsequently, the vessel disappeared. Friends claims that the Neptune Star 25 switched off its AIS (Automatic Identification System) transponder—a common tactic used to obscure a ship’s location—effectively going dark. The company lost all contact with the vessel, triggering suspicion that it had been stolen.
The Ship Resurfaces
The mystery was partially solved in late March when the vessel’s AIS transponder was reactivated as it approached Gadani Beach, a well-known shipbreaking site in Pakistan. Friends was able to identify the Neptune Star 25 and quickly moved to assert its rights. On April 4, the High Court of Balochistan issued an arrest warrant for the ship at the request of Friends, halting demolition activities at the yard.
Documents submitted by Friends revealed that Elinkar had sold the vessel to a cash buyer, Last Voyage DMCC, on March 5 for $2.2 million, $600,000 less than its original purchase price. The sale contract specified payment into a bank account in Amman, Jordan. Friends alleges that the sale was unauthorised and executed without its consent, amounting to theft.
Friends has lodged a claim with the Balochistan court seeking $2.14 million in damages. Of that amount, $1.27 million represents its purported share in the vessel’s value, while the remaining balance is attributed to various technical, operational, and legal costs incurred since the ship’s disappearance.
Court’s Ruling: A Compromise
After reviewing the submissions from both parties, the court delivered a nuanced decision. It permitted the continuation of demolition activities at the Gadani yard, allowing workers to cut up the steel hull of the already beached ship. However, the court issued a temporary injunction against the removal or sale of any scrapped materials pending resolution of the ownership dispute.
Legal experts see the ruling as a middle ground that attempts to balance economic activity at the shipbreaking yard with the protection of potentially misappropriated assets. “The court is effectively freezing the status quo,” said a Karachi-based maritime attorney not affiliated with the case. “It’s allowing work to proceed so the yard isn’t left completely idle, but it’s also preserving the asset’s value in case Friends wins the case.”
Larger Implications
The dispute comes amid increased scrutiny of ship recycling practices, particularly in South Asia, where many end-of-life vessels are sold for scrap under murky legal and environmental circumstances. The Neptune Star 25 case shines a light on how loosely regulated segments of the shipping industry can become entangled in international legal and ethical controversies.
“Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case,” said a shipping analyst with knowledge of South Asian recycling markets. “When you have vessels trading in high-risk regions like Iran and being sold off to cash buyers with little oversight, you create a perfect storm for fraud, legal disputes, and environmental concerns.”
What’s Next?
The High Court of Balochistan has not yet scheduled a final hearing to determine the rightful owner of the Neptune Star 25 or any compensation that might be owed. In the meantime, Friends continues to push for the ship’s remains to be preserved and the proceeds from the demolition to be held in escrow.
For now, the half-demolished skeleton of the Neptune Star 25 lies on Gadani Beach—a symbol of broken trust, international intrigue, and the complex afterlife of ageing ships.
