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Bulkcarrier fleet idle off Tynemouth

The "Vyritsa", "Brasschaat" and "Zarechensk" were remaining off Tynemouth as uncertainty over their future rumbled on. The three bulk carriers, whose owner, the Belgian company Sobelmar Antwerp NV , was believed to have gone banrupt, show no signs of moving on. Replacement crews have been keeping them ticking over since their original crews were allowed to leave in June 2016. The ships were registered in the name of SBM-1 INC, a company care of Sobelmar and sharing the same company address in Belgium. Sobelmar, whose contracts included fertilizers, grain and coal plus 800,000 tonnes of apatite concentrate - a phosphate - shipped each year between Murmansk and Western Europe and the Baltics, was reported to be seeking bankruptcy protection back in 2015. The trio off North Tyneside’s coast had initially been part of Sobelmar’s plans to renovate an ageing fleet. The fourth ship in the original group, "Kovdor", was currently thought to be in Malta, similarly stranded. The India-based Bernhard Schulte Ship Management took on responsibility for the operations of the three at various stages between June 10 and 22 and has its own crews on board. The ships are being anchored outside the jurisdiction of Port of Tyne while the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which initially checked out, has found them to be in a good state of repair. Even if a sale is completed, there is no indication of when the ships might leave. On the Sobelmar website, the date of "Brasschaat"’s next dry dock is given as April 2017; and "Zarechensk"’s as December 2017. The "Vyritsa2 has only its last dry dock date listed, which was June 2013. The crews on board were all well fed and paid on time. The vessels have been safely anchored and have been inspected by flag and class with good results. Report with photos and video: http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/stranded-ships-tynemouths-visitors-now-11973545