Nekton says vessel owner responsible for fuel bill dues
Nekton said its charter of the vessel ended on October 7 and that all payments due by Nekton have been paid.
Dues for a fuel bill on Odyssey, the main vessel chartered for the recently-concluded Nekton Maldives undersea expedition, are not Nekton's responsibility, the UK-based marine foundation said Monday, as a Maldivian court barred the vessel from leaving the country over the unpaid fuel bill.
According to the order signed by Civil Court Judge Farhad Rasheed, a major Maldivian oil company that provided diesel to the vessel had appealed with the Civil Court to issue a temporary order to seize Odyssey while it was on its way departing from the Maldives.
The Civil Court has issued an order banning the vessel from leaving the Maldives until the end of the case. According to the Civil Court order:
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The oil company filed a lawsuit against the vessel's owner Ocean Conservation Exploration and Education Foundation (OCCF) for failing to pay for 105,000 litres of diesel sold to Odyssey
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USD 186,900 (MVR 2.8 million) has not been paid
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The fuel bill was sent to the address requested by the vessel owner and asked it to pay by the end of September
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No payments have been made since
In a statement, Nekton said its charter of the vessel ended on October 7. All payments due by Nekton have been paid, it added.
"The court order for the unpaid fuel bill, is not directed at Nekton rather at the owners of the vessel, the Ocean Conservation Exploration & Education Foundation, OCEEF, who are responsible for this payment," the statement read.
The Odyssey visited different parts of the country during the Nekton Maldives Mission organised by the government of Maldives and the UK-based marine foundation Nekton from September 4 to October 5. Scientists from 10 countries, including the Maldives, took part in the expedition.
Nekton Mission:
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295 square kilometres of sea floor mapped
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453 hours were spent totally, underwater
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554 samples were taken; 186 species of fish and 201 of other sea creatures
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Scientists from 10 countries participated
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20 terabytes of video footage and other data collected
