PDZ Maju is the latest PDZ container ship to be arrested.

KUALA LUMPUR: Another container ship owned by PDZ Holdings Bhd, PDZ Maju, has been detained under judicial order and the dispute is set to be taken to court.

This follows the arrest of PDZ Mewah in January following a writ in admiralty action in rem and an arrest warrant served by Dan-Bunkering (Singapore) Pte Ltd for alleged non-payment of marine fuel/gas oil supplied to the vessel. (Three more writs for action against PDZ Mewah were later served.)

In a statement to Bursa Malaysia on Wednesday, the shipping firm said PDZ Maju had been arrested after Continental Platform (M) Sdn Bhd (CPSB) filed a writ for admiralty proceedings in February.

Among others, CPSB is claiming for RM563,312 as payment for the supply of bunkers to PDZ Mewah in December 2016, costs and any further or other relief that the High Court may deem fit and just.

PDZ, whose biggest shareholder is Pelaburan Mara Bhd (with a 23.3% stake), had been in negotiation with CPSB since the arrest of the vessel with a view of settling the dispute out of court.

“However, the board is of the opinion that negotiations with CPSB have since fallen through and, upon obtaining legal advice, has resolved to take steps to defend the arrest of vessel and any claims that may subsequently be filed and set it aside,” it said in its latest announcement.
 
PDZ said the expected losses to the group would be RM45,000 to RM50,000 per month, as a result of the additional costs arising from purchasing slots from third party vessels.

“The financial and operational impact to the group is expected to be minimal as the group has made the necessary arrangements to secure slots from third party vessels as an interim measure to continue providing customers with the same services as currently provided by the vessel,” it said.

The net book value of PDZ Maju based on the latest audited financial statements of PDZ for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2016, is RM5.554mil.
 
“Following the arrest of vessel, the board is in the midst of revisiting the utilisation of proceeds to be raised from the proposed rights issue with warrants which was announced on March 6, 2017. An announcement will be made in due course on any changes to the utilisation of proceeds, if any,” the company said.

The total amnount claimed for/under the writs in relation to its other vessel, PDZ Mewah. was higher, at about RM3.8mil. PDZ Mewah had a net book value of RM4.682mil, based on the audited financial statements of PDZ for the financial year ended June 30, 2015.

PDZ previously said the expected losses from PDZ Mewah’s arrest would be in the range of RM90,000 to RM100,000 per month, due to the additional costs from buying slots from third party vessels.

Together with the arrest of PDZ Maju, the combined monthly losses would therefore range from RM135,000 to RM150,000.

PDZ recently reported an unaudited loss attributable to equity holders of RM2.2mil for the 18-month financial period ended Dec 31, 2016.

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