A Singapore buyer has won an auction for a ship belonging to bankrupt Nantong Mingde Heavy Industry with an offer of 96 million yuan ($14 million), setting an online auction record for ships in China.
The ship “Mengde 152” was originally built for a Canadian buyer for use in the Great Lakes.
The boat was completed but Nantong Mingde failed to deliver on time and declared bankruptcy, so the Shanghai Maritime Court organized the auction on Alibaba’s Taobao.com as part of the company’s asset settlement.
The court took measures to facilitate the participation of foreign bidders, including money transfers and qualification registration.
Established in 2004, Nantong Mindge built chemical tankers as well as a range of other vessels. It had been running at a loss due to the slowdown of the global shipping industry.
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